I should disclose at the outset that I listened to the audiobook recording of this novel, narrated by Tom Hanks, which is a major influencing factor in my review. In fact, while I’m sure the traditional reading experience will be rewarding and pleasurable for most, I must urge you to listen to Hanks’ delivery of Patchett’s story. The Dutch House is told from the perspective of an adult Danny Conroy, son of Cyril and Elna Conroy, the story of his family and their lives in the family home, nicknamed the Dutch House, by all who are familiar with the house, in Elkins Park, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Tom Hanks was the perfect choice for narrator, as the vocal timbre and subtle expressive nuance he brings to the reading elevates the meaning and resonance of the story. It was the perfect matching of reader and material, and made the story so much more meaningful and enjoyable.

That said, Patchett’s novel is a wonderful story, as the house becomes a symbol and metaphor, reflecting the importance of home for some characters, the symbol or shame of outward opulence for other characters, the expression of love, loneliness, or community for others. This novel is richly imbued with various and conflicting meanings, as house and home express characters’ values, desires, and ambitions. Cyril and Elna come from a humble start in Brooklyn, so when Cyril surprises his wife with the gift of their new home, he feels he is expressing his love for her as profoundly as he is able. We see the Dutch House through Elna’s eyes, through Danny’s, his older sister Maeve’s, and later, Cyril’s second wife Andrea and her two daughters, Norma and Bright. Finally, Danny’s wife Celeste, and their children, Kevin and May complete the circle. Elna cannot reconcile the opulence of the home with her desire to help the poor of the world, abandoning her family to pursue this mission. Maeve serves as surrogate mother to Danny, proactively making choices and filling the gap left by their mother, since Danny is only four when their mother abandons them, and Cyril maintains a stiff remove as father and breadwinner. It is as though providing home and material needs is all that is required to fulfill his parenting obligation, until the day he brings Andrea into their lives, as their stepmother. Andrea is clearly in love with Cyril and the house, with these stepchildren an obstacle to her love. She supplants them, and ultimately throws them out of the house upon Cyril’s untimely death four years after their wedding. I will not reveal more of the plot, as the challenges and choices are so much a part of the richness and enjoyment of this novel.

Danny also describes the family who constructed the Dutch House, the VanHoebeeks, as Danny contemplates why they built such a unique home, and what it has meant to all who lived there. There is so much to enjoy in this novel. I especially love the way Patchett develops her genuine and unique characters, with each feeling very real, none are cardboard cutouts. Although this book was published in 2019, it is my favorite novel this year. Highly recommended.