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A review by arramachandran
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5, the last 20 pages of this book basically saved it for me. However, I think there is something to be said, or rather many things to be said about the portrayal of POC in this book. Every single non-white character is in a service position (doormen, cooks, cleaners, drivers, and social workers), and Tartt builds the characters off of stereotypical fantasies, specifically the deeply offensive “Sikh taxi driver” caricature that made me angry when I read it. Even Boris, Gyuri, and all the other Eastern European characters fulfill every vodka-soaked stereotype of that region.
Side note: why did she make Boris say the n-word multiple times? They were throwaway phrases in parentheses that added nothing to the story, and it made my jaw drop when I read it. It really seems like she wrote it in because she wanted to, and I’d like to meet the editor that let that pass through.
Anyways, although Tartt’s prose is beautiful and quite profound as always, remembering the shameful writing of POC characters brought down my experience of reading the book.
Side note: why did she make Boris say the n-word multiple times? They were throwaway phrases in parentheses that added nothing to the story, and it made my jaw drop when I read it. It really seems like she wrote it in because she wanted to, and I’d like to meet the editor that let that pass through.
Anyways, although Tartt’s prose is beautiful and quite profound as always, remembering the shameful writing of POC characters brought down my experience of reading the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Drug use
Moderate: Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death, and Racial slurs