Take a photo of a barcode or cover
shannonbooks14 's review for:
The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
She did it for me. Three novels (so far) and I give all three of them 5 stars.
The Goldfinch is an audacious and lengthy book that feels its length. It has a reactive, largely unlikable lead character and several harsh, head-spinning shifts in tone and location. It is absolutely, gloriously well-written (Christ, she's a genius) and also a little bit messy and wandering and intense, like someone with burning, glassy eyes cornering you at a bar to tell you a rambling, semi-coherent story.
God, it was so, so good. Every scene in this book was memorable. Every one. I'm going to be thinking about this book forever, and the very specific mood it had and how much I loved reading it. I read the scenes in which Theo returns to Hobie's shop in New York after Vegas (and eats in the cozy kitchen) one rainy morning at 4:30 am. I'll remember that feeling always.
Just so vivid. Spiraling and dazzling. It made me tear up twice: Theo thinking about Andy being met by his mother in the afterlife (and death not being scary if met by a familiar face) and the conversation at the end with Hobie about how we never love art because it is universal. We always love it because of how it hits us, personally, as individuals.
The whole thing is racing through my head. Superlative and even better for its mess and 'flaws.' Thrilled it was first person, as needed.
I think, for me:
1. The Little Friend
2. The Goldfinch
3. The Secret History
but all three are among the favorite books of my life.
The Goldfinch is an audacious and lengthy book that feels its length. It has a reactive, largely unlikable lead character and several harsh, head-spinning shifts in tone and location. It is absolutely, gloriously well-written (Christ, she's a genius) and also a little bit messy and wandering and intense, like someone with burning, glassy eyes cornering you at a bar to tell you a rambling, semi-coherent story.
God, it was so, so good. Every scene in this book was memorable. Every one. I'm going to be thinking about this book forever, and the very specific mood it had and how much I loved reading it. I read the scenes in which Theo returns to Hobie's shop in New York after Vegas (and eats in the cozy kitchen) one rainy morning at 4:30 am. I'll remember that feeling always.
Just so vivid. Spiraling and dazzling. It made me tear up twice: Theo thinking about Andy being met by his mother in the afterlife (and death not being scary if met by a familiar face) and the conversation at the end with Hobie about how we never love art because it is universal. We always love it because of how it hits us, personally, as individuals.
The whole thing is racing through my head. Superlative and even better for its mess and 'flaws.' Thrilled it was first person, as needed.
I think, for me:
1. The Little Friend
2. The Goldfinch
3. The Secret History
but all three are among the favorite books of my life.