A review by lesbegays
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0

a very slow start, but it picked up a lot in the middle. the end kind of ground to a halt for me, though. the miniaturist adds an element of magical realism throughout the novel, and at the end gets pulled back down into realism while while also not being really explained. i wish that the book had either left that very open-ended and magical or given more detail, as the middle ground really doesn’t work for me. however, this was overall an interesting glimpse at a period in history i know literally nothing about. 
i never would have read this if not for it being a book club pick, but i don’t regret it. 
MAJOR content warning for societal homophobia of the sort you would expect from a puritan nation in the 1600s. 
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