the miniaturist by jessie burton.
start date - 20:11:25
status, read as on - 25:11:25
emotions felt after: restless melancholy with some hope for hope.
this book is a debut novel of the author and it is written as a mystery fiction based on a real life 17th century miniature cabinet house owned by a woman named petronella displayed at the rijksmuseum in amsterdam even today!
i started this book with absolutely no idea again, i think i enjoy not knowing, guess i am judging a book by its cover when i buy books.
the book starts with a funeral scene observed by a person. i have to mention that the writing style of this author threw me off in the first couple of chapters, it took a little bit of time to get used to because well the book is mainly written in third person but the story is seen and percieved through the protagonist (Nella) who thinks and observes and speaks in first person, and this happening simultaneously makes it an unique experience to read.
petronella, our protagonist is only 18 years old when she gets married to a forty something year old rich trader from amsterdam named johannes. for johannes it was a responsibility that needed to be fulfilled on coercion of his spinster sister, Marin and for Nella it was a marriage that had a possibility of blossoming into something filled with love. the house has two servants, cornelia and Otto. i guess nella giving main character energy quite literally deserved that romance trope but sadly she was stuck in a mystery, thriller. sorry nells. but nella is hopeful and horny, a deadly combination. for every man she looks at, she admires, she yearns, she fantasizes and thats quite harmless and what else is a lady supposed to do with all the empty time on her hands when she lives in a world where she cant practice a profession or own things and the house is filled with people who seem to be cold towards her?
until, her beloved husband has a wonderful idea to get her a betrothal gift in the form of a expensive doll house which is the miniature version of their house. nella does not appreciate being treated as a child neither do i. what do you mean play with a doll house and decorate it with minis??? thats what she does. she contacts a miniaturist. who then starts sends her unsolicited miniatures and things start going down hill from there. i dont think i can write more about this book without spoiling it so i will not get into the plot.
all the women characters in this book are layered in personality. they are responsible, wise, misunderstood and taken for granted. most of the men characters were the opposite of that. they are reckless and full of themselves and will make you roll your eyes more than once.
i feel like the mysterious element of this book could have been given a better closure, it was built up to something and then kind of deflated towards the end, but one thing i did that helped with it is reading a particular chapter after finishing the book. that def made it better.
this book bought the places from the yesteryears back to life. the forgotten bought to the forefront just for a second. it was exciting and maybe someday i visit the museum in person to meet petronella's house and peek into its history a bit closely.
quotes
- "love was much more nebulous than stains on linen rags" - nella's mommy.
- "you have to keep your wealth afloat and noone will do it for you. it will run through your fingers if you dont take care." - Otto.
- "human contact in the moment of spiritual reflection does seem almost sinful." nella's thoughts at church.
- "guilders(money) sometimes work quicker than a prayer" - cornelia.
- "everything man sees he takes for a toy. thus he is always, forever a boy"
- "just because someone tells you something with a bit of passion, doesnt mean its true." - johannes
- "the things it(money) buys are solid but you can put your hand through it like a cloud" - johannes
- "i feel younger than eighteen but burdened as an eighty year old" - nella. (girl mood).
- "i do not mean to lose my temper. it slips from me and i cannot catch it. " - marin.
- " what i believe in has nothing to do with what i can control." marin.
- "love is a best phantom than reality, better in the chase than caught" - cornelia.
- "growing older does not seem to make you more certain. it simply presents you more reasons for doubt" - one of nella's many realizations.
- "but you know what they say about big weddings, they cover up a lack of appetite" - cornelia
- " in suffering, we find our truest selves" - marin.
- "a strange world, human beings going around reassuring each other that they havent died." - johannes
- "i am a cloud full of blood, a giant bruise, my skin broken over and over" she was look at as a mountain, huge, anchored and immovable, the child inside her is a pilgrim descending her heights.
- "you are a stone, thrown upon a lake. but the ripples you create will never make you still" - johannes
- "...because they didnt tell the time! they measured other things - things people didnt want to be reminded of. mortality, broken heart. ignorance and folly."