covingtonscollection's review against another edition
5.0
(Finally) finished reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt today. I’ll be honest, I started this book a few years ago and only made it 140ish pages in. I picked it back up last week, and realized that what I had heard about this book was true: “once you get to ‘this one point,’ you won’t be able to put it down.” Bonus Motivation: Ansel Elgort (
melissagohard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Loved the plot and overall vibe of the book but honestly it was about 300 pages longer than it needed to be. A lot of meandering and repetitive motifs. Still glad I read it but I think the emotional payoff would have been stronger with a more concise and tighter delivery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
danidesantis's review against another edition
4.0
The ending was a terrible disappointment. If the last 50 pages or so just didn't happen, this would be 5 stars from me.
mo_bookshelves's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
chloesmyth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Books like this one are the reason I love literature so much.
katyrc's review against another edition
So I read this. I spent a while thinking about this one before deciding not to rate it because I still don't know what I feel. I really enjoyed the beginning, but I found that the longer this novel went on the more my interest fluctuated. Sometimes I was super into it but other times I just wanted it to end. Sometimes I loved characters and other times I felt they acted like completely new people. I can recognise the sheer amount of work that Donna Tartt put into this but I'm not sure if it was worth it for me. Since I felt similarly about The Secret History, I think I'm going to give the rest of her works a miss.
thewritebooks's review against another edition
3.0
While being a perfectly good book, I was not blown away by The Goldfinch.
I think it was partially the meandering style of the writing along side the heavy drug and alcohol themes that detracted from my enjoyment overall.
Theo’s relationship with his mother was very sweet and this enabled some heartfelt connections later on in the book such as Hobie and Mrs Barbour. I found it impossible not to love Hobie, he was the perfect, gentle, father figure that Theo so missed out on as a child and the cluttered, homely descriptions of their shop and home were endearing.
As a hopeless romantic, the fact that Theo did not end up with neither Kitsey nor Pippa was disappointing especially since it seemed at the start that red-headed Pippa was going to be the thread tying Tartt’s story together (I clearly misread the intentions there).
All in all, I’m glad I read it despite it being heavy going and will endeavour to read The Secret History when I can.
I think it was partially the meandering style of the writing along side the heavy drug and alcohol themes that detracted from my enjoyment overall.
Theo’s relationship with his mother was very sweet and this enabled some heartfelt connections later on in the book such as Hobie and Mrs Barbour. I found it impossible not to love Hobie, he was the perfect, gentle, father figure that Theo so missed out on as a child and the cluttered, homely descriptions of their shop and home were endearing.
As a hopeless romantic, the fact that Theo did not end up with neither Kitsey nor Pippa was disappointing especially since it seemed at the start that red-headed Pippa was going to be the thread tying Tartt’s story together (I clearly misread the intentions there).
All in all, I’m glad I read it despite it being heavy going and will endeavour to read The Secret History when I can.
matthewosborne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
I really loved the middle 2/3 of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Car accident, and Death of parent