Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Completely life changing. I love Boris and Theo together. I love Hobie and I love Pippa. I love art. What glory and privilege to love what Death doesn't touch
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship
3,5 or 4,5 -so four?
“That life - whatever else it is - is short. That fate is cruel but maybe not random. That Nature (meaning Death) always wins but that doesn’t mean we have to bow and grovel to it. That maybe even if we’re not always so glad to be here, it’s our task to immerse ourselves anyway: wade straight through it, right through the cesspool, while keeping eyes and hearts open. And in the midst of our dying, as we rise from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn’t touch.”
Throughout this tome - I’ve been one chapter away from writing it a love letter or a breakup text - because it has started like a great party and sort of ended with the cake falling on the floor, but then Tartt took a slice from the cake, tasted it, nodded and said "yaaaaa boi let us conclude". So, undeniably, this work is brilliantly written -immersive prose pulling you in no matter how exhausted you might be by the plot's digressions.
The Goldfinch is the kind of novel that feels so immersive that it forces you to walk alongside the main character - you are breathing the same air, feeling the same anxieties and dealing with the same highs and lows as Theo Decker because the first person perspective she uses is so rich in introspection that you can personally feel every sensory detail - a perspective so vivid, it's almost exhausting. While reading this, you're not only a spectator watching the plot develop, you are transported inside of it, feeling each dust particle, the texture of the street below your feet, the weight of the furniture described. (yes, it does sometimes feel heavy as if it lingers too long, slowing down the pacing and as a consequence indirectly forcing you to grow impatient, wanting to move forward action wise).
One thing that stood out - as I've also read previously-, is the number (sort of overwhelming) of motherless children in the book - Theo, the main character, loses his mother at a young age , aspect that serves as a catalyst for the entire story. However, most characters that seem to have a weight on Theo's development seem to share the same parental situation, which makes me wonder if it's a deliberate motif to emphasize the loneliness and instability of youth because it verges on excessive, taking away from the complexity of it, making the story lean too heavily on this repeated trauma.
Of course there are cliches, which makes me wonder - are these intentional? The troubled artist, the charming rogue, the privileged elite, the lost child in search for meaning - all of them making you consider whether they are deliberate and placed there for the readers' deconstruction, or do they simply exist for the novel's great aesthetic?
One of the aspects I found most entertaining about the novel is Boris, Theo's best friend (I would say, I am not sure it was specifically stated) - because he is delightfully chaotic and unrealistic. He is charismatic - a magnet to not only people, but also to unplausible situations - and endlessly resourceful, even if his linguistic abilities push the limits of believability given his age - his entire person is built in such a way that you cannot help yourself but love him, despite how implausible he seems.
A major theme that the novel handles , with both rawness and intrigue, is substance abuse - Tartt seems to not shy away from the darkness of addiction, and it raises the question of how do you ever escape such thing when it is ingrained in your life from such an early stage ? Spoiler alert: the novel doesn't offer any easy answers, as Theo seems to struggle relentlessly and there seems to be a looming shadow over the main character that whispers in his ear that he is never going to be fully free of his vices. The realism in how Tartt portrays Theo's addiction is so gut-wrenching that it makes his character even more compelling.
Despite some of its slow sections (yes, many) The Goldfinch keeps you hooked (pun intended) - there is just something about Theo's journey that makes you want to follow him, even when not knowing where it is headed. The unpredictability of the plot, the way the author leads you in one direction only to steer unexpectedly, is what makes this novel so engaging - because it mirrors not only Theo's, but one's own life's lack of control over his fate.
Keep in mind, it's a book that asks the reader for patience, but the journey it offers is one that lingers long after the last page is turned. It is a doorstopper, as people have called it, and, at the end of the journey, or long after, you question whether you enjoyed it or did you simply commit to it to the point where you lost track of your enjoyment altogether?
“That life - whatever else it is - is short. That fate is cruel but maybe not random. That Nature (meaning Death) always wins but that doesn’t mean we have to bow and grovel to it. That maybe even if we’re not always so glad to be here, it’s our task to immerse ourselves anyway: wade straight through it, right through the cesspool, while keeping eyes and hearts open. And in the midst of our dying, as we rise from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn’t touch.”
