The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton REVIEW

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Started: 11/02/18

Finished: 16/02/18

Spoilers: No.

I had no idea going into this what to expect and the synopsis gave little away. From the outset, there is a feeling of unease in the air, and though at times I couldn't decide if the story was turgid or not, I can't deny how deeply it enthralled me. It's a slow burner for sure, but the atmosphere keeps it from being boring. It's one of those books that even after finishing, I really have no idea how I feel about it. I can't decide if I really liked it or if I thought it was slow and unsatisfying, I really don't know.

Tip: I recommend re-reading the prologue after you've finished the book. You realise that it wasn't from Nella's point of view at all, which is quite an interesting twist.

Characters The characters are all so compelling. It wasn't that I necessarily liked them, but I understood them all and their motives; they were so three-dimensional and many-sided that I found myself fascinated to peel back the layers of their lives and character. The depth of their personalities and private lives is quite incredible. Talk about quality character building.

Nella, Johannes, Marin, Cornelia, Otto, each one was so complicated. Each one had a history prior to the book and were not necessarily willing to share that history. This book is heavily driven by these detailed and complex characters and is a journey of discovery into the lives of each.

Plot Nella, after marrying the enigmatic, successful merchant Johannes Brandt, moves to Amsterdam to join him in his townhouse only to discover he isn't there and his sister is. Marin Brandt, unmarried, cold and tightly-wound, is very much the mistress of the household and immediately Nella is intimidated by this strict and intelligent woman.

Upon Johannes's return, he comes bearing a wedding gift for his new wife. A cabinet containing a model replica of their entire house, room for room. With Johannes always away working and Nella with nothing better to do, she decides to put the cabinet house to use and employs the services of a miniaturist to furnish it. But as more and more oddly identical and unasked for pieces arrive for the dollhouse, Brandt family secrets start to surface, and what happens within the real house seems to be mirroring itself inside the miniature house. The more involved Nella becomes with her model house, the more dark truths she discovers about the family she has married into.

Immediately there was something eerie about it which drew me in, and when Nella moved into her new home, I got vibes of Rebecca and Crimson Peak. The new bride, the kind but emotionally distant husband, the overbearing mistress who controls everything happening in the house. Because of this, I half expected the Brandt family secret to be incest, like in Crimson Peak, but the actual twist is quite different.

Throughout the first half of the book, there is something almost sinister about it, an uncertainty, and it was that uncertainty that kept me interested. I did find that once the Brandt family secrets were revealed to be nothing quite as sinister as anything I imagined the story lost steam a bit for me and a lot of that delicious tension disappeared.

Also, another thing; I had so many questions about the Miniaturist and none were answered. I know that's probably the point, as Nella didn't get her answers either, but having invested in the whole book, waiting for the truth, I felt pretty unsatisfied when I didn't get it.

And I must say, I do hate when the only purpose of an animal in a book is to be killed off for the sake of drama and to evoke emotion from the reader. It's somewhat a pet peeve. If you can't wrench at my heart without the brutal demise of an animal then you're not trying hard enough. Sorry, I just really feel like this cliché of animal deaths in books needs to die a death of its own. If it progresses the plot in some way, I can almost understand and accept it, but I feel in this book it added nothing to the plot except to make the character sad for a couple of chapters.

Setting I've never read a book set in Amsterdam before, much less one set during the 1600's. Everything about the city is described in beautiful detail, yet when I imagine this place in my head, there's something almost dark and cold and bleak about it. I think the general tone of the story reflects well onto the setting and although on the surface it's lovely and quaint and bustling, underneath it always feels like there's something more, something watching. It's hard to describe but everything about this story leaves you with a feeling of unease.

Writing Style The writing is absolutely beautiful. The descriptions are some of the loveliest I've read. Yet even in the pretty, flowery prose, there's something backhanded about it. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something almost sinister lurking behind every gorgeous piece of prose in this book. It's tense and utterly atmospheric. Haunting is probably the best word for it. This novel, it's characters, it's writing and the general feeling of it is haunting; like it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up (as cliché as that sounds, it's true.)

Final Impression Overall, I liked this book, despite receiving no answers to the many questions asked which leaves me feeling a little like what was the point? but that being said, the excellent and atmospheric writing made it worth the read. I think I would be tempted to read more from Jessie Burton. Just cause this story didn't quite float my boat, doesn't mean that her others won't, and her writing will only get better, which is a very exciting thought.