The Dutch House

A Novel

By: Ann Patchett

Narrated by: Tom Hanks

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Audiobook performed by Tom Hanks.

New York Times best seller | A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick | A New York Times Book Review Notable Book | Time Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 | 2020 Audie finalist - audiobook of the year and best male narrator

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, The Washington Post; O: The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Refinery29, and Buzzfeed

Ann Patchett, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of Commonwealth, delivers her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love, and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves, and of who we really are.

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

©2019 Ann Patchett (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Tom Hanks narrates this novel about Danny and Maeve, and their beloved childhood home, The Dutch House, with a restraint that admirably captures the writing's surface calm and buried tension.... Hanks takes his narrative cue from Danny, who tells the story in a mix of bemusement, wonder, and nostalgia. It's not a dramatic performance but is, instead, a sensitive and warm reading of a fine novel about love, loyalty, redemption, forgiveness, and what we will do to make the world the way we want it to be." (AudioFile Magazine)

Tom Hanks Should Read Every Book

Turns out there is only one way to make a Patchett book even better - have Tom Hanks read it. Wonderful story, endearing in and of itself... made more alive with the mastery of Hanks’ delivery.

Amazing

I listened in one sitting. One of my favorite authors, narrated by one of the best living actors. How can you go wrong?

The Dutch House review

Tom Hanks was the best narrator I’ve listened to! The book was outstanding. Please consider hiring Mr. Hanks for additional books.

Family bond

I seem to unconsciously favor stories about families, and one is good. The bond between Maeve and Danny ( brother and sister) is very special. The prose is lovely and the characters are (mostly) people I'd like to meet. Now, for the narration....Tom Hanks does a good job, but I must be candid and admit that some of his inflection choices were distracting....it pulled me out of the story and made it about this being a Tom Hanks performance. There were other sections where he kept his personality out of the reading, and those were great. Overall, this is an excellent book.

A lovely listen

Beautifully written and read. Complex and believable family dynamics. Compelling and hard to put down.

Poor choice in narrator

I love him as and actor but I don’t want the narrator to interpret the character for me. I want to discover the character through the writing. Would have enjoyed it more with an anonymous narrator

Lovely story

As a Realtor of residential real estate
I could appreciate this story about a very special home and the people who’s lives the home shaped.

Amazing

What a lovely book! Here is to family and memories.... Thank you so very much!

My first Ann Patchett

And now I will binge. I love her simple way of story telling - not straining to overuse her vocabulary, pacing to exactly the right speed... with just enough detail (the book is about a house that we ultimately only hear a little about insofar as the actual physical details) but plenty of room to imagine or invoke our own idea of what it would look like (I have the house illustrated exactly in my head). Loved it.

As far as the story itself, I didn't understand all of the characters' motivations (neither for good nor bad) but found I didn't need to. Like the sketch of the house she gives just enough to make you imagine and decide on your own. Once I relaxed and let go of my need for answers and started filling them in myself, I THINK I got it. Relationships in families are the way she portrayed them... vague sometimes, hyper-focused others... always raw... some unsung... pervasive, persistent and so on.

And Tom Hanks. I am not sure why he said the chapter titles the way he did (very odd...) but the rest was flawless.

A real treasure

Tom Hanks is perfect! Hearing him read is like sitting together having a lovely conversation.