771 pages
Published Dec. 3, 2013 by Little, Brown and Company.
"The Goldfinch is a rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind....Donna Tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction."--Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review
Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity.
It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting …
"The Goldfinch is a rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind....Donna Tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction."--Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review
Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity.
It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.
As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.
The Goldfinch is a novel of shocking narrative energy and power. It combines unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and breathtaking suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher's calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is a beautiful, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.
Long. Too detailed on things that may not matter. Dense at times and too quick towards the end. I finished it more as a challenge to myself than for interest to know the end of the story.
I loved the first section. It was compelling and kept me eagerly reading, waiting to see what was about to happen. Theo was well depicted as a boy on the verge of adolescence, discovering a sudden interest in girls. And seeing the confusion and terror of the aftermath of the explosion through his eyes was outstanding.
But after that it stopped working so well. The writing was still good. There was just too much of it, with too much padding. So when, after slogging nearly to the bitter end, I read how Theo condensed the whole story - as much as possible - to tell to Hobie, I nearly cried. Why couldn't have Tartt done the same for us?
I think that, on the whole, this was a good book. But a brutal editor would have made it so much better.
I'd been ignoring the raves for this because it's so long, and I hadn't liked "The Little Friend" all that much. Then one of my book groups selected it, so I picked it up -- and read it over a weekend. It's suspenseful, beautiful, and emotional.
Carel Fabritius was a talented Dutch painter who was considered Rembrandt’s most gifted pupil. His paintings often featured delicately lit subjects against a light coloured background. He moved away from Rembrandt’s renaissance focus and developed his own painting style, with a strong interest in the technical. In 1654 he was injured in The Delft Explosion; 30 tonnes of gunpowder exploded destroying most of the city. Fabritius soon died from his injuries at the age of 32. Possibly one of the last paintings he ever painted, The Goldfinch depicts a goldfinch (a popular pet of the time) on light background. This piece shows his control over a heavily loaded brush as well as demonstrates his interest in lighting and texture.
Donna Tartt’s new novel The Goldfinch tells the story of Theo Decker, who survived a terrorist attack on a New York museum. Moments before the explosion his mother was pointing out …
Carel Fabritius was a talented Dutch painter who was considered Rembrandt’s most gifted pupil. His paintings often featured delicately lit subjects against a light coloured background. He moved away from Rembrandt’s renaissance focus and developed his own painting style, with a strong interest in the technical. In 1654 he was injured in The Delft Explosion; 30 tonnes of gunpowder exploded destroying most of the city. Fabritius soon died from his injuries at the age of 32. Possibly one of the last paintings he ever painted, The Goldfinch depicts a goldfinch (a popular pet of the time) on light background. This piece shows his control over a heavily loaded brush as well as demonstrates his interest in lighting and texture.
Donna Tartt’s new novel The Goldfinch tells the story of Theo Decker, who survived a terrorist attack on a New York museum. Moments before the explosion his mother was pointing out Fadritius’ painting and telling Theo why she loved it; in all the confusion Theo manages to take the painting. Orphaned and alone, Theo struggles to find his place in this world while also trying to avoid being taken by the city.
While The Goldfinch is essentially a coming of age story, there are some interesting social observations being played out with the help of the stolen painting. On one hand, the painting represents Theo’s love for his mother and his need to hang on. I also feel that the painting represents that part that you keep hidden from the world; the secrets and shames that you tend to think will destroy friendships if revealed. This also serves a purpose when it comes to Theo’s friendship with Boris further in the novel.
While this is a novel about art and its seedy underbelly, I found myself a little disappointed in the lack of art history, art forging or art heists (technically there is a heist but that wasn’t thrilling). When I discovered my love of literature and learning, I also discovered an interest in art and art history, an itch that I’ve not scratched. I was hoping that Tartt’s novel would give me both entertainment and art history lessons but I was left disappointed. I expected Desperate Romantics but all I got was a bulky Catcher in the Rye.
