The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Just finished reading ‘The Miniaturist‘ a novel which I borrowed from my friend. It is one of the most hyped novels and I couldn’t wait to lay my hands on it. Is it worth the hype? And the answer is Yes! 

The Miniaturist is English author Jessie Burton‘s debut novel. It was published in 2014. It took her over four years to write this book. The novel was inspired by Petronella Oortman’s doll’s house on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It’s a work of fiction and not a biographical novel. 

Set in 17th century  Amsterdam, The Miniaturist tells the story of Nella Oortman, an eighteen-year-old newlywed who arrives at her husband’s grand house in Amsterdam to begin her life as the wife of a wealthy merchant.

Nella’s husband is kind yet distant from her. Nella’s world changes when her husband presents her with a wedding gift that happens to be a cabinet-sized replica of their home.

To furnish her cabinet-sized home, Nella engages the services of an elusive miniaturist whose miniature creations mimic and predict upon the events unfolding in her new household.

As Nella slowly uncovers the secrets of her new household, she realizes the surging dangers that they are about to face. And she wonders if the miniaturist holds everyone’s fate in her hands.

The Miniaturist is a beautifully written novel. I found the novel very intriguing, mesmerizing and gripping. It is an unmissable novel.

Some of the quotes that I liked from this novel:

“In suffering we find our truest selves.”

“Every woman is the architect of her own fortune.”

“Pity,unlike hate,can be boxed and put away.”

“The rules of this house are written in water. I must either sink or swim.”

“Everything man sees he takes for a toy. Thus is he always, forever a boy.”

“I feel younger than eighteen but burdened as a eighty-year-old.”