'The Miniaturist' - Jessie Burton

People always say don't judge a book by its cover, but the cover for this book was a hard one to miss, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it's the main reason that I bought it. A great choice, it turns out, since it was then awarded Waterstones' Book of the Year 2014, as well as being nominated for various other prizes. I've only just gotten around to reading it, despite buying it in hardback last year, and found it very difficult to put down. Fortunately, I had it with me for the flights to and from Barcelona, so there was no need to put it down in a hurry.

It starts off with the end, in late 17th Century Amsterdam, before bringing us back to the beginning of the story, revealing the sequence of events which took place. Nella Oortman knocks on the door of the house of her new husband, successful merchant trader Johannes Brandt, a man she has only met once before. Following a wedding gift from him of a miniature replica of the house she now lives in, she writes a letter to a miniaturist, ordering small items to go inside. However, the miniaturist starts sending more than what Nella asked for, ominous items that seem to be predicting the future.

It sounds intriguing, and it was at first. Despite a slow start, Burton is soon building a mystery for us surrounding Johannes Brandt and the miniaturist; however, Brandt's secret is too easy to guess, and the reason the miniaturist's secret isn't easy to guess is that there is no secret at all. It's a dead end, with no explanation, leaving me feeling disappointed by the last page, wishing that there was another chapter to save it. This is not the only evidence of a first novel; the characters do not simply develop, they completely change. Maybe this is what Burton wanted after what the characters had been through, but I found it lacked strength, as though she started with a great idea but didn't know where to take it and lost her way.

Its saving grace is how well the novel is written, with elegant prose inviting beautiful images of Amsterdam with an incredibly unique and fresh story. Despite a slow start, Burton's skill soon leaves you enticed; with so many avenues that the story could go down, the book is at first completely unpredictable. It's just a shame that this enticement does not remain through to the last page. It's certainly a novel that I would recommend reading for the uniqueness and prose, just prepare yourself for the lacklustre ending!