This review might contain spoilers.
And the moral of this toy story is: If you're beautiful and absolutely, positively, so full of yourself, you can treat others however you want, be as thoughtless, narcissistic, selfish and rude as you want, and you will be rewarded with all you've always wished for, even if you've literally committed murder.
'The Doll's House' has a few cute and charming moments, but it's mostly about how that dollhouse is remade after decades in the loft, and how the two little girls, Emily and Charlotte, go about it all, and I got bored. There isn't really a plot to speak of; as Homer Simpson would say, "It's just a bunch of stuff that happens." I liked some of the characters, even though the dolls do come across as ungrateful and demanding of their young owners, but I especially do not like Tottie, the main doll. She is meant to be old, wise, gentle and calm, but she comes across as self-righteous, pushy, bossy and unfeeling.
The book can be read in a day, it is a very simple and fast read. But the narrative is largely condescending to its target audience; explaining what certain words mean, even words that a toddler would know, repeating established facts over and over again, actually telling the reader what to remember, what page to remember when things had happened, and what the characters are like, over and over again, and why the reader should care, etc. There is a reason why good children's authors don't do this anymore. At least I hope none of them would even think of doing it nowadays. I keep saying: Show, don't tell, and respect your audience's intelligence.
Not a pleasant and satisfying read, I'm afraid. I might have been more forgiving of its major flaws if it weren't for that ending, with its unfortunate implications. Recommended only if you're looking to read every example of classic children's literature ever. Don't expect much here.
Final Score: 0.5/5
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