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A review by booklandish
The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton
4.0
The long-awaited sequel/companion to the acclaimed Miniaturist! Full disclaimer, I did not love The Miniaturist, but I enjoyed this one more. So if you are a huge fan of the first it might be the other way around because they felt quite different (much less gothic vibes). Burton's style is just as lovely but this book is less about the atmosphere and much more character-driven.
Bullet review:
- Family dynamics
- Coming of age story
- Choices and Freedom
- Social commentary
- Beautiful prose
- Beautiful ending
We mainly follow 18-yo Thea as she confronts the expectations of society, experiences her first love, and tries to claim her independence. She is quite infuriating at times in her naiveté but in a very realistic way: the intensity of feelings of teenage/young adulthood is perfectly captured. A lot of emphasis is put on the complicated dynamics of this untraditional family. What I found most interesting was the drawing of parallels between Thea and Nella's lives as well as the juxtaposition of their character growth. In a way, this novel is also about Nella coming of age, despite her being in her late thirties because she put her life on pause at 18. I feel like this can almost be read as a standalone historical fiction character-focused novel and I really enjoyed it!
Bullet review:
- Family dynamics
- Coming of age story
- Choices and Freedom
- Social commentary
- Beautiful prose
- Beautiful ending
We mainly follow 18-yo Thea as she confronts the expectations of society, experiences her first love, and tries to claim her independence. She is quite infuriating at times in her naiveté but in a very realistic way: the intensity of feelings of teenage/young adulthood is perfectly captured. A lot of emphasis is put on the complicated dynamics of this untraditional family. What I found most interesting was the drawing of parallels between Thea and Nella's lives as well as the juxtaposition of their character growth. In a way, this novel is also about Nella coming of age, despite her being in her late thirties because she put her life on pause at 18. I feel like this can almost be read as a standalone historical fiction character-focused novel and I really enjoyed it!