Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

7 reviews

tuesdaydg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.0

There is no doubt that The Goldfinch is a thoroughly well-crafted novel. Is it incredibly long? Yes. Is it incredibly slow? Yes. Is the protagonist/narrator insufferable and infuriating? Yes. Yet, I can’t really seem to fault the novel for these elements. There is nothing wrong with a long, slow book with morally questionable characters. What I can fault it for, though, is my own personal experience spending time with the story and existing in the protagonist’s head. So, did I enjoy this novel? No, not really. I attribute this to an amalgamation of factors, from my own personal tastes to false expectations to the feelings Theo’s narrative elicited from me as I read (or listened, rather). I think I expected the “stolen artwork” theme to contribute a sense of adventure or even a fun thrill that would linger on each page. Instead, this theme creates a constant sense of dread and overwhelming stress which exudes from the pages. This, in combination with Theo’s

Spoiler

severe addiction to drugs and alcohol

, made my reading experience quite unpleasant. I have to commend the author for her ability to bring out such emotion, but I felt the the constant weight of this combination of elements seemed to become exhausting, so that the trudge through felt daunting rather than exciting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Grief, Addiction, Drug use, Alcoholism, Vomit, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Car accident

bugcollector's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

הסוף היה יפה, 
אבל אני לא בטוחה שזה שווה את עובי הכרך, שכלל עד הסוף המדובר רק רגשות חרדה, מועקה ודחק.

אני גם לא בטוחה אם באמת אהבתי אותו, או שהדרך הארוכה שעברנו ביחד הפעילה עליי מניפולציות. 
 
אפשר להשוות את קריאת הספר לצפייה בסרט אימה כשאתה קטן, מכסה את העיניים אבל עדיין מציץ מבעד לאצבעות כדי לראות. 

מומלץ למזוכיסטים, אוהבי אמנות, דמויות קשות לחיבוב, ותיאור יתר. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

dahaejoo's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt, Murder, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Suicidal thoughts

cstein's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Some racist humor/undertones that the 2022 reader should question. Tartt's description of the attack and its aftermath are moving and memorable, in contrast to later passages and conversations which feel rushed and underexplained. Interesting use of an unreliable narrator and a combination of several narrative styles. Generally entertaining.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Violence, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Vomit, Death, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Mental illness

Minor: Antisemitism, Classism, Medical content, and Trafficking

ladybergart's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Racism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Abandonment, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Addiction, and Death

Minor: Murder and Eating disorder

loribeth1961's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Back in the early 1990s, I read an amazing debut novel (that I keep meaning to re-read someday) called "The Secret History" by a talented young writer named Donna Tartt. Tartt went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 2014 for her third novel, "The Goldfinch." I bought a thick paperback copy that languished on the shelf, eventually to be replaced by an e-copy -- which I still hadn't gotten around to reading, until it was chosen by one of my online book clubs as our next read, covering both March & April (because of its 700+ page length -- my e-book copy, when set at a comfortable-for-my-eyes typesize & line spacing, was 1,400+!). (I still haven't read Tartt's second book, "The Little Friend.")

As the book begins, our protagonist/narrator, Theo Decker, is holed up in a hotel in Amsterdam, thinking back to the fateful day 14 years earlier when, as a 13-year-old in New York City, he and his mother decided to pop into the Metropolitan Museum of Art to kill some time before heading to an appointment -- at the same time that a massive explosion occurs -- a deadly terrorist attack.

Amid the chaos, Theo comforts a dying elderly gentleman, who gives him a ring and directs him to take one of the paintings (which happens to be his mother's favourite) -- a small, exquisite picture of a goldfinch, chained to its perch, by Dutch master Carol Fabritius (and it is an actual painting). Wrapped in newspapers and an old pillowcase, the priceless masterpiece -- the one thing he has left that connects him to his mother -- accompanies Theo over the next 14 years, as he moves from his mother's apartment and in with a friend's wealthy family on Park Avenue -- then to the completely alien environment of Las Vegas with his previously estranged father and his girlfriend -- then back to New York again (Greenwich Village).

First -- what I didn't enjoy: the book is very (VERY!) LONG, and very leisurely paced. Maybe it's a sign of our shrinking attention spans in the age of instant gratification, but it did feel like a bit of a slog at times. (At 700+ pages, shouldn't I be able to count it as two books read on Goodreads??)

(As an aside: Scanning the reviews of both the book and the movie version online, the word "Dickensian" kept popping up. There are some parallels in the sprawling, meandering, twisting plot, and large cast of colourful characters -- and one of the characters references Dickens, drawing a parallel between another character and the Artful Dodger from "Oliver Twist" -- but most especially the length!)

It's all well written, but some of the material felt extraneous -- there's a lot that probably could have been cut or condensed. Also, there are lots of foreign words & phrases throughout, which was slightly annoying, because I felt like I either had to stop reading and start typing into Google Translate, or keep reading but possibly miss out on a key piece of information, or at least some little nugget that would add to my understanding &/or enjoyment of the novel.

Still. Just when I felt like things were going nowhere, they would pick up again -- and I'd keep on reading.

What I enjoyed about this book: Tartt really is an amazing writer. The characters are all vividly drawn. As I said, I kept reading -- because I wanted to know what happened to Theo, and his best friend -- the charismatic rogue Boris (who -- timely footnote -- is Ukrainian); and to Hobie, the kindly craftsman and expert restorer of antique furniture, who gives Theo a home and a future; and Pippa, a fellow survivor of the terrorist attack, and Theo's dream girl; and the Barbour family, and more. (Apparently Luke Wilson plays Theo's dad in the movie version -- and I can see that -- but really, the only person I could envision as I read the book was a young Michael Douglas. ;) ) The descriptions of New York City and Las Vegas were cinematic. And Tartt's descriptions of the lingering effects of grief and loss, trauma/PTSD, guilt and anxiety, all of which hang over and colour the entire book, are BANG ON. There are several coincidences and plot twists that, while somewhat improbable, also keep things interesting.

So -- not 5 stars. There were parts of the book where I was thinking 3.5, but I wound up bestowing a solid 4. I will look forward to our upcoming discussion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Child abuse, Injury/injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Excrement

badmom's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Violence, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Car accident, Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abandonment, Classism, Gun violence, and Bullying