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Amazon Reviews Donna Tartt - The Goldfinch
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| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20Q73A83CLX8E?ASIN=0316055441 Several GREAT novellas in one very long book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I won't go into the plot since everyone will know it. My concern whenever I'm given or purchase a very long book is, ""Will it keep me engaged?"" and is it worth the weeks it will take me to finish it?""<br/><br/>The answer with THE GOLDFINCH is ""Yes!"" and ""Sorta!""<br/><br/>To me, the book is divided into sections or novellas--the explosion, living with the wealthy family, moving to Vegas, etc.<br/><br/>The brilliant opening section immediately kept me engaged--I think the explosion and Theo's experience and recovery is some of the best writing I've read in years.<br/><br/>The family he moves in with may remind you of THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS or Salinger's Glass family. They are funny, a bit tragic and sort of odd. The father especially--something about his behavior seemed a bit ""off"" as did his wild dialogue; it didn't seem at all ""real"" in a novel that's very grounded in reality. (It's revealed later why he behaves this way.)<br/><br/>The next--and for me, strongest novella--takes place in Las Vegas where we ""live"" with Theo's father and girlfriend. The writing is vivid, the characters and plot really move along and it's all terrific.<br/><br/>And then, for me, THE GOLDFINCH seems to stall a bit and slightly loses its way. This painting that Theo carries with him seems to be forgotten about and then every 100 pages or so is mentioned again (not that we care.)<br/><br/>There's a novella about dealing in art (collection and deception) and our hero takes a downward turn, but I found myself losing interest and by page 600 was growing impatient for it to end...or for the plot to kick in again as it did in the first few sections.<br/><br/>The great thing about this book is that you can set it aside for a few days and pick it up again and not be ""lost""--the writing and characters are that strong. The ""plot"" on the other hand seems to grow thinner and less important as you head down the last 200 plus pages as ""big issues"" are thoughtfully woven in.<br/><br/>I'm sure this will receive many 4 and 5 star ratings, but I'm giving it a very good solid 3 since, unfortunately, it seemed to run out of gas toward the end. But those first 600 pages -- great, great stuff!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R321LNYJ59OO8D?ASIN=0316055441 Some great scenes and lines that don't add up "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's been a long time since I found a book so alternately beautiful and maddening. There are excellent scenes and lines in this novel, and I'm glad I read it, but it doesn't hold together well. In the end it reminded me of the antique shop the character Hobie runs in the book: many amazing, high-quality things half-hidden beneath mounds of less interesting stuff.<br/><br/>Tartt deserves credit for daring greatly in this book. It's hard to center a long novel on a fairly unlikeable character, and even harder when that character is also the narrator. In Theo Decker I felt she was trying to get at the ways a severe psychic injury plays out over a lifetime, and for the first half of the book I was fascinated by Theo even when I didn't like him. And Tartt does lay the groundwork carefully for his later misdeeds, particularly in Theo's unwanted resemblance to his father. But once Theo becomes an adult (in years if not in maturity), he makes so many stupid decisions, and is so apathetic about his life generally, that it got increasingly difficult for me to care what happened to him. It's also hard to reconcile how Theo can act as he does while having the insights he articulates. I understand that this is part of what Tartt is trying to explore (why people don't do what they know, at some level, they should do), but I don't think it quite comes off here. Theo's character felt too inconsistent to sustain the whole novel.<br/><br/>The high points of the novel for me were Theo's life immediately after the explosion that kills his mother, when he is taken in by the wealthy family of a school friend, and his relationship with Hobie, the furniture dealer who takes him on as a kind of apprentice. As in ""The Secret History,"" Tartt excels in showing the dark underside of wealth and privilege, and it wasn't a surprise when members of the wealthy family turn up later in Theo's life and play some decisive roles. As for Hobie, I wanted to read a whole novel about him, because the portions that describe his sense for furniture and his love for the past were some of the strongest in the book. Boris, the Russian-born friend Theo makes during his sojourn in Las Vegas with his gambler father, is also a vivid character, and I appreciated that Tartt took his character in directions I didn't expect.