First, the blurb on the back:
"On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year old Nella Oortman arrives at a grand house in Amsterdam to begin her new life as the wife of wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt. Though curiously distant, he presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations ring eerily true. As Nella uncovers the secrets of her new household she realizes the escalating dangers they face. The miniaturist seems to hold their fate in her hands - but does she plan on to save or destroy them."
Second, I feel like I need to confess that I bought this book in the Amsterdam airport. Apparently it was a national bestseller in Europe of something.
The first half of the book was a bit slow, but then once the "escalating dangers" get escalating it actually gets pretty good and I was surprised by some of the escalating dangers as they unfolded. I actually stayed up late just to finish the book one night, which is a pretty decent endorsement. However, I have one big glitch with the book...
I DIDN'T GET THE PART ABOUT THE MINIATURIST AT ALL.
Honestly, I feel like they could have left the stupid cabinet and the stupid miniaturist out and had the same book. Every time they talked about the miniatures, it felt like a distraction, and the book doesn't sufficiently wrap up anything about the miniaturist at the end of the book. At the end of the book, its like "oh yeah, that was supposed to help drive the plot, but whatever, you don't need to understand any of that, do ya now?" I mean, what?
Now a book that has a kick ass dollhouse plot element is Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. But that's for a different literacy blog (that I am unlikely to write anytime soon, but maybe I will!)
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