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A review by freakysappho
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
i was all set to be The Goldfinch's biggest fan bc i am a donna tartt megahead and i've been looking forward to this one for a LONGGG time. But. Well. a few notes:
the first part was. SO. Good. like amazing. following theo through the horrifying whirlwind of a thirteen year old's kid turned upside down; the apathy, the emptiness, the grief.. it was amazing. the city, vegas, back to the city; tartt's character work with hobie and boris especially i loveeeeed <3 basically every part up to when theo turns 26 years old. womp, womp
nice prose; although, perhaps blinded to it, i did notice that tartt used a lot of emdashes-- you know, like so-- and sentences run on, and on, and on like this; many semicolons; I do not recall this little, or perhaps massive and thus emphasized by this book's length, writing quirk in TSH, although i feel-- ha!-- terribly for her editor.
um. okay now the things i didn't like which were a lot. the entire second half of this book was lowkey a chore, moseying and meandering through theo's philosophical pinings. every single time theo pined for pippa was agonizing to read. pippa pippa pippa. Bitch you've seen her three times what's her favorite color. What's her favorite season? if there's one thing donna tartt cannot write it is a romance. like she cannot convince me a main character is in love or even unreasonably obsessed which i guess is what we were supposed to take away from that whole painful agonizing ordeal. this was the case in the secret history too. why i cannot say.
the ending reminded me of an essay i'd write for my art history class i took my freshman year where my professor would start her comments by saying Rory, I think this could use some work.. but it had a "happier" ending than TSH, i guess, so if you're in the market for that.. look here. i guess i just kind of hate "diary-style" endings to books but this book is middlemarch-ian in absolute length (though not in time covered) and i guess it had to end somewhere
yawn. snore.
i honestly don't think the length of this book was an issue but the post-childhood theo parts could have been sawed down Immensely. like there is no growth there and. he was so whiny and pathetic that i could not believe he was like, a successful salesman in any capacity, and i guess that's where i get finicky about the length. and i fuckig love a pathetic human being but he was just boring to read about, so realistic that i can see him sitting across from me in a diner. and it's like. whatever give me back henry from tsh.
but whatever i liked it enough. and i get that theo is not a perfect person but i really just disliked him as a human being . Anyway i could say a lot about this book but i'll end it here. long book gets long thoughts. Overall rating: meh
the first part was. SO. Good. like amazing. following theo through the horrifying whirlwind of a thirteen year old's kid turned upside down; the apathy, the emptiness, the grief.. it was amazing. the city, vegas, back to the city; tartt's character work with hobie and boris especially i loveeeeed <3 basically every part up to when theo turns 26 years old. womp, womp
nice prose; although, perhaps blinded to it, i did notice that tartt used a lot of emdashes-- you know, like so-- and sentences run on, and on, and on like this; many semicolons; I do not recall this little, or perhaps massive and thus emphasized by this book's length, writing quirk in TSH, although i feel-- ha!-- terribly for her editor.
um. okay now the things i didn't like which were a lot. the entire second half of this book was lowkey a chore, moseying and meandering through theo's philosophical pinings. every single time theo pined for pippa was agonizing to read. pippa pippa pippa. Bitch you've seen her three times what's her favorite color. What's her favorite season? if there's one thing donna tartt cannot write it is a romance. like she cannot convince me a main character is in love or even unreasonably obsessed which i guess is what we were supposed to take away from that whole painful agonizing ordeal. this was the case in the secret history too. why i cannot say.
the ending reminded me of an essay i'd write for my art history class i took my freshman year where my professor would start her comments by saying Rory, I think this could use some work.. but it had a "happier" ending than TSH, i guess, so if you're in the market for that.. look here. i guess i just kind of hate "diary-style" endings to books but this book is middlemarch-ian in absolute length (though not in time covered) and i guess it had to end somewhere
yawn. snore.
i honestly don't think the length of this book was an issue but the post-childhood theo parts could have been sawed down Immensely. like there is no growth there and. he was so whiny and pathetic that i could not believe he was like, a successful salesman in any capacity, and i guess that's where i get finicky about the length. and i fuckig love a pathetic human being but he was just boring to read about, so realistic that i can see him sitting across from me in a diner. and it's like. whatever give me back henry from tsh.
but whatever i liked it enough. and i get that theo is not a perfect person but i really just disliked him as a human being . Anyway i could say a lot about this book but i'll end it here. long book gets long thoughts. Overall rating: meh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Racial slurs and Car accident