The Dutch House and The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett's writing style resonates with me.  She develops her characters well by telling their stories through the viewpoints of other people.  I especially enjoyed The Dutch House, her most recent novel. It centers around a large, uniquely built house in a small town outside of Philadelphia.  The house was purchased by Maeve and Danny's father as a special gift to their mother, but the house did not provide all the beautiful dreams that Mr. Conroy envisioned.  The fairytale he wanted unraveled when Elna came to despise the house and all that it stood for.  Mostly, this book is about the relationship between the two children: through the ups and downs of their father's death, the stepmother's wrath, the abandonment by their mom, and the loss of the house; these two weather it all and stay resiliently connected.  For most of her readers, I'm sure the cruel stepmother struck a nerve; but even more difficult for me was the way the mother walked away, not just from her husband and life--but from her two kids who were under ten years old....so disturbing.  She chose to travel the world and assist other needy people, not acknowledging the deep holes of need that would develop in Maeve and Danny.



The Patron Saint of Liars was a much earlier work.  In the 1940's, Rose is raised by her mother after the accidental death of her father at age 4.  When Rose tells her story, she makes it sound as if she and her mother enjoyed their life immensely, that they had many wonderful memories together; however as the story develops it appears to me that Rose must have had a dis-connect.  When she gets pregnant, she flees from California to Tennessee to a Catholic home for unwed mothers, leaving behind her life with husband Thomas and her mother.  Essentially disappearing.  Finally facing the fact that she could not give up her baby, she agrees to marry Son (although still married to Thomas, whom Son knows nothing about), an older handyman who is smitten with her.  She stays at the home as the volunteer cook.  Once again, the same thread runs throughout this book:  a mother who chooses to assist others in the home, to give advise and love....but who does not interact nor actually care about her own daughter.  Perhaps all of the secrets from her past make it impossible to move forward, so she can only concentrate on her day to day duties without sharing any part of herself with her husband nor Sissy.  It was a compelling read and I thought Rose would finally open up to those who loved her, but it did not happen.  The ending was disappointing for me.  Sister Evangeline and Son were the shining characters --they gave sacrificially both to Rose and to Sissy.  I may need to read one more book by Ann Patchett to see if the "less than stellar mothers" theme continues.  It makes me wonder if the author had a mother dis-connection!