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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
long but entertaining, glad I got the audiobook otherwise I probably would have put it down and never picked it up again as it can get a little slow at times. I wouldn't put it on the top of any "to read" list but it's a good read if you have 32 hours to kill.
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We quickly learn that Theo's mother is dead, and that he is currently in a hotel room in another country. We then zoom back to the moments before Theo's mother died, the deadly incident itself, and then the repercussions in Theo's childhood. Theo is whipped from one wild (but plausible) narrative fascination to another. The lethal happening itself is wild, grand, horrific, and Tartt pauses on it and the little pieces surrounding it at ways that are reflective yet still hold a lot of tension that continually drives you forward.
Theo's childhood is in New York City, and it's beautifully drawn. Tartt focuses heavily on making sure we understand in exacting geographic detail what streets, subway stops, and buildings we are moving through and stopping at. It's fantastic to read through the world through Theo's nostalgic, childhood eyes, even when he is suffering. Also, I feel as if this is just a key feature of NYC, which is so heavily reliant on on-the-ground, up-close travel. When Theo is in Las Vegas and Amsterdam, the geographic details and zoomed-in descriptions unravel to focus on different aspects. For Las Vegas, it's the desert light and landscape, unspecific and sprawling. For Amsterdam, it's more about the people, conversations, and plot conflicts; things are coming to a conclusion at this point, and that atmosphere is less relevant to Theo and the reader.
As you can gather from just a description of the settings, The Goldfinch floats awkwardly in a world of privilege and wealth. Theo's family is privileged but is succumbing to money issues. Characters don't suffer from the problems of people of color within New York City. The rosy glow of NYC, Vegas, and a little bit of Amsterdam is further amplified but made awkward by the intense trauma that all of the characters are carrying. It's a lovely world knocked askew by the suffering. You can enjoy it all while knowing that things are going very poorly for most people existing here.
Which leads us to the side characters. It's not a family saga in terms of blood family. Theo grows his relationships and retains them, so we see side characters emerging and fading back repeatedly. It certainly enhances the feeling of a coming-of-age story in one of the greatest ways that I've experienced; we are watching Theo grow up, and then someone from Theo's childhood reemerges too. We see how they've become their own fully-formed human without him, they explain some of themselves, but ultimately, like Theo, we've missed some of their development and have this shadow person to contend with. It feels so remarkably realistic and fascinating, and I was delighted to see Theo maintain his connections with his past in this way. I was probably more enraptured with the side characters than I was with Theo at most points. Theo sits barely before us-- we lurk in his head and memories, and have access to so much of him. The side characters are experienced through Theo, seen, interacted with, but ultimately more mysterious.
But, to add another strength to Tartt's writing, we still see new glimpses of Theo through the side character's reflections. There are glittering, wholesome, eerie moments from Boris where he reflects from his perspective about moments we have seen and that Theo has not mentioned. This same thing occurs with Kitsy. We feels so intimate with Theo, watching quietly from behind his eyes and feeling content and somewhat smug with all of the knowledge we seem to have. It's a striking blow when the other characters come in with their memories and perspectives and throw us into doubt again.
A lovely novel both literary and tension-driven. Absolutely one of my favorites.
Theo's childhood is in New York City, and it's beautifully drawn. Tartt focuses heavily on making sure we understand in exacting geographic detail what streets, subway stops, and buildings we are moving through and stopping at. It's fantastic to read through the world through Theo's nostalgic, childhood eyes, even when he is suffering. Also, I feel as if this is just a key feature of NYC, which is so heavily reliant on on-the-ground, up-close travel. When Theo is in Las Vegas and Amsterdam, the geographic details and zoomed-in descriptions unravel to focus on different aspects. For Las Vegas, it's the desert light and landscape, unspecific and sprawling. For Amsterdam, it's more about the people, conversations, and plot conflicts; things are coming to a conclusion at this point, and that atmosphere is less relevant to Theo and the reader.