Throughout this tome - I’ve been one chapter away from writing it a love letter or a breakup text - because it has started like a great party and sort of ended with the cake falling on the floor, but then Tartt took a slice from the cake, tasted it, nodded and said "yaaaaa boi let us conclude". So, undeniably, this work is brilliantly written -immersive prose pulling you in no matter how exhausted you might be by the plot's digressions.
The Goldfinch is the kind of novel that feels so immersive that it forces you to walk alongside the main character - you are breathing the same air, feeling the same anxieties and dealing with the same highs and lows as Theo Decker because the first person perspective she uses is so rich in introspection that you can personally feel every sensory detail - a perspective so vivid, it's almost exhausting. While reading this, you're not only a spectator watching the plot develop, you are transported inside of it, feeling each dust particle, the texture of the street below your feet, the weight of the furniture described. (yes, it does sometimes feel heavy as if it lingers too long, slowing down the pacing and as a consequence indirectly forcing you to grow impatient, wanting to move forward action wise).
One thing that stood out - as I've also read previously-, is the number (sort of overwhelming) of motherless children in the book - Theo, the main character, loses his mother at a young age , aspect that serves as a catalyst for the entire story. However, most characters that seem to have a weight on Theo's development seem to share the same parental situation, which makes me wonder if it's a deliberate motif to emphasize the loneliness and instability of youth because it verges on excessive, taking away from the complexity of it, making the story lean too heavily on this repeated trauma.
Of course there are cliches, which makes me wonder - are these intentional? The troubled artist, the charming rogue, the privileged elite, the lost child in search for meaning - all of them making you consider whether they are deliberate and placed there for the readers' deconstruction, or do they simply exist for the novel's great aesthetic?
One of the aspects I found most entertaining about the novel is Boris, Theo's best friend (I would say, I am not sure it was specifically stated) - because he is delightfully chaotic and unrealistic. He is charismatic - a magnet to not only people, but also to unplausible situations - and endlessly resourceful, even if his linguistic abilities push the limits of believability given his age - his entire person is built in such a way that you cannot help yourself but love him, despite how implausible he seems.
A major theme that the novel handles , with both rawness and intrigue, is substance abuse - Tartt seems to not shy away from the darkness of addiction, and it raises the question of how do you ever escape such thing when it is ingrained in your life from such an early stage ? Spoiler alert: the novel doesn't offer any easy answers, as Theo seems to struggle relentlessly and there seems to be a looming shadow over the main character that whispers in his ear that he is never going to be fully free of his vices. The realism in how Tartt portrays Theo's addiction is so gut-wrenching that it makes his character even more compelling.
Despite some of its slow sections (yes, many) The Goldfinch keeps you hooked (pun intended) - there is just something about Theo's journey that makes you want to follow him, even when not knowing where it is headed. The unpredictability of the plot, the way the author leads you in one direction only to steer unexpectedly, is what makes this novel so engaging - because it mirrors not only Theo's, but one's own life's lack of control over his fate.
Keep in mind, it's a book that asks the reader for patience, but the journey it offers is one that lingers long after the last page is turned. It is a doorstopper, as people have called it, and, at the end of the journey, or long after, you question whether you enjoyed it or did you simply commit to it to the point where you lost track of your enjoyment altogether?
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've never spent so long reading a book that I feel so apathetic about. I almost stopped reading like 5 times, but then something vaguely interesting would happen and I'd keep going until I got bored again and then the cycle continued.
The writing was really good. Gorgeous prose, the dialogue felt believable, the settings were really visual and interesting. I even liked the plot a good amount. When Boris showed up and told him what he'd done, I was totally blindsided, loved the twist, thought it was really well set up. 10/10
Idk by all accounts the book was good. I just didn't personally connect to anyone or anything. Not the art, not the characters, Theo was actually the worst, Boris was awful, Kitty was strange. Theo's obsession with the red headed girl was insane. I just didn't give a fuck about what happened to anyone. It was kind of a slodge to get through for me and I genuinely don't understand the hype around this book. It was solid, but I'm more glad to be done with it than I ever was during reading it.