<br/><br/>It's the ending (and by ""ending"" I mean about the last 200 pages) that was the real problem for me. The violence and cross-continents chase scenes just didn't ring true. This part of the book, in which more ""happens"" in plot terms, was actually the hardest to get through. Tartt excels at rendering the inner lives of characters, but the action scenes fall flat.<br/><br/>I hate giving this novel a mediocre rating, because I appreciate the ambition it embodies and the parts of it in which Tartt's prose really sings. She's engaging some important questions about the power of art in this book, and the scenes that feature Theo thinking through his relationship with the purloined painting were moving and thought-provoking. The novel as a whole just doesn't measure up to its best components, sadly.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29JOZB1YV2ZSR?ASIN=0316055441 A stunning success, one of the most striking novels I have read in years "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I passed the Metropolitan Museum of Art the other day and was struck with a powerful and initially inexplicable melancholy. I had been affected by the experience of reading The Goldfinch, in the opening chapters of which a great tragedy happens there. The book is compelling and moving. Tartt is a master of foreshadowing, letting us know just enough of what is to come that we feel helpless to put down the book. I found myself staying up late for several nights, turning page after page to connect the dots. This book is every bit the equal of <a class=""a-link-normal"" href=""/The-Secret-History/dp/1400031702"">The Secret History</a> in this regard. And it exceeds that earlier book in its great emotional depth. The opening section, in New York City, is terribly sad and in the hands of a lesser author this material would be difficult to get past. However, Tartt has signaled us well enough about the future of our protagonist, Theodore Dekker, that we stick with him. And from the second section of the book, while we have no shortage of continuing misery, it is tempered by hope or humor.<br/><br/>This is not to say that the book is necessarily realistic; it is structurally a Bildungsroman, and it constantly evokes earlier books rather than real life. In the opening section, when Theo is still living in New York City, I particularly detected <a class=""a-link-normal"" href=""/The-Catcher-in-the-Rye/dp/0316769487"">The Catcher in the Rye</a>. When he moves in with the family of a wealthy school friend, his hope of being adopted by them evokes elements of <a class=""a-link-normal"" href=""/Great-Expectations/dp/0486415864"">Great Expectations</a>, a book that is recalled again when he returns to them over a decade later to find the matron of the family shut away like Miss Havisham (though for very different reasons). He is taken away to Las Vegas and falls in with a bad crowd, evoking <a class=""a-link-normal"" href=""/Oliver-Twist/dp/0486424537"">Oliver Twist</a>. As in that book, the reader understands that some of this crowd provide necessary support for the young man. Theo returns to New York and, years later, finds himself exploring dark places with Boris, his criminally inclined Las Vegas friend, following the trail of a missing painting. This reminded me of the best work of <a class=""a-link-normal"" href=""/Stephen-Dobyns/dp/0140121552"">Stephen Dobyns</a>. Some parts of the book even recall <a class=""a-link-normal"" href=""/The-Maltese-Falcon/dp/0679722645"">The Maltese Falcon</a>, though the book treats its namesake artwork as more than merely a MacGuffin. Others will find different precedents, I'm sure. This book is long and rich.<br/><br/>Tartt took over a decade to write The Goldfinch, and polished its language over that time. In Las Vegas, for example, Theo describes his new quarters as ""the kind of room where a call girl or stewardess would be murdered on television."" Tartt has so much fun with the speaking cadence of drunk Russians (or Ukranians), I have to imagine she spends a fair amount of time with Slavs. Dialect humor is rare nowadays, but here it is done with such love that it's inoffensive and often quite funny.<br/><br/>I've not spent time in the failed housing developments at the extremes of Las Vegas, nor with Ukrainian drug dealers, but Tartt portrays these worlds so vividly I don't doubt her depictions of them at all. The quality of the plotting, the characterizations, and the dialog in this book are consistently excellent. As Stephen King wrote of The Goldfinch in the New York Times Book Review, ""You keep waiting for the wheels to fall off, but . . . they never do.""