The Miniaturist

''But words are water in Amsterdam, they flood your ears and set the rot''

When you visit the Rijksmuseum, one of the exhibits that is certain to attract your attention, is the beautiful dollhouse of Petronella Oortman, a creation of exquisite beauty. When I visited Amsterdam a few years ago, the book hadn't been published yet. Now, Jessie Burton's novel has come to add another thread in the glorious veil of mystery that surrounds this marvellous city.

We find ourselves during the 17th century in Amsterdam, a capital where Art and Commerce are flourishing. Our eyes and ears are filled with lively sounds and sights and our nose catches weird smells coming from the market. Our walk stops in front of a house, where a girl of eighteen is waiting for the door to open. She is all alone, nervous and discouraged, holding the cage of a parrot, her last connection to her childhood. Once she enters the house, she will become its mistress, for she is the new bride of Johannes Brandt. And the door opens, and a woman is about to introduce Nella-the young woman- to her new life. The welcome she receives is slightly less hostile than the manner in which Heathcliff welcomed Lockwood...

Nella has been brought up with the notion that she has one purpose in life, to become a wife and use her body as the ‘‘key'' in order to be in good terms with her husband. But Johannes is too distant, poor Nella can't obey her ‘‘calling'' even if she wanted to...
''How can this house of secrets ever been called a home?''
Secrets everywhere...In the hearts of the family, in the household, in the city...Cricks and cracks and the feeling of being watched. It is too early for us to get answers and we're thrown into the mystery from the very start. Although we have 3rd person narration, we witness the story exclusively through Nella's eyes, a device which makes every twist of the story even more tense. The plot is loaded with themes. Jessie Burton has woven a web of commerce, travel, discovery. The notion of sin, the hypocrisy that inflicts the lives of the characters, the consequences of blind passion, vices and their price, the acceptance of being different- or the lack of it.

The greatest strength of The Miniaturist- in a story that is devoid of any weakness- is the complexity of the characters. Every single character is three-dimensional. They start from a certain position and end up in a completely different standing, having gone through a complex process of self-awareness.Nella is innocent, but not naive. She is clever and willing to adopt to her new environment. She is kind, strong and determined. Her words are poignant when she says ''I am searching for the light, Marin. In the middle of all this murk.''

Marin is a lot more than she shows. A wonderful, intriguing character, clever, independent, fiercely loyal to her personal principles. Cornelia is the clever, loyal maid of the house. She is layered and complex. Johannes is a kind, intelligent man with a talent for commerce, but he falls victim to his desires. He has much to hide, while Nella sees through his secrets and develops a special kind of relationship with him.The antagonists of the Brandt household are archetypes for the hypocrisy of the era. Willing to project their prejudices and narrow-mindness to those who have climbed higher based on their own abilities.

The language has a unique kind of beauty. There are similes, metaphors, the narration is as layered as the characters. You have to read carefully to unlock the text, each dialogue reveils little and holds so much more. It is built piece by piece, composed and arranged in the same way Nella's dollhouse is arranged. You feel there is a storm about to begin, even though all you may witness is two women making delicious pastries in the kitchen.
''It is a prison. And its bars are made of murderous hypocrisy.''
The city is beautiful, lively, but the winter cold is matched by the cold in the hearts of its residents. they are hiding their intentions, like the dark waters of the river.The dollhouse is a prison and a way of escape. Each new piece is like a new step that Nella takes towards the fulfillment of her expectations, the struggle to find a way through her new life. And as the curtains of the dollhouse are drawn each time she wants to hide a new figurine from view, so does her household hold its own secrets. The atmosphere becomes claustrophobic, suffocating.

''And what about the miniaturist'', you may ask? Well, there lies the power of the book, in my opinion. It wouldn't be the same without this mystery, this magical feeling...Many have stated it is a gimmick, a trick. I think this view is simplistic, shallow. We don't have to answer all our questions once we finish a story. Many questions in our lives are left unanswered forever. Why do we seek this from a book?

You have to be patient. If you're looking for an action-driven read, you'll be disappointed. It is a slow burn, as our own lives are a slow burn towards- towards what? Who knows? If you seek a book of haunting beauty, with outstanding characters, written in beautiful language that makes you feel as if you're standing next to the Amstel river, in the poetically beautiful city of Amsterdam, or if you just want an excellent example of Historical Fiction, you need to read The Miniaturist as soon as possible.

Do I think it worths the hype? Hype is too flat a word, vile almost. It deserves the status of a modern classic, the status of being taught in universities around the world, the status which will give our children the opportunity to write their own reviews about it.