As you can gather from just a description of the settings, The Goldfinch floats awkwardly in a world of privilege and wealth. Theo's family is privileged but is succumbing to money issues. Characters don't suffer from the problems of people of color within New York City. The rosy glow of NYC, Vegas, and a little bit of Amsterdam is further amplified but made awkward by the intense trauma that all of the characters are carrying. It's a lovely world knocked askew by the suffering. You can enjoy it all while knowing that things are going very poorly for most people existing here.
Which leads us to the side characters. It's not a family saga in terms of blood family. Theo grows his relationships and retains them, so we see side characters emerging and fading back repeatedly. It certainly enhances the feeling of a coming-of-age story in one of the greatest ways that I've experienced; we are watching Theo grow up, and then someone from Theo's childhood reemerges too. We see how they've become their own fully-formed human without him, they explain some of themselves, but ultimately, like Theo, we've missed some of their development and have this shadow person to contend with. It feels so remarkably realistic and fascinating, and I was delighted to see Theo maintain his connections with his past in this way. I was probably more enraptured with the side characters than I was with Theo at most points. Theo sits barely before us-- we lurk in his head and memories, and have access to so much of him. The side characters are experienced through Theo, seen, interacted with, but ultimately more mysterious.
But, to add another strength to Tartt's writing, we still see new glimpses of Theo through the side character's reflections. There are glittering, wholesome, eerie moments from Boris where he reflects from his perspective about moments we have seen and that Theo has not mentioned. This same thing occurs with Kitsy. We feels so intimate with Theo, watching quietly from behind his eyes and feeling content and somewhat smug with all of the knowledge we seem to have. It's a striking blow when the other characters come in with their memories and perspectives and throw us into doubt again.
A lovely novel both literary and tension-driven. Absolutely one of my favorites.
Reading this book felt like running the NYC Marathon, although the latter is task I admittedly have no intention of ever attempting.
There were moments of transcendent beauty, but those were overwhelmed by the seemingly ceaselessly and grueling pounding of pavement.
The plot yawns on, spurred forward only by strings of coincidence and tragedy. I actually prefer character-driven stories over plot-driven stories, but the characters here were hollow, with little depth or motivation. The characters seem to be divided into three broad categories: the rich elite who relate to art as collectibles, a means to signal status; the middle class who could never own fine are, but can truly appreciate it; and the trashy poor who live in the world of reproductions and false glitz— in a heavy-handed move, they literally reside in Las Vegas.
The human relationship to art and objects is central to the book, but the attempt to moralize grew tiresome well before the end of its 770 pages. By about 60% through the book, I no longer cared about the story, the characters, or the outcome. I was bored, disinterested, and weary of the constant and flat depictions of drug use. By the final pages, I felt the elation of approaching the finish line, and Theo’s bizarre extended monologue on the inevitability of death felt like a final uphill push, an annoying final hurdle to get through. And when I finally finished, I wanted someone to give me a medal and shiny space blanket.
There were moments of transcendent beauty, but those were overwhelmed by the seemingly ceaselessly and grueling pounding of pavement.
The plot yawns on, spurred forward only by strings of coincidence and tragedy. I actually prefer character-driven stories over plot-driven stories, but the characters here were hollow, with little depth or motivation. The characters seem to be divided into three broad categories: the rich elite who relate to art as collectibles, a means to signal status; the middle class who could never own fine are, but can truly appreciate it; and the trashy poor who live in the world of reproductions and false glitz— in a heavy-handed move, they literally reside in Las Vegas.
The human relationship to art and objects is central to the book, but the attempt to moralize grew tiresome well before the end of its 770 pages. By about 60% through the book, I no longer cared about the story, the characters, or the outcome. I was bored, disinterested, and weary of the constant and flat depictions of drug use. By the final pages, I felt the elation of approaching the finish line, and Theo’s bizarre extended monologue on the inevitability of death felt like a final uphill push, an annoying final hurdle to get through. And when I finally finished, I wanted someone to give me a medal and shiny space blanket.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No. I enjoyed about 400 pages of this book, and let could have easily done without the remainder. I'd love to read an abridged version of this. I literally skimmed the last hundred pages, and this was the best decision I made regarding this book.