A review by frp123
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I adored this book: at first I struggled with the book - picking it up and putting it down constantly, however I quickly became invested in Theodore’s story and wondered what he was to do about the painting. I throughly enjoyed the childhood years spent with Boris and the insight this later gave to his adult character. I truly felt connected to the painting as Theodore did and I worried about what he would do. The relationship
(or lack there of)  with pippa and how it developed over time showed me diffrent facets of Theodore’s personality. The way he spoke about her and the actions he performed in order to remain in her favour highlighted Theodore’s instability as well as allowing the reader to understand why he was feeling this way. This prompted me to wonder about the attachments we make through traumatic experiences and the continued affect these attachments can have on us. I thought his independence and the criminal actions he chose to perform with his new found freedom showed us that although we want to like and support the main character (as we wanted when he was a child suffering from the terrible los of a parent) there were aspects of his personality so inherently unlikable and wrong that we struggled to come to terms with them. His relationship with Kitsy in perticualr showed how Theodore had’nt grown. It clearly showed how desperate he was for family and how (like with Hobbie and Piappa) he was willing to do whatever it took to keep his life the way he thought it should be.
  I picked up this book due to my enjoyment of ‘The secret History’ another work by Donna Tartt and was not disappointed. The writing style though academic in fashion was understandable and consistent - watching the life of Theodore through his trials and the passing of time allowed me to understand the actions he took as well as the  consequences of those actions. 
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