I said to myself “Tracy, let’s get magical!” as I settled down to read this novel, “I’m not a fuddy duddy” I thought, “I can do whimsy“. Turns out I can’t. This book nearly broke my eyes. For a time I thought I was doing reading wrong! - I mean it had all the magnificent exquisite hype and best-selling headlines etc., so I persevered because once I start a book I feel I have to finish it, like a bar of chocolate or at one time a bottle of wine.
Anyway, oh yes just to say that for me personally, author photo’s simply spoil the enigma of the story and having Burton’s ‘Hey look at me being a cutesy author in my twee yellow dress’ face emblazoned on my brain every time I picked up the book didn’t help either.
So The Miniaturist, off you go, mesmerise me!
I think Burton had a good idea and then got lost/bored/confused/tired because the miniaturist in question didn’t have the role we were lead to believe she would and she wasn’t the only character who went missing or failed to get fleshed out in any believable fashion. In Burton’s defence, some of the writing is beautiful, descriptions of the city of Amsterdam are transporting, there is a certain amount of mystery and a little suspense.
As a debut, it’s good but I don’t know who I would recommend this book to, all I can say is that you won’t always dread reading it.