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Ah, man. First of all, Donna Tart’s prose is an absolute gift. After reading The Secret History, I felt no issue taking on the approx. ~800 pages that The Goldfinch is because of this. I feel that I can get lost in both the mind’s of her characters and even the very real setting that is NYC … however … It was just too slow for me. I did not genuinely feel tied to the plot of the story until about the last 20% of the book. Donna knows how to write on the human condition, and she does it so beautifully, but I feel that so much of the middle of the book was unfortunately lost on me. I was there. I knew what was happening. In some ways it was mundane, which is *fine* and not an issue to me, but in other ways it just felt a bit of the same repetitive narrative to get to the same point. I do think that this book needed some length to have the effect that it does, but I am just not sure it needed this much. These characters are so real, and I once again felt connected to them…but I can’t say I felt this way throughout the entire book. Certain ones had my heart from the get go, specifically one, but others it took until the latter end to have develop this connection. All in all, I really enjoy Donna Tartt and hope we see another book soon…as it has been over 10 years! I will most likely take a break from her and then eventually try out The Little Friend.

nunemakerz's review against another edition

2.75

challenging dark 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

rissa930's review against another edition

2.0

I know this was award winning and people loved it but I STRUGGLED to get through it. Not only was it laden with casual racism, but it seemed to drag on through a series of totally unlikely coincidences and situations, just to end in a way that left me thinking "...why the hell did I just bother to read 800 pages for it all to just end like this?"
Personally, I would not recommend, but it obviously won a Pulitzer for a reason!

piburnjones's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully written and carefully plotted, with surprises I never saw coming. A book to savor and return to and discuss, if not a likely candidate for loved-to-pieces favorite. And I still think it would have been a better book at 500-600 pages than it is at 700 (...she says of the Pulitzer-winning novel, cough).

leidiklecker's review against another edition

5.0

I never thought that my soulmate would be a novel.,,,, and yet here we are.

phlosito's review against another edition

3.0

To be clear, I actually listened to the audiobook of this.

Like many, I fell in love with THE SECRET HISTORY. So when I saw this tome on the shelf with the name Donna Tartt on the cover I was super excited to get my hands on it. I opted for the audiobook just cause it was more convenient. I have to give major props to the performer for reading at a comfortable pace all 771 (I think?) pages of this book.

Now then....

Tartt is a gifted writer, however, this book could have done with some editing. It was just way too long and her protagonist was not strong enough to carry it along. There are twists and turns for sure, but I never really felt connected with Theo. The character of Boris, Theo's friend who pops in and out of his life was so much more interesting to me! During the latter half of the book I found myself thinking, why wasn't the book about Boris? Not only does Boris undergo a change, but he does things about it. Theo's changes are so slight that I feel like it doesn't make up for the scope of the story Tartt was trying to tell. Oh yes, there are many wonderful passages in this book that will make you say, "Wow, what a writer.". But I feel like most of those portions occupied the first half of the story. By the end, I was more excited seeing the timer go down than I was with the story. It sounds like a thrilling climax, but Tartt is so knowledgeable about her characters, that it ends up hurting the structure of the book. After being stuck in the head of Theo Decker for the first 500 pages, I found myself running out of steam when faced with yet another sprawling inner monologue about drug use. Not to mention, some of the conversations just drag on.

That being said, Tartt at her worst is already miles ahead of most at their best. She is a talented author who unfortunately seemed to get bogged down in all the little details, that she seems to have lost sight of the grand prize.

3/5