THE DUTCH HOUSE

By Ann Patchett

The Dutch House, completed in 2019, was a finalist in the 2020 competition for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.  The Dutch House itself, an elaborately decorated mansion located in suburban Philadelphia, is the figment of Ann Patchett’s active imagination.  Danny Conroy, the younger of two fiercely devoted siblings (his sister Maeve is seven years his senior) relates the story of this house in the first person.  To my mind, the house itself becomes the main character in this emotionally fraught tale, as its existence accounts for the course of events as well as the many characters’ intricate relationships to one another.  In characteristic Ann Patchett fashion, she not only invites us into her story but encourages us to empathize with the plight of these two beleaguered siblings. 

Susan Barron