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c_joy___'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
Minor: Addiction, Car accident, and Cursing
quinn24's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Racial slurs, Death, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Sexual content
rebeccaquinton's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Vomit, Violence, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Child abuse, Bullying, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Grief, Addiction, and Alcohol
viccocha's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racial slurs, Child abuse, Sexism, Murder, Cursing, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief
coriblake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Racial slurs
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Homophobia
muukhom's review
- 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
4.75
The length of the book kinda overwhelmed me at first but now that I finished it, it was not a long boring book with useless description or sub-plot. It was, in fact, a really fascinating book. Although I find that some part could be cut off but it was not irritating and still enjoyable. Would definitely reread it some time.
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug use, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Blood, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Medical trauma
emmakvc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, and Alcohol
loribeth1961's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
libraryofpeculiar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The writing wasn't bad, but the story kept on dragging on and on and on. The pace was painfully slow. I wasn't really interested in things that were going on, and the fact I've seen the movie before reading didn't contribute to this since I already knew what was going to happen.
I also found Theo to be incredibly stupid, and his several existential crisis had me soooo annoyed. Dunno, this book didn't really give me any pleasure whatsoever... I can't say that it was a bad book, but simply nothing in it happened to be my cup of tea. The movie was better because it cut out all the boring and unnecessary parts, which was like a good portion of the book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
maddalenacesco's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship