A review by mgromko
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

dark informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The book had two story lines; I kept expecting that they would mix or inform one another, but they did not. On the one hand there is the family and its many interactions, including and featuring Johannes' sexual orientation and the various 'complications' of that. On the other, there is the miniaturist, a mysterious character who sometimes appears as supernatural or clairvoyant and at other times simply a snoop; these two versions of the miniaturist are never resolved. The relationship between the two stories is distant at best and ill-defined and clumsy at worst.