Set in 17th century Amsterdam, a city of contradictory impulses, 18-year-old Nella is a country gentle woman whose family has fallen on hard times and is married off by her widowed mother to a wealthy Amsterdam merchant 2 decades her senior, Johannes Brandt. When she arrives, not only is Johannes not there to greet her, but his sister, Marin--who has here-to-fore been mistress of the household--makes her feel very unwelcome. Marin also makes it clear to Nella that she is to be a very visible indicator to the community that Johannes has taken a wife. Why that is important, and why Johannes himself never consummates the relationship we learn later on. What Johannes offers to Nella instead is wealth, standing in the community, and a large, exquisitely made "cabinet house" (based on an actual 17th-century dollhouse at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam) that replicates her new home, which she is free to furnish at Johannes' expense. When Nella commissions a miniaturist to create certain items for the house, things begin to get really strange, for the mysterious artisan creates the desired objects but also creates items Nella did not ask for but which are eerily accurate of people, furnishings, and events going on in the Brandt house. Nella chafes under the restrictive life she is expected to lead, and forces herself into Johannes' life, discovering more than she wanted to know. In my usual fashion, I looked for but failed to find a character with whom I could empathize. I appreciated the depiction of life in this amazing city (see my blog on Amsterdam) and of the conflicts between a growing wealthy class and the Calvinist doctrines that were often imposed. As always, the BBC production was first rate. Still, it's not a book I would race to recommend.
More reviews are available from The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune.
No comments:
Post a Comment