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On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office-leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.
But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist-an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .
Johannes' gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand-and fear-the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?
My thoughts:
I must say that thing that I liked about the book, the mystery, the seemingly magical realism..well that went nowhere in the end. That was nothing in the end. The last 50 pages could have been better. Now I keep wondering how? Too bad cos the book was really good up until then.
Nella marries a man twice her age. Her new home has two servants, one a terrible gossip. There is also her new sister in law that rules the house. So where is Nella's place?
Her husband gives her a "doll house", what? I will just call it that now. She gets pieces sent to her, pieces showing secrets. What is happening?
The whole mystery of what is going on in the house kept me reading. Also the atmosphere in the book was wonderful, I liked Amsterdam.
But then the magical realism fizzled out. Then secrets came crushing down (which was good, I wanted to know). And then it just ended, and I was left wondering.
Conclusion:
Still...it was good, but could have been great with that theme still going strong in the end too
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published August 26th 2014 by Ecco
Historical fiction
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