<br/><br/>What's not so perfect? Though Tartt captures the subtleties of several different kinds of relationships between men, much better than I would have thought possible for a female author, the relationships between Theo Dekker and women never quite ring true. One may give the excuse that Theo is so damaged by the loss of his mother that he is never again capable of normal relationships with the opposite sex, but I think this explanation takes one only so far.<br/><br/>The passages in which Theo crams for university entrance exams seem hard to believe and, oddly for a tome like this, rushed.<br/><br/>Finally, and this is not Tartt's fault, I'm sure, the paper in the hardcover edition is too thin. I suspect the publisher winced at receiving an 800 page manuscript and decided to print on thin paper in the hope of creating a less intimidating volume on bookstore shelves. When reading page 403, you have to ignore the backwards shadow of the words on page 404, overleaf.<br/><br/>Tartt tackles broad themes in this book: to what degree can we control our fate? Or does life unspool in response only to forces beyond our control, including randomness? These are common enough topics for novelists, and I found myself dwelling particularly on some of the book's secondary themes, as they are less commonly discussed. Can humans create objects that have souls, and what obligation do we have to our creations, and is there any meaningful way in which artifacts make life worth living? What is the significance of authenticity, and can a copy ever be as significant as the original? Can we be moved sometimes by the absence of something as much as we would have been by its presence? In a profile of Tartt on October 21, the New York Times said that this book raises such questions as ""whether it is possible to be good, what part love plays in our behavior and what in life is true and lasting.""<br/><br/>It's a wonderful book, worth every penny and every hour needed to read it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NF13Z6QPD4LC?ASIN=0316055441 I. Don't. Get. It. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book has been highly praised and won the Pulitzer Prize, and I just don't get it. I read every word of this 700+ page book because my Book Club had chosen it based on the amazing reviews. Unfortunately, that is time and money I can't get back, but maybe I can caution others! The following contains a few minor spoilers.<br/><br/>First, the book is WAY too long. I don't mind a good long book that merits the length, but this book was in dire need of editing and could easily have been about two thirds as long. Having said that, the first half had promise, and is the reason why I gave the book two stars rather than just one. The description of the bombing at the museum is powerful. The author effectively evokes the disorientation and confusion that one would likely experience in such a traumatic event. It is heartbreaking as Theo waits for his Mom to return and eventually realizes she won't. I felt so much sympathy for this boy, because in the end no one really wants him, and he knows it.<br/><br/>The story begins to go south when Theo heads to Las Vegas. Still, I had great hopes for the book and the characters even through the endless chapters of teenage boys getting drunk and stoned and shoplifting. It is understandable that Theo would drown his sorrow and act out after such a tragedy. Surely, this character would evolve in some way. Eventually. Right?<br/><br/>Nope! More than a decade later Theo is a drug addict who takes advantage of the only decent person in the story and the only person who actually loves Theo. Grrrrr....<br/><br/>I read some reviews discussing how this book beautifully describes the powerful connection that can be experienced with some pieces of art. Now, I am no art aficionado, but even I was offended by how this painting was treated in this book. Theo ""loves"" this painting so much that he wraps it (or at least what he thinks is ""it"") in newspaper and endless amounts of tape, hauls it cross country on a bus, and hides it away in a storage locker that he never visits. Art abuse to the nth degree!<br/><br/>Basically the book is filled with two dimensional characters who do not evolve in any way. I won't even bother with the laughable plot line involving characters that are pure caricatures of Easter European mafia. (Oh, as Theo languishes in his hotel room after the incomprehensible caper, I found myself lamenting, ""Oh, won't this story ever end?"")<br/><br/>Cruelly, the book had one last, parting shot. Theo waxes philosophical for about 20 pages at the end (I read on a Kindle so I am approximating). After all he has gone through (and all we have gone through), his profound conclusion is this: life is cruel and there is no meaning to it. I can say the same thing about this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2DRX7C8ZNOXP1?ASIN=0316055441 Superficial, shallow, boring and inconsistent "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was easily the most overrated book of 2013. I hated it. Let me try to explain why:<br/><br/>1. The constant use of superlative language: Every slam is deafening, every headache splitting, the narrator is ""tormented"" by small things (not the bombing that takes place in the beginning itself). Donna Tartt writes in a language of a cliche New York snob, where every little thing is forced to mean something or to be special. Horrible.