THE GOLDFINCH

It has a amazing story with engaging character and auther had made it long but it makes me keep going till end.

I remember in the middle of reading this book I sent a message to my friend that why all good books are sad? and he replied because life is not rainbows and sunshine. It hurt a bit but summarised why fiction is fiction. All the while reading it I was hoping that there would an important part played by the protagonist's mother. It did not disappoint me. Protagonist's mother's presence is similar to the presence of Rebecca in Daphne du Maurier's famous work. Her presence is felt and to an extent influences the thought process of various characters. We see the protagonist dreading a PT meeting and later, he realises that things can be lot worse than he could imagine. We walk through 2 cities in this novel, NYC & Las Vegas and see the difference between the lifestyle and norms of the people residing there. Our drug addicted protagonist has met several influential people in his lifetime but the one thing which has made him who he is, is the constant presence of the Goldfinch. The plot at the end feels hurriedly completed, but covers all the important plot holes. As I finished the book another thought came to my mind why is all the major action involves protagonist friend from Vegas. It puts a damper on things. All in all great book, I read it as fast as possible, couldn't put it down.

This is one the greatest book of all times. A book so deep, so meaningful that leaves me craving for more. A book with great literature giving me joy and shocks all in moments. A book which leaves me in deep thoughts all over again and again. The plot, the characters, the narration and every other thought in Theo's mind is just written perfectly, just apt. It was one of those books which makes you feel every emotion with the characters. With such beautiful description of Theo's mindset, I was speechless and in shock all in a single moment. The way Tart describes New York, Vegas and then Amsterdam is just so mesmerizing. Theo's connection with his mother, his hatred for his Dad, his longing for Boris left me in utter silence. The book covers so many aspects - ranging from mother-son relationships, art and its power, teenage friendship, guardianship, childhood bullies, true friendship, drugs, the criminal world dealing with arts and many more. How Popper remembered Boris when he had seen him after almost a decade, this is just one of those few emotions which can never be expressed in words completely. How the chemistry between two teenagers which remains unaffected even when they haven't seen each other in years is written in such a fascinating way representing true bond. The way Theo craves for The Goldfinch, not because of his love for art completely but rather like the only thing which holds the connection with his mother. The way he touches the painting, how he wants to safeguard the painting from the outside world, and the way he looks at the painting gives me a chill. The description of love is so pure, especially the part when you love the wrong person and you still can't stop loving her is so deep. The way Theo hits off completely with Hobie in a couple of meetings despite the age gap and how he felt more safe there and not at the Barbour's, how Hobie treats him like a normal person and not like a person who just went through a tragedy. The time when Hobie supports Theo when he ran away after his Dad's death brings back my faith in humanity. The moment when Theo is hanging in there trying to end his miserable life and how his mother(or just the illusions) ultimately stops him from doing so was a touchy moment for me. In that instant, when he knew he can talk to his mother only through the mirror and can't even turn around to have a look at her was simply spell bounding. I give complete 5stars to The Goldfinch as it deserves it and nothing less than this.

Perfect condition

I'm writing this review fresh off reading the book. This is a 771 page epic and has taken me about 9 days to read. There aren't that many characters in this book. Tartt succeeded in getting me emotionally invested with these characters and made me care about what happened to them or which way they ended up. I consider this a triumph on the author's part and it is ample evidence of her mastery over her craft. I often got the feeling while reading this book, that Tartt was striving to emulate Dickens' Copperfield and/or Twist because of the sprawling nature and some very memorable characters. Also, like Copperfield and Twist, this novel's protagonist - Theo Decker is also an orphan. Theo's very shady Ukrainian best friend Boris often reminded me of Dickens' Artful Dodger. The relationship dynamic between Theo and Pippa often reminded me of David and Agnes from Copperfield. Don’t be fooled by the superlative blurbs (like, “Thrilling”, “Exciting”, “A Page-turner”) appearing on the covers of the recent editions of the book. Make no mistake; this is as much a meditation on life, love, loss, friendship and the human condition as it is a so-called thriller. This gargantuan effort fetched Donna Tartt the Nobel Prize. I have no idea how this novel is going to be judged in 10, 20 years time or whether it will justify the Nobel committee's decision and confidence in this work. Some feted and decorated books quickly fall off the map whereas books that are ignored by critics go on to gain stellar reputations with the passage of time and tend to age a lot better than a lot of their contemporaries. As with everything else, only time will tell. Now a little about the actual physical book itself. I bought this edition for rupees 239 way back in October when Amazon had it on sale. A very good deal for a brand new book which was in reasonably good condition when it arrived at my doorstep. Alas, the storage, packaging and handling for books leaves a lot to be desired. The typeface is nice and crisp on this Little Brown edition and the ISBN number for the book I own is 9781408704950.

Great book. Must read at least once in a lifetime. Both entertaining and thrilling. 880 pages seems a bit less for such a great story. The way Tartt uses words, it seems as if she herself is the protagonist. She uses words to create such intricate detail that the reader finds himself immersed. A very hard to gain achievement. The last 100 (not the last 25) seem like a stretch, but that is OK.

One of the greatest read of my life. The author takes you on a journey where you find yourself wanting more of what you feel in it, whether it’s the Narrator’s doom into self sabotage and doom or his simple seconds of joy. Need a read to question your own existence? A dive into what humanity means? Why do we do what we do? What keeps us anchored to our pasts? These are all questions you’ll ask yourselves during the read and No you won’t get the answers here, you’ll have to find them out yourselves.

I am so happy to have discovered Donna Tartt, and specially, THE GOLDFINCH. I adored this book. The writing is a masterpiece. The way the author magically blends ideas into words with no cliché at all, is pure beauty. I feel as if I were just discovering the different sensations that words can create. I loved it not because of the story but because of the writing. I am not saying that the story was not interesting. However, the beauty of the ideas, the development of the characters, very specially THEO, BORIS and PIPPA (loved HOBBIE but I feel he was like a pillar, so maybe the only one which we do not see evolving, and that because he had already reached this calm state). I truly believe that ANY STORY has a limit, humanity, individuals, have gone through a limited number of stories sort of. However, the BLENDING of IDEAS, of these mere stories INTO WRITING IS JUST INFINITE. And that is how the same story or stories can be told in so many ways. But only a true genius is capable of going out of himself or herself and view things in such a unique way as THE GOLDFINCH depicts.

Amazing book, loved it

I bought a paperback one right after I finished reading it on Kindle as I wanted to understand it better and I loved all the characters in the book. It is worth reading multiple times.

I've read The Goldfinch during the apocalyptic Covid-19 lockdown weeks, and maybe that is one of the reasons that it is a book that hit a soft spot in my heart. It seems as if Theo and Boris will remain lifelong companions, next to my other beloved imaginary friend, Vera Stanhope. It isn't just a beautifully rendered image of a strange but strong friendship, but it is also a book that brings a message of hope and beauty, something we all long for these days. Even if Theo hits rock bottom a few times, he always finds a way to get back up again and deal with his grief and losses as best as he can. Even if he is terribly flawed, he is one of the strongest charachters in fiction I've come accross in a long time. Not only in his demeanour, but certainly also in the craftmanship that the author has used to depict him. It is the reason why I dragged this book as long as I could - it has taken me more than one month - as I wanted to revel as long as I possibly could in the company of Theo, travelling around the globe and even to cities close to where I live: Antwerp and Amsterdam. I was gratefull that the book was as long as it is, I wouldn't have changed or skipped a thing. I'm just afraid now, it will be difficult to find a similar beautifully written book with such lively characters, a compelling storyline and a hint of philosophy and art history. Bravo !