I’m very conflicted about what to think about this book. Probably because I’ve only finished this book a few days ago. To be honest I’m slightly disappointed considering the critical acclaim and buzz surrounding the book when it was first released. It’s strange as I was hooked on the book when I was starting out reading it and I could read over 100 pages in a night. But as I continued reading I picked up on some frustrating setbacks and something felt quite lacking in the plot.
So the basic plot of the story is that it is based in Amsterdam from 1686-87. Petronella (nicknamed Nella) Oortman becomes married to wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt . Nella quickly picks up upon the strange atmosphere within the house due to the overtly hostile nature of Johannes’s sister Marin and the forwardness of the maid Cornelia. Nella feels frustrated and trapped within her marriage due to Johannes’s neglect. One day, Johannes gives Nella a miniature house as a belated wedding present mirroring his own house. Nella encounters an extremely eccentric miniaturist who sends her miniature dolls of everybody in the house secretly unveiling the dark secrets of the household.
I’ll start with what I did enjoy about the story. I enjoyed the dynamic between both Nella and Johannes. At first it appears that Nella was in a subservient position due to Johannes often ignoring and dismissing Nella. However, when they begin to interact with each other properly even Nella herself notes how Johannes treats her as an equal. Whilst romantic love never arises from this relationship I enjoyed both their respect and emotional intimacy. I enjoyed the subtle moral ambiguity surrounding Johannes due to his involvement in the sugar trade originating from slave labour and buying the freedom of his black servant Otto. Whilst Johannes treats Otto with respect and care I believe this involvement causes murkiness despite Johannes being mostly sympathetic. I respect Burton for showing the racism in which Otto would have faced without being sensationalist nor making Otto a victim we pity. I enjoyed the characterisation of Marin who still confuses me after reading (in a good way!). Marin is a woman filled with contradictions. She appears both stoic and prudish yet easily gives into her basic desires. She is incredibly hostile towards Nella when she joins the household and yet is a woman filled with immense sorrow and fear. Therefore, these facets and contradictions make her appear incredibly human to me. Unfortunately I don’t feel that the other characters are as well written or multi-faceted as Marin.
Now let’s get on to what I didn’t enjoy. I personally didn’t really connect to Nella. Whilst I don’t think she’s a badly written character I feel like she’s a pretty stereotypical character for historical fiction. Trapped by her circumstances yet demonstrating quiet determination and fierceness. There was nothing to Nella that I found either original or provoking. I also was underwhelmed by the characterisation of Agnes Meermans. She also seemed to be a contradictory character like Marin as she was cunning yet childishly playful. But I felt she was almost forgotten about in the second half of the story. I felt she could be have being developed more deeply and integrated in the plot in a better way. What frustrated me at times is how on the nose the book could be. There was one instance in the first half where Nella comments on the curiosity and drive of Marin that I felt was unnecessary to add. Because what was depicted to both Nella and us the readers already demonstrated these qualities of Marin. I felt that any social commentary on religious hypocrisy could have being done more subtly to deepen it’s impact to the plot. I wish we got to know more about the miniaturist as she was essentially the driving force of the plot and yet there were many unanswered questions at the end of the story which I found frustrating.
After finishing this book I do feel that it is perhaps over-hyped. Overall I would say it a good book with it’s plotline as it’s greatest strength. I mean if I was so hooked reading it when I was starting shows that it can’t be bad. Nonetheless, I feel what brings it down for me personally is that I couldn’t connect with Nella as I felt she’s a commonplace character for historical novels. Furthermore, there were some plot points and characters which I felt perhaps weren’t well executed. However, considering it is a debut novel I would say that overall Jessie Burton did a good job due to the complexity and emotional depth within the plot.
Juliette
Feminist Book Club 