The House of Fortune

Book Title: The House of Fortune

Author: Jessie Burton

Series: The Miniaturist #2

Date Started: November 23rd 2023

Date Completed: December 30th 2023

Genres: Historical

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

When the BBC television adaptation of The Miniaturist finished, I remember asking when the next episode was - I was so sure that it couldn’t be Nella’s ending. I read the book as I’d loved the show so much, and felt similarly. While I loved it, there was always more story to tell, and now we have it.

What stands out most to me of Burton’s writing is how gorgeous the flow of prose is. It feels like water you’re floating through with almost no effort, spinning on its wheel to tell us the story like we’re in a dream. And the beautiful gentle magical realism, just like the first book, is there just to offer a few possibilities to the characters that would otherwise be out of reach (which is exactly what magical realism is for, and so rarely executed to proper affect).

There are some ways in which the story was a little predictable, but no less enjoyable. I found it especially interesting that, just as the characters do, I felt that my empathy for everyone’s position and understanding of the situation as a whole evolved throughout the book. To begin I felt far more aligned with Nella and found Thea frankly spoilt and naive, but by the end there’s a far more balanced and sympathetic view of everyone, and that’s really the point of the story itself. That’s really sophisticated writing to make a reader feel that, as well as understand.

The House of Fortune stands as it’s own story, though you probably do want to read The Miniaturist first for the full breadth of what’s going on. It does take a few steps away from the political core of the first novel, and is ultimately playing with lower stakes, but it’s more involved in generational trauma, different generations of women, and the moving landscape of time and how that affects how people are forced to evolve to prosper, and even just survive.