author, Ann Patchett 

narrator, Tom Hanks 
setting, Philadelphia

Book Rating: 3/5
A moving autobiographical fiction novel, The Dutch House focuses on the relationship between two siblings, Danny and Maeve Conroy. This was my very first Ann Patchett novel and I wanted to LOVE it!! It was beautifully written. Ms. Patchett is very definitely talented. I could feel the moods that settled over different scenes. I found myself thinking about parts of this book while doing dishes or rocking my baby to sleep. The lives of Danny and Maeve built a compelling story but I didn’t keep-walking-in-the-rainstorm-because-I-couldn’t-stop-listening ”love” it. (I miss you Crawdads!) Also, I couldn’t attach to the characters which is usually very easy for this empath. 
Overall, the DH felt like such a slow read to me. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen. I wasn’t compelled to read it at every possible moment. I had unanswered questions and disliked some of the characters. This doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book as a whole! I just didn’t “love” love it- but you might!

Audiobook Performance: 5/5 Full disclosure: I adore Tom Hanks. I am a major fan! That being said, Tom Hanks made this book for me. His range of emotion filled this book with the life it lacked without narration. I loved his sarcastic inflections and lighthearted Chapter announcements. If it wasn’t for Tom Hanks and the fact that this was a Buddy Read, The Dutch House could easily have been a DNF for me. 

Food Rating: 3/5 The Dutch house had passing mentions of food. They weren’t descriptive events in the book, but they had meaning or made a point. Also, there were some delectable dishes that I felt compelled to recreate. Scroll down for a list of recipes.

Nerdy Facts

• Patchett wrote two versions of The Dutch House. She disliked the first version so much that she threw it away.

• “I didn’t want a house on the cover, or any element of a house, a door, a window, nothing. Because it had to exist in the reader’s imagination.” Ann Patchett, interview with Waterstones. September 25, 2019

If you’ve read The Dutch House, did you picture what the mansion looked like in your head? I was so very curious and disappointed that it wasn’t based on a real building. So off to Shutterstock I went to compile these 9 photos of Dutch houses. Is there a home here that lines up with your mental picture? I’d love to know! Number 3 is my pick.

Recipes

Click on the photos to go to the recipes. 

Apricot Thumbprints

Beef & Barley Stew

Dumplings

Minestrone Soup

Lemon Crullers

1. 

   Hi Claudia! I’m so happy that you’ve reached out. Thank you so much fir the kind words and the recommendation!…

2. 

   Hi Jenni, I heard your husband Greg talking about your new blog and so I thought I would check it…

3. 

   It’s been awhile since I’ve made the instant pot version, I’m sorry.

4. 

   I plan to make this for my book club. Great idea. Do you happen to have the directions for the…

5. 

   This was my favorite slider out of the four! Thank you, Azilde! I hope you enjoy 💕