The Miniaturist: A Novel

An outstanding read. I devoured this book in two days, even falling asleep over it one night, unwilling to put it down. In reading other reviews please be aware that this is a LITERARY historical novel, not a romance or women's fiction. It also contains magic realism which seems to have thrown some readers off. The setting is 17th century Amsterdam, and the author captures perfectly the conflicting sides of the Dutch personality at the time, perfectly describing it as a pendulum between God and guilder. This is the Amsterdam of the Dutch conquerors and the merchants who build their wealth on Eastern trade. It is the Amsterdam of Calvinism, staunch, suspicious, unyielding, unforgiving. Into this city Nell merges as a new bride, eighteen year old and fresh from the country. Her new husband is a wealthy merchant, charming and well liked. For a wedding gift he gives his young bride a cabinet house (doll house) which she begins to fill with minatures. As the story unfolds unsolicited additions arrive from the miniaturist, additions that foretell events in the household before they even happen. Nell attempts to find the mysterious miniaturist while trying to understand the complex characters of her new husband, his strong-willed sister, their maid, and the Black man her husband treats as an assistant in a city in which Blacks are curiosities and inferiors. So many twists and turns in which the character of Amsterdam itself unfolds with the individual characters. Beautifully…

This is an interesting piece of historical fiction. It is 1686 and Nella (short for Petronella), at 18, finds herself on the doorstep of her new husband, 39, who she hardly knows, but who is a wealthy merchant in a bigger city who is supposed to help her life become new and wonderful. However, of the many surprises Nella is confronted with when she arrives at her new home, one of the most confounding is how her new husband does not visit her bedroom and does not treat her as a husband typically treats his new wife. Instead, his gives her a replica of their home -- a "distraction" -- for Nella to furnish. Nella seeks the services of a miniaturist to assist her and requests a few intro pieces. In return, the miniaturist sends Nella the requested pieces, along with a few unrequested pieces that seem to be exact replicas of items in Nella's new home. Does this miniaturist know the family? Has he been in the house? How did he create such perfect replicas? Thus begins a subtle mystery as Nella both tries to stop the gifts and cannot wait for the next gift from the miniaturist, each new gift providing insight, prophesy, or explanation of happenings in Nella's increasingly complicated life. We also meet her husband Johannes' sister Marin, an unmarried woman living in the house who almost seems more master of the house than Johannes or Nella, the "manservant" Otto, who has been educated and is more free with his relationship than Nella has ever seen before, their maid Cornelia…