Review: Nine Open Arms

Nine Open Arms by Benny Lindelauf
Published by Allen and Unwin Australia
Format Reviewed: Paperback
Publication Date: 1st February 2014
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Pages: 272
Reviewed by: Eugenia
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars
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An intriguing novel with a classic feel, featuring three vividly alive young sisters, an eccentric family struggling against the odds, and the slowly revealed story of a house with a past. 

It is the summer of 1937, and it hasn't rained for seven weeks when eleven-year-old Fing and her family of nine move into Nine Open Arms, along with their handcart of meagre belongings. 'The Dad' is a man who does all kinds of jobs and none of them well, while Oma Mei courageously holds everything together, including the family's history in her Crocodile bag full of pictures and stories. But as the year progresses, the family just gets poorer. 

Meanwhile, Fing and her two sisters, wild Muulke and fearful Jess, begin to discover strange mysteries...a bed that looks like a tombstone, an unmarked grave in the cemetery...until at last the story of those who came before begins slowly to emerge. In the end, Fing learns that love and stories are her family's wealth. Nine Open Arms is an exceptional imagined historical mystery - the story of a very special home, the eccentric families who have lived within it, and the unexpected ties that emerge between the two...

Thank you to Allen and Unwin Australia for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review


I found Nine Open Arms to be an interesting read with its own unique charm. Set in the 1930's near the German border, it explores the lives of the people who live in the house named as 'Nine Open Arms'. Set in both the past and present, this book explores how one house can have so much history (and mystery) behind it. 

The story follows the lives of Fing, her sisters Jess and Muulke and the rest of their family of nine who moved into the house. The relationship Fing has with her sisters and the differences in their characteristics was done really well. The whole family aspect and trying to stick together when times got tough was also interesting, and heartwarming as well. If you are expecting a novel with a fast pace and action, then this won't be for you. Instead, it focuses more on the words itself, with some lovely descriptions along the way. I did find it a bit hard to get into at first, but the writing style does grow on you with its charms of having 'tragical tragedies' and the significance of why the house is called 'nine open arms' in the first place.

The 'mystery' element of the book was also quite intriguing, and had little bits of the house's history brought in along the way. Eventually, everything does come together and makes sense. The connections with the characters and their actions were made in the end, and fit in with the beautifully written storyline. There was a gradual build-up to all of this, and the story progressed at a slow pace where you may not even realise it is moving forward at all. I did find it a bit slow at times, but for middle-grade readers who are looking for a story that is still engaging, this shouldn't be a problem. 

Having the story split up into three parts to make more sense of the back-story to the house was a good addition. It goes back into the 1800's in the middle to do this and explains some of the other important characters. It was a tad confusing to go backwards and forwards in time, but still interesting nonetheless. Another interesting perk to this book was since it is translated from Dutch, there is a glossary of some of the words that are still kept in the novel. I have never read a book that has been translated into English before, but it was very well written.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, although Nine Open Arms wasn't completely to my tastes, I still think it was a beautifully written novel. Middle grade readers who are interested in historical fiction with heart should find this an enjoyable read.