I’m not saying that I didn’t like The Goldfinch, my expectations for the novel was different to what I got. Donna Tartt spends a lot of time looking at the idea of terrorist attacks and the lasting effects they have on the families of the victims and survivors. This grief serves as a baseline for Theo throughout the novel. Often it can be forgotten about but then you catch glimpses of the scars that remain and while they don’t justify his behaviour it really serve as evidence of the emotional rollercoaster he is stuck on. Tartt’s character development is the key to this book; she has created richly complex and flawed characters that feel so real. Theo, in particular, serves as both the narrator and protagonist; his voice throughout the novel manages to be both direct and reflective.
Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch is complex but over padded; there is a lot that could be cut out to make this a shorter book. I can appreciate the way she captured the life of Theo Decker; making this a sweeping saga, packed with emotion and growth, still would be achievable with a hundred or more pages removed. This is a tragicomedy in every sense of the word but my biggest problem was that there were some situations where things resolved themselves a little too conveniently; it happens but not that often.
In the end, I found myself sitting on the fence with The Goldfinch. On one hand the characters and development of this novel was spectacular. The other hand is the fact my initial expectations weren’t met and the novel dragged on too much. I know that expectations should never get in the way of a good book and my head is telling me that I should jump on the bandwagon, however my heart just isn’t in it. I’ve heard good things about The Secret History but I have reservations about it now.
This review originally appeared on my blog; literary-exploration.com/2014/04/20/the-goldfinch-by-donna-tartt/
A major read, both in length and accomplishment. A gripping story with Dickensian feel. Telling Theo's life as a boy and young man is told in the first person, Tartt explores themes of friendship, acceptance and "Anything we manage to save from history is a miracle".
I loved this novel -- I'm hosting my book club tonight, and will definitely recommend it. Not only is the story exciting and well-paced (I had a hard time putting it down for the full 800 pages), but the characters are well-written and sympathetic, and the underlying message -- that life is full of surprising twists, and no matter how good or bad our intentions are, we can't predict how our decisions will play out over the long run -- was well-illustrated. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that the last chapter left such a bad taste in my mouth. It's an epilogue where the protagonist speaks directly to the reader with a "here's the moral of the story!" pedantry that would have been best omitted altogether. The rest of the novel makes it's point just fine: We're all little goldfinches, chained to the post of …
I loved this novel -- I'm hosting my book club tonight, and will definitely recommend it. Not only is the story exciting and well-paced (I had a hard time putting it down for the full 800 pages), but the characters are well-written and sympathetic, and the underlying message -- that life is full of surprising twists, and no matter how good or bad our intentions are, we can't predict how our decisions will play out over the long run -- was well-illustrated. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that the last chapter left such a bad taste in my mouth. It's an epilogue where the protagonist speaks directly to the reader with a "here's the moral of the story!" pedantry that would have been best omitted altogether. The rest of the novel makes it's point just fine: We're all little goldfinches, chained to the post of fate.
What I loved most about this book was the characterization: nearly everyone in the book has serious personal problems or bad character, and in a lesser book they would be difficult to sympathize with. In this book the characters are written so skillfully that even though you know they are terrible people, they are just so darn likeable.
Four-and-a-half stars. The book moves smoothly and quickly most of the time, marred by a few draggy spots, and an overly talky "this is what it all meant" ending. Definitely worth the praise it's been given.
This book was something of a trainwreck. It was entertaining and well-written, but the characters made such bad decisions that I cringed almost the entire time, wishing someone could save them from themselves. That said, I still found myself recommending the book because it's a creative tale. The only thing I would change is the ending. After dragging me through 30+ hours of story that was - at times - painful to listen to, I was hoping for a perfect ending... something that would seam it up beautifully or provide a huge payoff or something. Instead, the end just kind of fizzled.
Best book of 2013. Maybe the best book I've read since 2010.
First 350 pages were pretty great. As for the other 400, the less said the better.
