The Dutch House

De: Ann Patchett

Narrado por: Tom Hanks

Bloomsbury presents The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Tom Hanks.

Lose yourself in the story of a lifetime – the unforgettable Sunday Times bestseller
‘Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature’ Guardian

Nominated for the Women’s Prize 2020

A STORY OF TWO SIBLINGS, THEIR CHILDHOOD HOME, AND A PAST THAT THEY CAN’T LET GO.

Like swallows, like salmon, we were the helpless captives of our migratory patterns. We pretended that what we had lost was the house, not our mother, not our father. We pretended that what we had lost had been taken from us by the person who still lived inside.

In the economic boom following the Second World War, Cyril Conroy's real estate investments take his family from poverty to enormous wealth. With it he buys the Dutch House, a lavish mansion in the Philadelphia suburbs. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

Danny Conroy grows up in the opulence of the Dutch House. Though his father is distant and his mother is absent, Danny has his beloved sister Maeve: Maeve, with her wall of black hair, her wit, her brilliance. The siblings grow and change as life plays out under the watchful eyes of the house’s former owners, in the frames of their oil paintings.

Then one day their father brings home Andrea, a new stepmother. Though they cannot know it, her arrival to the Dutch House sows the seed of the defining loss of Danny and Maeve’s lives: exiled from the house and tossed back into the poverty from which their family rose, Danny and Maeve have only each other to count on.

‘The best book I’ve read in years’ Rosamund Lupton
‘Her finest novel yet’ Sunday Times
‘The buzz around The Dutch House is totally justified. Her best yet, which is saying something’ John Boyne
‘A masterpiece’ Cathy Rentzenbrink
‘Bliss’ Nigella Lawson

©2019 Ann Patchett (P)2019 HarperCollins USA

A masterpiece of words and audio

What a beautiful book, written masterfully by Ann Patchett and read with exquisite nuances by Tom Hanks. An unusual story full of wonderful characters, touchingly and poignantly brought to life by the reader, a truly beautiful book. It deserves 5 stars from top to bottom. I will listen to it again and again.

Best read ever

Fabulous book, skillfully read by Tom Hanks. Our ears are in great hands with such an experienced actor.

Meandering

Engaging at first, this novel meandered awkwardly towards an spluttering denouement.

I love Tom Hanks and he maintained a strong performance. The same cannot be said for the author, who seemed to have given up somewhere in the middle.

The non-chronological narrative worked in the first half of the book, but then started to grate.

A pretty good book, but no masterpiece.

Loved it!

From start to finish this book is a masterpiece - a wonderful story which is beautifully read.

What a lovely story.

Loved the story and enjoyed Tom Hanks as the narrator...hopefully there are a few more narrated by him.