Title: The Goldfinch
Author: Donna Tartt
Publisher: Little Brown & Company
Publication Date: October 2013
Genre: Adult Fiction/Contemporary
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Synopsis can be found here.
I purchased this book for review.
Review:
Through chance and unluck, Theo Decker survives a brutal bombing at an art museum, that takes his beautiful mother. While there, through a series of strange events, Theo snatches The Goldfinch, a beautiful painting that, in all of the commotion, is said to be lost forever in the bombing. Shuttled between NY and Las Vegas, Theo grasps onto this painting, his only connection to his dead mother and the life he left behind.
As Theo grows up, moving through elite Manhattan society, The Goldfinch moves with him. Taking him through an adventure he would never have thought possible. Filled with intrigue, black market deals and some very, very bad men. Including perhaps, his best friend.
Theodore Decker. 771 pages of Theordore Decker. 32 hours and change on audiobook.
This long, narrative story begins slowly and drags on, weaving us through Theo’s life with his friend’s family and then onto Las Vegas with his mean and sometimes abusive father.
The Goldfinch has just won the Pulitzer Prize and I have to admit, I am a bit shocked. This lengthy story, while well written and intriguing, moves too slow for me with weak forward motion and, sadly, only one likable character. And it’s not Theo.
Theo, lost boy abandoned by his drunk father and now orphaned by his art loving and too good to be true mother, goes to live with his friend’s family, the Barbers. His grandparents, far away and emotionally removed, don’t want him and it is at the Barbers that he comes to terms with his new lonely existence. This is short lived though as quickly things happen and his life tumbles out of control.
Theo should be a sympathetic character. He is orphaned, lonely and taken advantage of. And when eventually, his father stumbles back into his life, full of malice with not so warm intentions, Theo is smart enough to see through his father’s lies. So it’s quite a sad shock to me, as a reader, to find Theo later in the book, all grown up, and very very similar to his dad. Maybe it’s about not liking characteristics of other people you see in yourself. Or about how you can grow up with good intentions but still end up like your parents. In any event, Theo’s fall from boy to shady young man is sorta heartbreaking and by the end, I was so annoyed at him, I wasn’t sure I cared what happened to him at all.
Bringing me to Boris, his best friend and perhaps the only interesting character in the book. Boris is complicated, loyal and sad. He is abused as a child, neglected, and has to find his own way. When Boris comes back into the picture, so many years later, I was thrilled, hoping the story would pick back up. And it did, at least, for a bit. Boris is the only character that I feel has any life in him at all. Theo is almost zombie like next to Boris. Which just makes Boris more likable, more relate able. The black market art thief/dealer with girlfriends and connections is more relate able than Theo, our main character. Yeah….
The last bit of the book (about 10%) goes pretty fast and a lot happens. But really, having to wait around so long for it made me antsy.
And then we come to the painting itself. The painting, The Goldfinch, the love of Theo’s life. The representation of his lost mother, his childhood, his safety and security. The item that he so recklessly handles. The painting that makes him become one of those characters who KNOWS what to do, who sees what he should do, but for whatever reasons, usually selfish, doesn’t do it anyway and then wonders why everything is falling apart around him. How much is Theo the Goldfinch, chained to his perch, able to fly but only in a small area around his branch. How much is Theo’s chain his own making? The painting, as its own character, is the strongest feeling in the book.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s well written with a slow build. But for me personally, the plot moved too slow, the characters too unlikable and the premise too boring. Maybe at 500 pages I would have given it more stars, but after so many hours in the car on my commute, I wanted something a little more. A bigger payoff. A story I was more emotionally invested in.
It seems like the reviews are pretty divided on this one. Some really love it, and some really didn’t.
I admit that I didn’t love it, nor did I hate it. If it wasn’t a book club book, I probably wouldn’t have finished reading it, or invested that much time. It didn’t grab me, it didn’t keep me. Why I continued reading, I’m not totally sure. But overall, I’m glad I did. I’m glad I know how it ends. I’m glad it’s over.
Rating 4 Not my cup of tea
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
Who suggested a 700+ book for bookclub? That’s brutal. I was interested in this premise when I first heard about it, but I rarely pick up books this large. My attention span just plain isn’t what it used to be, and books this long aren’t typically action-packed. It’s a bummer that none of the characters are really even likable (save the one) and that the main character ends up being just like his despicable father. I have heard some positive things about this, but I think I’ll skip it. Good job getting through it! Great review!
Thanks Natalie!! I’m glad you stopped by. Yeah… at that meeting we put a page limit on bookclub books! haha! She didn’t know it was 800 pages so we forgave her! 🙂 I hear people either really like it or don’t, so sadly I guess I’m in the don’t camp. You should have heard our bookclub discussion though! ha!