The Miniaturist

By Jessie Burton.

[There is 

nothing hidden 

that will not be revealed...

On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old 

Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand 

house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. 

She has come from the country to begin a 

new life as the wife of illustrious merchant 

trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met 

by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later 

does Johannes appear and present her with 

an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized 

replica of their home. It is to be furnished by 

an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations 

mirror their real-life counterparts in 

unexpected ways...

Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of 

the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its 

secrets she realises the escalating dangers that 

await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their 

fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their 

salvation or the architect of their downfall?

Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with 

heart-pounding suspense, The Miniaturist is 

a magnificent story of love and obsession, 

betrayal and retribution, appearance 

and truth.]

I was really rather confused by this whole book.

Not confused as in I didn't know what was going on, because I did. 

But confused because the title is The Miniaturist, and, yes, a miniaturist did feature in the book but not nearly as much as I thought she would do. 

I kind of didn't see the point in her even being in the book, she had no impact whatsoever really and it was all left in the air as to what or who she really was. 

In fact, she had completely disappeared by the end, crucial moments of the plot, so I'm baffled.

I enjoyed the setting. Amsterdam sounds like such a beautiful and enchanting place and the style this was written in was perfect.

I loved Burton's character development as well. She really knows how to show all of their underlying flaws even among their more boisterous traits.

I was a little unhappy overall about the plot. It didn't seem to go anywhere at all for quite a while and then everything suddenly happened at once and it all seemed quite random.

The ending also left me feeling a little deflated and lost with two of the characters being killed off so suddenly (one more so than the other). 

I don't know why, but I presumed at least one of those two characters would survive, that the other characters would find a way to save them, but maybe that would be me hoping for a happy-ever-after ending when you don't always get them!

Another comment I would like to make, unrelated to the plot or characters, is about the actual bound print of this book. It is absolutely stunning. A friend bought me it as a present and I love the whole blue lining of each page and the floral endpapers. It's beautiful.

I wish I could have enjoyed this a bit more to be honest.



✌︎

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles, #1)

By Patrick Rothfuss.

Narrated by Rupert Degas.

Image From Goodreads

[Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the 
magically gifted young man who grows to be the 
most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a
troupe of travelling players, his years spent as a
near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his
daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a
legendary school of magic, and his life as a
fugitive after the murder of a king form a 
gripping coming-of-age story unrivalled in recent
literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand,
The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that
will transport readers into the body and mind of
a wizard.]

Oh my god, I am loving listening to audiobooks. Why did I not do this sooner?!

I can't believe distributing audiobooks is one of my main tasks at work and it took me a good six months before I even thought about, just maybe, listening to one myself. 

Duh, what an idiot.

The Name of the Wind is a brilliant, intriguing, fascinating read (or listen in my case).

So far, I can determine that it is about a young man's adventure through childhood alone - after an unfortunate, tragic event occurs to his family - and his ambition to get to the university, so that he can finally learn about (and I presume track down) the people that took his family away from him so soon.

It is longggggg (just over 28 hours worth), but it is so worth it. Every detail and minor action is thought of, it is so beautiful.

I did struggle initially to get to grips with it, but I think that's only because of it's quite complex story (to begin with) as you're thrown right into the middle of it and have to learn all these new characters and places and events and terminology that Rothfuss just made up.

I did enjoy Rupert Degas's reading though, he can do a multitude of voices very well and I can clearly tell all of the characters apart from this.

I also absolutely loved the characters. I got so drawn into their lives that - even though there wasn't a whole lot of action action - you're completely intrigued by all of the mundane events that goes on. 

You end up really really rooting for Kvothe as he always seems to get himself into some sticky situations. You also forget that the whole thing is pretty much him telling his story to a scribe, occasionally flitting back to the present day.

The friendships (and even the enemy-relationships) are beautifully done. There is humour and knowledge and disbelief all entwined. And even though Kvothe is meant to be in his mid-teens, I can't help but root for him to get the girl.

It does say in the blurb that he's a wizard and I would just like to clarify for anyone who wants to read this that he isn't a wizard in the sense like Harry Potter, but it is a story that includes an underlying magical theme. 

Basically, whatever you think you know of magical literature, put it aside and be prepared to get something fresh and fantastic. 

I can't believe this was all just one day of him telling his story with the promise overall of three days (obviously within this one day he has told the majority of his childhood and teenage years).

I am definitely hooked on wanting to know what happens next, following his story as he grows into his adult years can only get more interesting I believe! 

(I am currently about 15 hours into the sequel which is an astonishing 43 hours long!!)

Absolutely brilliant.