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thehouseplantlibrarian 's review for:
The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt
A boy tragically loses his beloved mother in a museum bombing where in the chaos, he steals a famous painting, the Goldfinch. His life thereafter is a constant spiral of turmoil and fear and yet he is chained to the past, not unlike the bird in the painting. How can he amend past sins when he cannot forgive himself?
Throughout the book, Theo is holding on to his childhood innocence ironically by way of a painting which he's obtaining illegally. He takes years to realize he's lost his innocence long before he ever thought he had. His life is unfair, a catastrophe that he cannot escape from. Why do angel mother's die and terrible father's live? In the end, he realizes that good can come from bad, anyone can be redeemed, it is possible to experience joy. Immerse yourself, keep eyes and hearts open, even if you're not happy to be here.
I have such mixed feelings about this book. 100% could have been told in 200 pages, rather than 700+. I listened to it on audiobook and it was 36 hours of my life, and that is with it sped up to 1.5x. I literally could not bear listening to it at normal speed because it was so droning and dull, but speeding it up added a sense of urgency to Theo's inner thoughts that made the whole story feel desperate and anxious. Every minuscule event in this book is stretched out and dissecting, when they could have been done away with completely. I understand the message. I sympathize with Theo. Every character is morally grey, though I think the author thinks she has redeemed them when the story fell short of doing so.
Throughout the book, Theo is holding on to his childhood innocence ironically by way of a painting which he's obtaining illegally. He takes years to realize he's lost his innocence long before he ever thought he had. His life is unfair, a catastrophe that he cannot escape from. Why do angel mother's die and terrible father's live? In the end, he realizes that good can come from bad, anyone can be redeemed, it is possible to experience joy. Immerse yourself, keep eyes and hearts open, even if you're not happy to be here.
I have such mixed feelings about this book. 100% could have been told in 200 pages, rather than 700+. I listened to it on audiobook and it was 36 hours of my life, and that is with it sped up to 1.5x. I literally could not bear listening to it at normal speed because it was so droning and dull, but speeding it up added a sense of urgency to Theo's inner thoughts that made the whole story feel desperate and anxious. Every minuscule event in this book is stretched out and dissecting, when they could have been done away with completely. I understand the message. I sympathize with Theo. Every character is morally grey, though I think the author thinks she has redeemed them when the story fell short of doing so.