The Goldfinch

This book is everywhere these days! Maybe you didn't know it also just won the Pulitzer. Kind of a big deal. It took months for me to make it to the top of the list at my library but the day arrived in recent weeks that I was finally able to pick up the latest from Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch.

Source

Good Reads' Synopsis: "It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a novel of shocking narrative energy and power. It combines unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and breathtaking suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher's calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is a beautiful, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate."

What I Thought: Wow. Well, the writing here is just superb. It's so lyrical and descriptive. I found myself rereading paragraphs just to catch all the nuances. And it was a page turner, for sure. But let's make no mistake... it's hard to remain a page turner for 700+ pages. About 3/4 of the way through, I was starting to lose interest just slightly. Of course, I had to see it through and find out what happened with Theo and the painting. I so badly wanted things to turn out well for him but he was in quite a pickle. I don't want to spoil anything of course but I HIGHLY recommend this one. If you can get your hands on it!

Rating: * * * 1/2