The Dutch House - great conversations

You may have noticed that Fiona posted the blog for me last month, thank you! The dead giveaway is that the post included a picture, so I am trying to keep up - here is Ann Patchett although I don't know how recent this picture is. Don't get used to it, it is way beyond my capabilities. 


We had a fantastic conversation about this book, mostly it seems because there was so much in this family story that resonates for our own lives. Ann Patchett said in a 2016 profile in The Guardian, “I’ve been writing the same book my whole life — that you’re in one family, and all of a sudden, you’re in another family and it’s not your choice and you can’t get out.” That feeling is familiar in this book, one based on a strong sibling bond that transcends circumstances despite, or because of, a big age gap. 

We as a group have not been enthusiastic about Patchett's books, perhaps because they are rooted in families, but not in romantic love. This sibling story, a sister Maeve, 7 years older than her brother Danny, has all the hallmarks of a gothic tale, complete with a wicked stepmother. They live, or lived, in a place that dominates their lives - a beautiful mansion called the Dutch House. 

Their father, newly wealthy from his work in real estate had bought the house for his wife without telling her, moving her into an elaborate, ornate landmark still furnished with the bounty of the original owners.  Now long gone, the house is dominated by portraits of the original owners, now stewards observing the house, in a way judging its inhabitants and its long-term help.

Alas, happiness in not in the air - the wife flees from unrequested opulence, leaving her two children, one very young, behind. Their father, soon enough, finds another wife. This one, in love with the house, if not with the owner, brings her own children and soon controls the fate of the house and all within it. 

So, as with all unhappy families, there is an end to the close proximity but not to the emotion. Their father dies, the new stepmother tosses them out of the home and the novel commences. Where is the mother? Who would evict a child, then 11 years old from the home he has always known? It turns out, the new owner of the Dutch House, Andrea the second wife, who wants the legacy for her own children. 

The result is the siblings, sitting outside the house, smoking cigarettes to mark the stages of their lives beyond the Dutch House. This novel covers many year, but the subject is always the same. The devotion between the two, the shared experience of loss, the ways one can move beyond or not, from Danny and Maeve’s childhood to their middle age.

Another part of the novel is about affluence - having it, losing it, wanting it. It seems like it would be a problem but in fact it is just reality. These characters bring you along in their lives and why wouldn't anyone want more than they have. Andrea may be too much of a stereotype but the other characters surround us in every day life. 

And so, on we go. Our next book is The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. You may have seen the movies, but the original author is worth spending time with. Wendy has offered to host, so we will see you there on March 17. Our April book is the new Hilary Mantel book,  The Mirror and Light, which will be published in March. If that makes it too hard to get a copy, we can move it back in the schedule. The date is April 21. May is the 19th, at my house and the book is The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. 

See you all then! 

Island of the Sea Women, by Lisa See

Historic fiction combined with a personal saga 

Author Lisa See has written many enjoyable books, and The Island of the Sea Women is one of them, perhaps her best to date. This fascinating history of the women in a remote part of Korea who support their families and culture by deep sea diving for seafood also incorporated a touching story of friendship formed and strained.

Chance more or less brings the two young girls together but it is the history of Korea that forms their lives. Their experiences in the village’s all-female diving collective gave them purpose, confidence and status. As divers, they were the heads of household in everything except name. The stories of diving, in freezing waters, at great peril, with no protective wet suits or oxygen (until much later) was hair-raising, especially when the women were pregnant and still diving.  See did a masterful job of creating this world in all its detail, beautifully describing the prestige of the women and the great responsibilities they carried.

Family life and to a much greater extent, the outside world changed their lives. Their own misunderstandings, set in and among the Japanese occupation, then the Korean War and the American obsession with rooting out Communism upended their lives, amid great dangers to each of them and their families. As the years continued, heartaches created enmity. See winds the world events around personal tragedies and trials so that in the end, it is impossible to image how any of the characters could have behaved differently, even knowing the price of their actions.  As we consider the personal stories, it is just as unnerving to consider the impact of the many decades of foreign intervention on Korea and this tiny corner of it.

This is a powerful novel of women’s lives, set in a uniquely curious place and historically important time. All in all, a great read and we all really liked it, much as we wanted to shake the main characters periodically. Many thanks to Mary for hosting, what a lovely evening!

And so, on we go to the next book which is The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. For those of you who are not raving fans of this author, never fear, this one is really good. We will meet on Feb. 18 at 6:30. I think we are at Ashley’s house, Ashley can you confirm?

See you all then!