The Miniaturist question

Irritating book. The whole theme of the miniaturist was a con. We never learn how she has this prophetic power or manages to know intimately all about the house and family. She's just a cheap trick to load mystery into the book which was also a rip off of The Girl with the pearl earring.

I started off really enjoying this book Carrie but about half way through I got bored and lost interest. Not one I would recommend.

I enjoyed it :) But when I try to figure out what precisely did I enjoy, I can't tell. I loved the same atmosphere, which I feel looking on the paintings of Vermeer (one of my favourite painters). And I liked the way, which Nella was changing with time, maturing, her change from being yet another object in the house to being its axis.

The book was titled The Miniaturist as that was what people who made small dolls etc. were called then. I found this book slow to get going but once I got about half way I loved it. It was very sad and cruel the way they dealt with homosexuality. I found the ending very sad.

i liked the book. I think the minaturist, while a real character, was also a device to show how little people really know of those closest to them. Repeatedly we find that the main character is shocked when she finds out the truth about her family. And yet complete strangers outside the family know much more about them than they can conceive of. or maybe even, to be trite, 'it's a small world'?
You probably have to enjoy historical fiction to really want to get through this one. It is a bit long.

I thought the writing style was engaging, but I was very disappointed with the story. It was not at all what I expected.

I thought that the doll house was representative of Amsterdam at that time, and the way the entire community was aware of everyone's business. That people were always being watched and observed, being peered in on like they were in a dollhouse. There was a comment at the end about how Marin lived her life in private, how she refused to live it in the open where it could be observed. We did not learn how the miniaturist knew the details of other's lives, but the nature of very small communities is that amazing details of one's life become known.

I'm glad that I read the book, but I was left with many questions about the miniaturist. Like others have mentioned, the book was not at all what I expected. But, I found it to be an interesting read.

Funny, I hated the beginning and the end of this book but absolutely loved the middle. The whole scene with the dog just shocked me beyond belief! It was written in such a matter-of-fact style that it just sent chills down my spine. Not one to get emotionally upset when reading, but that one scene just tore me up!

I found the beginning of the book very boring -- innocent girl confused by new living situation. When the miniaturist came into the picture, I thought the book perked up a bit. But then I was disappointed by learning no more about her. The book was a letdown.

I thought it was really about the Brandt brother and sister, who were both very interesting in their ways. The narrator, Nella, is more of an observer than a protagonist, and what's weird is that the miniaturist is narrating to her, from an even greater distance. Hmmm... I'm not sure why, unless it's to keep her busy.

But Johannes and Marin Brandt... they were cool, very special people and it was very disturbing and upsetting the way it ended, for both of them.

Main problem, the time allotted, about four months, is just too short to bring about all the alleged transformations.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was so melodramatic (which I know isn't everybody's cup of tea), and scandalous that I couldn't help in some parts, think, 'this reminds me of Dynasty!' lol. All the whispering, hiding, keyhole spying and Marin was like a latter day Alexis Colby!
But I have to agree with many of the previous posts - I couldn't understand the point of the Miniaturist. I read the ending and the prologue twice and still couldn't get it. But it didn't seem to make any difference to my enjoyment of the book.