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I met Ann Patchett in Petoskey the fall of 2016. Prior to then, I had met her dog and visited her bookstore, so it really was about time that I met her. It was at this event that she shared the title of her newest book, which later was changed to The Dutch House.
Now let me tell you something, I know Ann about as well as a reader can without actually knowing her. Contrary to popular belief, this is not because I stalk her (which apparently is what people say when you attend two author events- for separate books I might add) but because I’ve read her books, watched her interviews, followed her book reviews, and heard her conversations with other authors thanks to YouTube. Perhaps that does sound like stalking… Regardless, it is why I can tell you that her newest novel is soaked with her more than any other novel I’ve ever read.
Doctors, divorce, stepfamilies, strangers thrown together, Catholicism, Buddhism, book references… a character eats grilled cheese in a bathtub! A bathtub! Let’s be real, the grilled cheese in the bathtub bit was what really screamed Ann to me (although I think she is a vegan now). There are characters with the last name of Norcross, reference to the owners of McLean and Eakin in Petoskey. It was so real that it didn’t seem made up at all which is why I can tell you, with some trepidation and a whole lot of guilt, that I didn’t love it.
Most authors start with an autobiographical novel and then the pipes get cleared out, creativity flows, and they move on. Ann’s first books were not autobiographical, which is why she felt the desire to go back and do exactly that in her novel, Commonwealth. Commonwealth was brilliant. It was beautiful and brilliant, but we’ve already been there. We’ve done that. It’s time to move on. The Dutch House felt like a Commonwealth redo to me and it was a let down.
Authors write for themselves. They write harder things just to see if they can and it doesn’t matter that I wasn’t a fan. I appreciate all I learned about Ann’s approach to this novel by reading Mary Laura Philpott’s interview with her. I’d encourage you to read it too because the best bit about attending book clubs is when someone explains all the reasons they loved a book and it encourages you to take a second look. So read her interview and then read the book yourself. What do you think?
The Roving Reader 