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marianneiriss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you’ve read and enjoyed other long, slow, and at times frustrating books (for example, Crime and Punishment!), you like to read books with entirely unlikeable characters and unreliable narrators, and you don’t mind forays into odd, illogical, trains of thought and extremely long sentences - yes, definitely read The Goldfinch!
If you’ve read and enjoyed The Secret History, and you are hoping for something in the same vein of content/themes from The Goldfinch - I probably wouldn’t recommend it to you, because it’s honestly nothing like TSH, and I think you might be disappointed if you go into expecting it to be similar!
Personally, I thought that although it’s not an easy read, it was worth it. I’ve not been able to stop thinking about The Goldfinch since I finished last month.
I loved the lyrical writing - Donna Tartt has beautiful prose. And she captures this feeling of a kind of resigned despair so well, it pervades the entire book. I actually had to take a bit of a break from reading it at one point just to read something a bit less unhappy (I wouldn’t class this as ‘a sad book’ necessarily, but it is an unhappy book, at times desperately so). I’ve included some content warnings at the end of this review, and I would recommend looking into them before you decide to commit to reading The Goldfinch, as it does deal with heavy subject matter.
All this being said, I did think that it is a fantastic book overall, and if you’re currently battling through it I would recommend sticking with it, as you’ll be glad by the end that you did. Despite how frustrating it feels at times - I certainly felt like yelling at Theo “please, just don’t do that, just don’t” at multiple points! - it is well worth persevering with it.
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, Abandonment, and Infidelity
malebrina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Alcohol
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, Bullying, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity and Vomit
jazhandz's review against another edition
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Alcohol, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Minor: Bullying and Sexual content
WRT death, there's a lot of discussion of drowning.bucknife'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
nabila99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Addiction, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
_rowan_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Blood, Addiction, Violence, Alcohol, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Vomit, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, and Drug use
lydiajlong's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
•
This was the first fiction book I have read in a LONG time. And I love that I committed to this 700+ page adventure. Donna Tartt puts so many hard emotions and complex ideas in so many beautiful words and descriptions. You really fall for some of these characters, their faults and vices. I loved the larger discussion of life, meaning, and right and wrong. Appreciated this read and the journey Donna took us all on.
•
tw: I’d warn my younger friends of cursing, drug use, sexual content, violence, and references to death and grieving — chat with your guardian before picking this book up!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Infidelity, Murder, and Cursing
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
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
e_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Some entire chapters could have stood to be shorter, or cut out entirely. I didn’t mind the part in Vegas, because it sets up the rest of the book. I just think the whole book should have been a lot shorter.
The scene in Amsterdam was also a bit confusing—although possibly intentionally so? No doubt, Donna Tartt is a genius. Her descriptions are so incredibly beautiful, and she has the ability to craft such a complex plot with apparent ease. But this book still doesn’t top The Secret History. Maybe because the characters just weren’t as compelling. For example, the time skips were confusing to me because Theo’s narration style didn’t change, and he didn’t *feel* significantly older. I did find Boris interesting as a character though.
Also, there was the incredible amount of time spent covering Theo’s increasingly concerning drug problems. As one reviewer put it, “is there anything more boring than reading about someone else’s drug habit?” It was important for the plot, I’ll give you that. But man do we spend a lot of time just reading Theo’s narration of the many drugs he tries, starting at age 12? 13?
Donna Tartt’s writing style uses first person, which I particularly enjoy, but can be off putting if you aren’t a fan of that. Overall, maybe worth the read if you are a big fan of Donna Tartt. Otherwise, save yourself the time and read something else.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse
lucinotlucy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, and Gun violence