Review of "The Dutch House: A Novel" by Ann Patchett

The lives of siblings Danny and Maeve Conroy are overshadowed by their childhood home, 'The Dutch House', an elegant glass mansion located in Elkins Park - a ritzy suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.



The house, which looks more like a museum than a residence, was built by the Dutch VanHoebeeks in the 1920s, and purchased - complete with furniture and home décor - by budding real estate mogul Cyril Conroy in 1946. Cyril is delighted to surprise his young family with the house, not knowing it will affect their lives in unpredictable ways.

Danny Conroy, who narrates the book as an adult, describes the three-story house as "a singular confluence of talent and luck that was too much house for anyone".....but that felt just right to him and Maeve. From certain angles, "the house seemed to float several inches above the hill it sat on" and "the panes of glass that surrounded the glass front door were as big as storefront windows and held in place by wrought iron vines." The blue Delft mantelpieces in the drawing room, library, and master bedroom were “said to have been pried out of a castle in Utrecht and sold to the VanHoebeeks to pay a prince’s gambling debts.”



The house also boasted silk chairs, tapestry ottomans, oil paintings, Chinese lamps, marble floors, gilt ceilings, egg and dart molding, a large ballroom, imposing portraits of Mr. and Mrs. VanHoebeek, a swimming pool, and much more.



The first casualty of the Dutch house is Danny and Maeve's mother, Elna, a humble woman who feels compelled to do good works. Elna is profoundly oppressed by the opulent house, and runs off to India to help the poor when Danny is three and Maeve is ten.



Since dad Cyril is more involved with his business than his children, Danny and Maeve are largely brought up by housekeeper/cooks Sandy and Jocelyn.





The women are conscientious and affectionate caretakers, but they aren't mothers, and Maeve essentially steps into this role for her brother. For her part, Maeve is inconsolable at the loss of her mom, and in addition to general malaise develops diabetes - which the family attributes to Elna's desertion.

In time Cyril meets a woman named Andrea, who's mesmerized by the Dutch house. Cyril isn't particularly interested in Andrea, but she slyly inveigles herself into his life, marries him, and moves in with her daughters Norma and Bright.



The children - Danny, Maeve, Norma, and Bright - get along like a house afire, but Danny and Maeve never warm up to Andrea.....or she to them. Sadly, as soon as Andrea moves in, she makes it her business to disenfranchise Danny and Maeve.



Right after Maeve leaves for Barnard College in New York, for instance, Andrea usurps Maeve's lovely bedroom for Norma and Bright. And when Cyril and Danny plan an excursion to New York to have lunch with Maeve and explore buildings, Andrea invites herself and her girls along AND changes the itinerary to accommodate her own interests. (This doesn't work out so well for Andrea though. 😊)

Cyril dies at 53, when 22-year-old Maeve has graduated college and 15-year-old Danny is in high school. Andrea promptly throws Danny out, calling Maeve to come and get him.



The angry, hurt siblings set up housekeeping in Maeve's apartment in a nearby town, where Maeve works as an accountant/manager for a frozen vegetable company. Danny and Maeve retrieve very little from the Dutch house, not even family heirlooms or Maeve's portrait, which was commissioned by her father.



As it turns out, Danny and Maeve are left with almost nothing. It seems Andrea managed to get EVERYTHING in her name: the Dutch house; Cyril's business; and Cyril's money. (One wonders what Cyril - and his lawyer - were thinking. 😒)



Cyril never made a will, and the only thing left specifically for the children (Danny, Maeve, Norma, and Bright) is a trust fund for their education.

Danny had planned to join (and eventually inherit) his dad's real estate business, which Andrea promptly sells. So - out of spite - Maeve insists that Danny attend Choate boarding school, then Columbia University, then Columbia Medical School.....all of which are very expensive schools. (FYI: Combined tuition and expenses would cost more than a million dollars in today's money). Andrea is infuriated by Danny draining the education fund, but is helpless to intervene.


Choate


Columbia

Though Danny and Maeve no longer have any ownership in the Dutch house, they're inexorably drawn back. The siblings periodically park in front of the house, lambaste Andrea, and reminisce about their lives there.



They talk about their mother, their step-sisters Norma and Bright, the housekeepers Sandy and Jocelyn, their bamboozled father, Danny's future, etc. Maeve wants Danny to be a doctor but - though he's training in the medical field - Danny continues to dream of going into real estate. Even in later years, when Danny and Maeve are adults with numerous responsibilities, they occasionally 'visit' the Dutch house.

We follow Danny and Maeve for several decades, during which a lot happens: marriage, children, career advancement, new homes, squabbles, chance meetings, re-acquaintances, illness, death.....the usual drama of life.



Through it all, Danny and Maeve remain the most important people in each other's lives. No matter what he's doing, Danny always longs to step away and call Maeve; and the only person Maeve loves more than Danny is her departed mother.



The story is by no means a tragedy, and no one is out on the street dressed in rags and starving. In fact, from an outside point of view, Danny and Maeve lead very successful lives. The siblings' own dearest wish would probably be to toss Andrea out on her ear....but, as the Rolling Stones sing, "No, you can't always get what you want; you can't always get what you want; but if you try sometime you find, you get what you need."


The Rolling Stones

By the end of the book, things in Elkins Park come full circle....but in an unexpected way.

The book is rather slow-moving for my taste, but I was invested in the story and found the characters memorable, so - for me - the novel was worth reading. 

Rating: 3.5 stars