The Miniaturist Review

After finishing The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton I couldn't wait to share my thoughts on here as I really got stuck into it and thought it might be something a few of you readers could be interested in too. I won't lie, the cover completely drew me in to begin with, along with the 'Haunting, magical and full of surprises' slapped right on the front, but luckily this wasn't a case of pretty cover, shitty book, so we're all good!


Okay, firstly the thing I love most about this book is that it's full of twists and turns and genuinely will surprise you at quite a few points. There's nothing worse than a boring, predictable storyline that feels as though it's just following some generic kind of structure making everything super easy to guess, but that is absolutely not what you will get with this book. I also love anything that sits within the haunted/magical genre as I've always found these types of novels really enjoyable to read, and anything that delves into the idea of the supernatural pulls me right in. There are definite hints of something magical or at least beyond the ordinary throughout, but I thought it was a bit of a shame that the goings on weren't explicitly explained at any point. There's so much mystery involved in the book but by the end of it you aren't really any wiser as to why what happened happened, how it happened, or who the mysterious figure actually is (it's really hard to be concise about a book without giving anything away!).

Aside from a few loose ends, I thought that The Miniaturist was well written from start to finish and the characters were really well defined and easy to follow, each with their own complexities and secrets that made the story so compelling. In some aspect I suppose that the characterisation could appear a little lacking in comparison to other heavier novels that I've read, but I don't think it's an issue because the style actually suited the story well. Burton did a great job of creating the 17th century Amsterdam setting and it was really easy to get into with loads of strong imagery, especially when it came to their house (which is what you'd expect from such a striking front cover).

Overall, I would absolutely recommend giving this book a read despite the fact that the ending isn't particularly strong. I know that might sound a bit strange because the ending is kind of the focal point of a book, but if you missed out on all the rest of the novel just because of that then you would be making a big mistake!

Have you read The Miniaturist yet? What did you think of it if you have? Also, please do share any recommendations of books you think I might like as I always love discovering something new!

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