I could not put down Jessie Burton's debut novel The Miniaturist (#414). Although one of my friends gave this book the one word review "Strange.", and I don't disagree with that entirely, I just had to keep reading to find out what happened next.
Set in the trading capital of Amsterdam of 1686, The Miniaturist tells the story of a young country bride married off by her widowed mother to a rich merchant in order to restore the family fortunes. Marriage does not turn out to be what Nella Brandt expected at all, as the household she enters is unwelcoming and overwhelming and full of shadowy secrets. Things begin to change when her husband Johannes gives Nella an enormous cabinet to furnish as she will. It's a miniature duplicate of their own mansion, and at first Nella is insulted; it's a child's toy her husband has given her. But with little else to occupy her time, Nella writes to a craftsman who has advertised in the Amsterdam directory. What she receives in response to her letter are marvelous creations to go into her cabinet. She doesn't realize at first that they are miniatures of the existing furniture and occupants of the house. Who can be observing them all so closely to capture the minute details, and does this person pose a threat to the Brandt household?
The story is imaginative, and the details of life lived in a prosperous Dutch household in a time of exploding wealth, political and religious unrest, and overseas expansion of the Dutch East India Company are marvelous. Nella's predicament is all too easy to imagine, but Ms. Burton fleshes out the other members in the house so well that as powerful secrets are revealed the reader cares about them and their fates as well. I certainly hope we hear more from Ms. Burton in the future!
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