Yellowstone National Park
Pairs Well with The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
When you spend twelve plus hours on the road with your entire family, you need a soothing distraction. Allow me to introduce you to America’s favorite actor, Tom Hanks, the Audible narrator for “The Dutch House” by Anne Patchett. Coming in at just under ten hours, this audiobook will numb the edges of your boredom.
Tom Hanks is also excellent to drown out the trash talk from the back seat. It only took a few hours in the car for my usually sweet middle school daughter to crack under her brother's bullying. "I want to hit you until you're dead," she growled in a demon-possessed tone. I could have inserted myself into the middle of that mess, but I picked the easy solution: cranking Woody from “Toy Story” up to full volume.
While the choice of narrator is excellent, the content is too. Here’s a summary from Goodreads:
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.
The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.
Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.