A review by bxnnny
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

i've previously read donna tartt's the secret history, which i overall liked but also felt like it wasn't quite it for me. the goldfinch was an improvement in my opinion and i do think i was more attached to the story and its characters this time. it's a very poignant book about grief and the what if's of life. the butterfly effect, fate, karma, and what could have been versus what is. as someone who has never had to deal with any real grief regarding death, i often struggled to understand theo and the things he did and didn't do. for example, i struggled to understand why he didn't have much of anything that belonged to his mother after her death and
why he never even put up a fight to prevent his father from selling/giving away all of her belongings and the things they shared together while holding on so tightly to the painting that ultimately just caused him more grief and trouble.
but as the book went on, i came to understand that the painting was an allegory for the grief he felt for his mother and that if he lost it or gave it away or sold it or whatever - if he didn't have it anymore, this thing so closely related to the day of her death, to the events that caused her death, to this massive loss and life-altering day, then he would forget her. then he wouldn't have her. if he didn't have that grief to hold onto, he would forget her, and thus lose her entirely, forever. he held onto that painting and held onto that grief as the last way he could hold onto his mother. the last thing tying him to that day and what happened to her. but in the end, the grief and the memories were all still there, regardless of the painting, and regardless of anything else. very well done. i do wish we could have learned more about pippa and what all she was going through/up to and i do there was more about what happened to everyone in the end, but i understand why it was left to be more unknown and ambiguous. also good god, i wish donna tartt would make shorter chapters! but i'm glad she at least introduced the roman numerals within the chapters to break it up a little bit.
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