Sunday 12 April 2015

Review | The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

What You Need To Know:

Title: The Miniaturist  
Author: Jessie Burton
Number Of Pages: 434
Genres: Contemporary, Historical, Drama, Thriller
Publisher: Picador
Published: 3rd July, 2014

The Plot:

The Miniaturist is set in 1686 and follows the life of Nella Oortman, an eighteen year old girl who has just married a wealthy merchant called Johannes Brandt. In order to begin her new life as a merchant's wife, Nella moves to Amsterdam. 

Her new husband is not there to greet her when she arrives and instead is faced with his sister Marim, a cold and highly religious woman. Nella waits for her husband to return, so that their marriage can be made ... official. But when he arrives home, he does not join her in their marriage bed. 

Johannes is strangely distant, spending most of his hours in his study or out at the seas. But he does present her with an ornate wedding present: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. Following an order for three items from a local miniaturist, things begin to arrive. Exact replicas of all of the members of the household, and some of their ... acquaintances too. It's almost as if the miniaturist is predicting the future, or something like that. But that can't be possible, right?
My Thoughts On The Book:

I didn't buy this book for myself. I got it for my grandma for mother's day because she loves historical fiction, so I thought that it would be a really good book for her to read. However, she couldn't get into it at all. She tried reading it twice with no luck, so I was a bit unsure whether I would like it or not.  

However, instantly I got into it. There was something about the opening that struck me as being really ... really interesting. It starts with a section of foreshadowing. I love books like that, they let you know that something is going to happen but they don't tell you what it is. It instantly told me that I was going to like it!

I really got into the book and I found it myself becoming so engrossed in it. Most of it I read when I was waiting for my mum to finish teaching, I was sat at in a cafe and I was drinking my hot chocolate as I read. It was a good book, But as I got further engrossed into the book, I sort of forgot that I was in a cafe and really began to get into the book. Thankfully I was able to stop myself from freaking out completely about something that happens as I took a sip of my hot chocolate (almost scolding myself, might I add) and realised that I was in a cafe so had to keep very very calm. 

My favourite thing about this book is probably the twists that occur. None of them I could predict, but all of them were so amazing. The first big one I sort of thought could be a possibility but when it happened I was like dying slightly from trying to keep calm. 

The way it ended, I have to say, was a bit .... a bit disappointing. It was a bit too sudden really and I would have liked it to have been more well rounded. But other than that, it was fine. Well, it wasn't fine; I really did love it. By saying it was fine, I make it sound like I was disappointed but I wasn't; it really was an amazing book. 

Rating: 

I give this wonderful book **** :)

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
Book Total of 2015 - 20
XXX

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