Reviews

Il cardellino by Donna Tartt

kjyles29's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

s_g_dorrity's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

nataliestorozhenko's review against another edition

3.0

Donna Tartt certainly has a way with words, but in my opinion, she may have overdone it a bit. The plot of the book was very slow, which I believe was due to the author's over-descriptive writing style. While it felt okay in the beginning, after about 200 pages, it started to feel like constant rambling and a never-ending stream of consciousness. Although it did manage to convey the claustrophobic and anxious terror that Theo was experiencing due to his secret, it could have been done in fewer pages. Towards the end, it felt like a huge sprint that left me exhausted and unwilling to participate in such a run in the future. Personally, I found "The Secret History" to be much superior with more compelling characters and themes that resonated with me. However, if you enjoy Tartt's descriptive nature and the way she plays with words, you may still enjoy this book.

marthadilley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

jbrownleo's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book! I think it was a wonderful and tragic story of a boy suffering through life and experiencing love and loss and friendship and struggling without guidance from a loving, caring and capable parental figure. I laughed, I cringed at the terrible decisions, my heart broke for the characters at times and the ending was perfectly realistic.
Unfortunately I do not feel the same about the movie...but the book was well worth the 700 plus pages!

fiona270's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad 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

darling_virgo's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

ayitskaty's review against another edition

5.0

Very beautiful writing and storytelling. So much detail and deep thoughtful writing that it makes you feel as high as Theo. 10/10

kieracaspall's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

sm_readsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Theo is a 13-year old boy whose mother dies in a terrorist explosion at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. In the chaos of the explosion, Theo escapes with his mother's favorite painting, The Goldfinch, a priceless Dutch masterpiece that becomes his secret treasure. This novel follows Theo into adulthood, through a series of tragedies and misadventures, until at last, he must face the consequences regarding the painting he stole. Besides being a coming of age story, this book includes the sub-genres of grief, love, loss mystery and suspense, and talks about the value of human life versus the value of art.

rating - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This book was amazing! Besides the intriguing plot which kept me hooked the whole book, this novel had some of the best imagery and description I have ever read. Every character was fully developed and had traits and backstories as complex and complicated as real people do. The one thing about this book that I didn't like was the length. It was 784 pages (1202 on Sora), and I found myself getting discouraged and annoyed with how long it was taking me to read. Nevertheless, I am so glad I did finish it strong and I highly recommend everyone to read this book. I haven't seen the movie yet but have heard incredible things about it :)