It was indeed overwritten as I'd read critics say, but usually the content made it enjoyable anyway: interesting and disparate cities, family and class, early adolescent friendship, dealing with your own grief and how other people insinuate themselves in it. It's less enjoyable as the book goes on and culminates in a frustrating, heady conceit. It felt like she spent spent 700 pages getting at an idea and, having lost her nerve, spent the last few rhapsodizing instead, not giving the reader enough credit.
Except when it was too didactic/naively philosophical, I was completely sucked in. The details were never unbelievable, the dialogue, choices of slang, exotic subcultural references never incorrect. The reader will be convinced that the author's research required her to spend time as a suicidal, drug-using, depressed, criminal. And if she suffered for it, we fully appreciate her for going through with it.
In the midst of characters who forget their limitations, there are many moments of absolute perfection. They called pssst to me from the dark alley that I didn't think Hobie should be using as a metaphor. Boris, maybe. Or even Theo. But the uniqueness of the experience of beauty in the varying eyes of the various beholders along with the seeming simultaneous universality of the messages, except where they are only available to some of the people some of the time, is a true contradiction. And it's all …
Except when it was too didactic/naively philosophical, I was completely sucked in. The details were never unbelievable, the dialogue, choices of slang, exotic subcultural references never incorrect. The reader will be convinced that the author's research required her to spend time as a suicidal, drug-using, depressed, criminal. And if she suffered for it, we fully appreciate her for going through with it.
In the midst of characters who forget their limitations, there are many moments of absolute perfection. They called pssst to me from the dark alley that I didn't think Hobie should be using as a metaphor. Boris, maybe. Or even Theo. But the uniqueness of the experience of beauty in the varying eyes of the various beholders along with the seeming simultaneous universality of the messages, except where they are only available to some of the people some of the time, is a true contradiction. And it's all expressed (when it is) in a way that makes it a discovery, rather than a foregone conclusion.
Okay, I'm giving this book 5 stars even though I really feel like 4 1/2, just because Donna Tarrt is an excellent writer and I'm just gonna go ahead a let it officially read 5 stars. But why do I really think she only deserves 4 1/2? Well, the book kind of drags on a bit in some parts (could have easily been 50 pages shorter IMHO without losing anything). Not that her writing isn't gorgeous and poetic at all times because it is, only, well, sometimes less is better. Reading about someone's every little thought and reaction gets tiresome after a while. Especially when the character is just spinning his wheels, indecisive, fretting. Also some of the things that happen later in the book seem just a tad bit implausible... What do I know though? I think stealing art works would be the stupidest crime to commit. I mean …
Okay, I'm giving this book 5 stars even though I really feel like 4 1/2, just because Donna Tarrt is an excellent writer and I'm just gonna go ahead a let it officially read 5 stars. But why do I really think she only deserves 4 1/2? Well, the book kind of drags on a bit in some parts (could have easily been 50 pages shorter IMHO without losing anything). Not that her writing isn't gorgeous and poetic at all times because it is, only, well, sometimes less is better. Reading about someone's every little thought and reaction gets tiresome after a while. Especially when the character is just spinning his wheels, indecisive, fretting. Also some of the things that happen later in the book seem just a tad bit implausible... What do I know though? I think stealing art works would be the stupidest crime to commit. I mean what the hell do you DO with it??? Even so Tarrt manages to build up a whole world in this novel, believable, heart breaking, peopled by characters that will both charm you and exasperate and repulse you. Her world will draw you in and never be far from your thoughts even when you must leave her world and tend to your own. (sigh)
Oh yeah!
Donna Tarrt can write! She has a real gift for describing her characters, warts and all, completely understanding their motivations, longings, psychological quirks, a gift for plot lines that proceed in unexpected ways, her attention to detail and descriptions, as I said, poetic and dreamy. Her previous novel The Little Friend is much maligned here on goodreads and I just don't get it. That is one perfect book! Did we read the same book? Sometimes things don't resolve nicely. That's life. The Goldfinch resolves and the ending is tied up in a bow though, you can't miss it, so most people should be happy about that.
A worthy read. I highly recommend it.
