The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
I have made no secret of the fact that I have an endless reading list and often times life sees me handling an average of 10-12 books at a time. Apparently this is quite normal behavior for bibliophiles like me and it has been a bit of a relief to acknowledge that I am not the only one who is plagued with this unusual malaise. Over time, I have come to find that I have to be rather selective about what makes its way to my reading pile and in addition to my current reads, I have a pile of ‘to-be reads’ which just keeps on growing. There are a few authors whom I will set everything aside for and jump right into their new releases irrespective of how many books I have going on that present time. The masterful storyteller, Ann Patchett is one of them. Earlier in the year, I was excited to learn that she would be releasing her latest work: The Dutch House and thanks to the folks at Amazon, I was able to reserve a copy months in advance and got a chance to start reading on its official Pub Day. And I could not put it down.
As always, Ms. Patchett has used her beautiful, unvarnished prose to tell an unforgettable tale about the redemptive power of love and perseverance.
There are a few times in life when you leap up and the past that you’d been standing on falls away behind you, and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you’re suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself.
I finished reading this about an hour ago and I still have that feeling you get when you are done with a great book and you look around and find that everyone else has been busy carrying on with their own lives and have no idea that you have just been transported back from an ethereal journey into the magical world of fiction.
