Miniaturist (Burton)

The Miniaturist 
Jessie Burton, 2014
HarperCollins
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062306845


Summary
On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt.

But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office—leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

Nella's life changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist—an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways...

Johannes's gift helps Nella pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand—and fear—the escalating dangers that await them all.

In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation...or the architect of their destruction?

Enchanting, beautifully written, and exquisitely suspenseful, The Miniaturist is a magnificent story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution, appearance and truth. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1982
• Where—London, England, UK
• Education—Oxford University
• Currently—lives in London, England


Jessie Burton was born in London in 1982. She studied at Oxford University and the Central School of Speech and Drama, and still works as an actress in London. She lives in southeast London, not far from where she grew up. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
A fabulously gripping read that will appeal to fans of Girl With a Pearl Earring and The Goldfinch, but Burton is a genuinely new voice with her visceral take on sex, race and class.
Guardian


This debut novel, set in 17th-century Amsterdam, hits all the marks of crossover success: taut suspense, a pluck heroine- and a possibly clairvoyant miniature-furniture designer.
New York magazine


[A] haunting debut.
Good Housekeeping


A standout portrayal of the wide range of women’s ingenuity.
Booklist


As in Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, the pleasure lies in giving in to well-wrought illusions, and the result is a beach read with meat on its bones - perfect for the Labor Day transition from play to work.
New York magazine/Vulture.com


The Miniaturist is one of the year’s most hyped novels, and it’s easy to see why. Burton conjures every scent and crackle of Nella’s world (A-).
Entertainment Weekly


Rich in 17th century atmosphere…Debut novelist Jessie Burton has a terrific subject... All those severe portraits of people in dark clothes and starched white ruffs, along with those glossy, death-scented still lifes, spring to life.
Cleveland Plain Dealer


The Miniaturist is a masterpiece of atmosphere and tension …. The themes Burton explores are as relevant today as they were long ago …. a thoroughly engaging, beautifully written work of historical fiction.
Washington Independent Review of Books


[A] sumptuous backdrop...about a young Dutch girl from the village of Assendelft...chosen to be the bride of...wealthy merchant with a shocking secret.... Strangely enough, however, the central mystery, the miniaturist’s uncanny knowledge of the future, is never solved, and the reader is left unsatisfied.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) A talented new writer of historical fiction evokes 17th-century Amsterdam, the opulent but dangerous Dutch capital, where an innocent young wife must navigate the intrigues of her new household.... With its oblique storytelling, crescendo of female empowerment and wrenching ending, this novel establishes Burton as a fresh and impressive voice.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
(The questions below were kindly submitted to LitLovers by Joanna Brown and Wendy Mazenauer, who developed them for their book club discussion. Thank you, Joanna and Wendy!)

1. In retrospect, we realise the identity of the very first character we meet in the church. She plays the part of a fleeting observer.  Does this allure to her importance in the story?

2. It wasn't a conventional marriage and initially, Johannes is very cold towards Nell. How did you perceive their marriage?

3. "Words are water in this city. One drop of rumour could drown us." says Marin. Discuss the irony of this statement.

4. Peebo's escape could almost be marked as symbolic of events to come. Discuss?

5. In what way did Nella's discovery of her husband's homosexuality change her personality?

6. What part does Cornelia play in the narrative? How does her cooking add to this?

7. Throughout the novel, Nella is often referred to as "childlike". In what way would you say this is so? How do we see her mature?

8. When Nella discovers that the Miniaturist is a woman, her whole perception of the person changes. Discuss this and the effect that the Miniaturist has on the storyline.

9. Given Miren's puritanical exterior, how do you feel about her more worldly, private acceptance of her brother's homosexuality and her own secret life?  Does she gain your respect?

10. How do Nella's feelings towards Johannes change as the story progresses?

11. Do you see Johannes as a victim or a hero?

12. In this novel we are confronted with the still-life subject matter of the Dutch painters during the 17th century. These painters were often depicting political innuendoes. How does this subject matter (‘natures mortes’—death in life: rotting fruit with insects crawling through it; slaughtered animals; dying plants etc) relate to the state of Holland at that time? Think also of the starling trapped in the church; the moulding sugar and the phrase “things can change."
(Questions kindly submitted by Joanna Brown and Wendy Mazenauer, two LitLovers readers.)

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