It is a story about a family. For all the things it is not, it is a story the gets you invested in the characters. It is mainly about the narrator, Danny, and his sister Maeve (they are of Irish descent, not Dutch). A rich cast of characters and chaos revolve around these two, but they are the focus.
Were these two
siblings fortunate or unfortunate in their lives? No spoilers here. That may be
up to the reader to decide. Good things happen to them as well as bad. They
were born into wealth as evidenced by the grand Dutch house of the title, where
they lived. The house in Pennsylvania, was built by a rich Dutch family who had
eventually fallen on hard times. After the last of the Dutch family had died,
Danny’s father was able to acquire the house at a ridiculously low price. He
was proud of his acquisition, but Danny’s mother hated the house and she
eventually left, abandoning her family.
All this
happened before our story begins. Danny and Maeve’s single father eventually
marries an unpleasant woman; not quite an evil step-mother, but close. The step-mother
is in many ways a detestable woman, and yet she is written in such a way that
makes her motives understandable. Her choices seem reasonable to her, if not to
us.
It is more than
just the title; the story keeps coming back to the house. Is the house cursed? You
could almost interpret it that way. People tend to have a worse time of it
while they are living in the house than when the same people are not. It does
feel like a pall hangs over the house. Yet, Danny and Maeve are able to find
joy in their lives.
The characters
in the book are given choices. Many of them have, or will choose a path to
wealth. But the characters who choose a different path seem to be happier. Was
the author trying to show that money does not buy happiness? Perhaps I am
reading too much into that. This is a slice of American life, with all the good
and ill that comes with it.
Comments
Post a Comment