The writing was really good. Gorgeous prose, the dialogue felt believable, the settings were really visual and interesting. I even liked the plot a good amount. When Boris showed up and told him what he'd done, I was totally blindsided, loved the twist, thought it was really well set up. 10/10
Idk by all accounts the book was good. I just didn't personally connect to anyone or anything. Not the art, not the characters, Theo was actually the worst, Boris was awful, Kitty was strange. Theo's obsession with the red headed girl was insane. I just didn't give a fuck about what happened to anyone. It was kind of a slodge to get through for me and I genuinely don't understand the hype around this book. It was solid, but I'm more glad to be done with it than I ever was during reading it.
“You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life.”
That's this book. That's The Goldfinch. A story that will stay with me all my life.
The Goldfinch was, to me, an incredibly vivid, beautifully descriptive and emotional journey from the first page until the last. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for three years, and now I wish I had delved in sooner. I'm going to go all over the place here, but I loved this book so much I had to say something.
From the moment Theo Decker introduces himself to us, I felt like I was with him, I walked beside him through New York, lost myself in Las Vegas and was on edge with him in Amsterdam. His raw grief, his constant fear and loneliness were palpable. Theo has become one of the few literary characters I can find myself resonating with in a way in which I cannot describe. There is a realness to his experience, to the grief that follows you years after you lose the person who shaped your world, to the loneliness and feeling of being on the outside looking in.
Donna Tartt evokes vivid imagery, writing with such elegant prose that creates a story and characters so moving that I was left with a sense of hollowness upon finishing the story.
This book has been criticized for its length, it is a long book, at 864 pages that is undeniable. To me though it never felt overdrawn nor did I feel like pages were there just for the sake of padding. Every sentence, every description, every memory discussed, every emotion conveyed added something unique to Theo's journey. These moments, whether they added significantly to the plot or not, added such a depth, authenticity and character to the novel that simply enhanced its magic.
I'm struggling to find the words, but The Goldfinch has become an instant favourite of mine, I was drawn to Theo's story, I felt his emotions and I feel them still. It is a journey that I would embark on again, and one that I will not soon forget.
Basically, The Goldfinch has stolen my heart and I love it dearly for it.
That's this book. That's The Goldfinch. A story that will stay with me all my life.
The Goldfinch was, to me, an incredibly vivid, beautifully descriptive and emotional journey from the first page until the last. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for three years, and now I wish I had delved in sooner. I'm going to go all over the place here, but I loved this book so much I had to say something.
From the moment Theo Decker introduces himself to us, I felt like I was with him, I walked beside him through New York, lost myself in Las Vegas and was on edge with him in Amsterdam. His raw grief, his constant fear and loneliness were palpable. Theo has become one of the few literary characters I can find myself resonating with in a way in which I cannot describe. There is a realness to his experience, to the grief that follows you years after you lose the person who shaped your world, to the loneliness and feeling of being on the outside looking in.
Donna Tartt evokes vivid imagery, writing with such elegant prose that creates a story and characters so moving that I was left with a sense of hollowness upon finishing the story.
This book has been criticized for its length, it is a long book, at 864 pages that is undeniable. To me though it never felt overdrawn nor did I feel like pages were there just for the sake of padding. Every sentence, every description, every memory discussed, every emotion conveyed added something unique to Theo's journey. These moments, whether they added significantly to the plot or not, added such a depth, authenticity and character to the novel that simply enhanced its magic.
I'm struggling to find the words, but The Goldfinch has become an instant favourite of mine, I was drawn to Theo's story, I felt his emotions and I feel them still. It is a journey that I would embark on again, and one that I will not soon forget.
Basically, The Goldfinch has stolen my heart and I love it dearly for it.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd been putting off reading this book for years after picking it up at a garage sale because a) it was massively hyped, and b) I didn't like the similarly hyped The Secret History anywhere near as much as I expected. Luckily, I ended up really appreciating this book, despite its very slow pace and long periods dwelling on dark themes such as grief, child neglect/abuse, and addiction. It did drag in places (especially the Vegas section) and felt overly long overall - by the time I got to the waffly part of the ending after all the action was over, I found myself impatiently reading as fast as possible just to be able to finally finish this massive tome.