RaveThe Irish Times (UK)Since early advance copies of The Dutch House went into circulation an excitable buzz has been building. Cited as the novel Patchett was born to write, her best novel yet, and contender for book of the year, the hype bar has set expectations so high that it creates unreasonable expectations for the reader. And yet, Patchett’s novel rises to the occasion with what appears to be effortless grace ... Despite the potential for melodrama that the plot offers, this novel is a much more nuanced and bewitching affair than that. The central sibling relationship is a complex and peculiar one that offers a vehicle for Patchett to explore the heavyweight concerns of familial obsession, sacrifice and loyalty. At times the poignancy of her delicate portrayal of the ordinary devastations that befall human beings is incredibly arresting. Perhaps this may be the secret to Patchett’s success; her insightful unpicking of the interpersonal dynamics that drive our relationships and an ability to interrogate the subtext underplaying behaviours. She understands the consequences of forced human interaction and how to test her characters to the point of blistering revelation ... The novel moves on from the well-worn tropes of conflict between stepchildren and a cruel step-parent and instead is invested in scrutinising what it means to be a mother ... Brimming with intertextualities, Patchett’s prose is confident and meticulous from the opening page; this novel draws you in and holds you safely in its hands until her work is done. The work, like the opulent glass house of its namesake, is clear, solidly structured and purposeful; the style of traditional storytelling that in a less skilled practitioner might appear old-fashioned here becomes transcendent in its simplicity. If a quiet, psychological, family drama could ever be considered a thriller, then this is the book to achieve it. Deserving of the praise it has garnered already, The Dutch House, may prove to be the defining novel of Patchett’s career.
