Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Goldfinch

This books reads like a modern Brothers Karamazov. Slow-paced and artful, it felt like sinful to leave it unfinished, and yet I had to read in small chunks. The plot is long and winding, and it seems very much driven by the events of the main character’s life, rather than one particular storyline or plot. Of course, this makes sense because

Theo reveals at the end that he composed this book originally as a series of letters to his dead mother

. This book speaks truthfully of childhood trauma, PTSD, and addiction, as well as questioning the purpose of art and objects, and broaching the unquestionable brutality of life. I would not recommend this book to the casual reader, as I myself had to commit specific time to reading it and did not often find myself *wanting* to read it. And yet, once I picked it up, I was engrossed, and there was never a time I considered not finishing it (hence several overdue notices from the library!). A final note, the last 20 or so pages are fairly “preachy,” which, while it bothers me in the abstract, I actually rather enjoyed reading. I will be thinking about this one for a while, and wish I had a seminar class with which to discuss.

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ashleymg99's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Overall, I loved the book. The Goldfinch is a love letter to art, and the profound effect it has on us. My only complaint is that some parts are very slow. However, these slow sections often crescendo into one short line that changes the trajectory of the whole story.

these points mimic the explosion that began our journey, often “dropping a bomb” on the reader - and often marks the death of a significant figure in Theo’s life. His Mother. Welty. His Father. Andy and Mr. Barbour. All these deaths are sudden, accidental, and tragic.

. If you like antiques, art crimes, nihilism, and found family, you’ll love The Goldfinch.

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nabila99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

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poppyinthebin's review

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

At first I had my doubts, actually for quite a while. Mainly because the book was so long and even at half way I felt that the plot hadn’t moved on much. However the ending of the book (around the last 200 pages) was incredible.

The ending in Amsterdam was fitting for the characters and showed the effects that drugs had on the characters. I loved that Theo was able to help Hobie with the payments and could travel freely.

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rebeccaquinton's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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e_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

This book was okay. Good, even. But it wasn’t great, and for a book to be THIS long, it needs to be great. I’m glad to have read it, but I wouldn’t read it again and wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to someone else.

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.

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casmurphy's review

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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glutenfreemaggie's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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