<br/>2. Cultural, but superficial name dropping (all the freaking time): 13 year olds with Palestrina on their Ipods (or Shostakovich), art history books that a kid carries with him, Tupac Shakur courses at high school, and on and on and on. Neither the narrator, nor the main characters are really affected by art. It does not serve any purpose here, other than Tartt showing off, in a patronizing and preaching manner: Disgusting.<br/>3. Oh, boy, her problem with time: Ipods in 1999? Or references to 9/11? The research here is lousy, brands and products appear at times when there were not even launched or invented. Bad job, Donna, what did you do in those 10 years?<br/>4. Length: 770 pages? Really? With endless sections about furniture restoration and drug use? With completely shallow and inconsistent characters, that are sketchy at best?<br/><br/>I am really sorry that I am using the superlative language I complained about myself, but this book was the worst I forced myself to read in a long time. What a waste of time.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BZ3TKOS1RGS8?ASIN=0316055441 A for effort "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Let me start by saying Secret History is one of my favorite books. Having heard of this as a literary triumph better than History, I was really looking forward to reading it.<br/><br/>While a certain amount of hype has been bought and paid for, the rapturous reviews of this book leave me wondering how intellectually bankrupt this country must be to find this work brilliant.<br/>It is brilliant only if you think Gone Girl was brilliant. Which is to say it is uneven, speech-y instead of profound, and badly in need of one of the editors of yore.<br/><br/>What I did like: the plot is creative, the work is ambitious, and the first 1/3 is engrossing and addictive.<br/><br/>What I didn't like: there are plot twists that are beyond absurd, there is far too much self-congratulatory philosophizing stuck in at the end in incredibly forced exposition. The end reads like student work. The characters are unlike able, and there are pages, pages and pages of drug addiction descriptions that begin to read like pornography. Characters are thinly drawn, and plot lines are left more unresolved than resolved (not for ambiguity's sake, because it seems she just forgot about them).<br/><br/>The brilliance of the Secret History was that Tartt was writing from her own world. Every detail, no matter how unlikely, rang true. History is engrossing at every turn. Goldfinch is so off from reality that it at points becomes unreadable and even laughable. Her notions of adoption, investigation, terrorism, male mindset, and the mental and intellectual capabilities of children, are naively imagined and poorly researched, as are all of the relationships between characters. Goldfinch reads as intellectual writerly masturbation. It reads, in all honesty, as childish and undergraduate, while History, her undergraduate novel, reads as stunningly mature.<br/><br/>It bothers me as a reader when middle brow novels are held up as great, brilliant, and intellectual. This is an ambitious book and an interesting book, but it is not a great book. It's an elevated pot boiler, and it's at points unnecessarily hard to read. If this is the height of<br/>American letters, we should be very worried.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27SY77O4C8ARI?ASIN=0316055441 Over-written, under-plotted, sophomoric themes "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Were you one of the few who actually read all of Great Expectations in that ninth grade English class? Then you know what Dickens is all about—and you’ll know right away that Donna Tartt is no Dickens, despite the chorus of frog-like critics croaking praises in the swamp of modern American fiction. I loved Tartt’s Secret History. But this novel is self-indulgent in the extreme, substituting endless, tedious, repetitious descriptions for character development, plot, and meaning. Do we really care about descriptions of drug induced ecstasy—over and over? Or about a total loser like Boris dragging our hero off the rails of sanity, honesty, and decency to no novelistic or moral end? The trope of the Goldfinch and the meaning of life, beaten into us in the last few pages, is really, really jejune—all about Fate and how to deal with it in life. Wow! Deep! This book desperately needed an editor who could stand up to a novelist out of control, to insist on control. And to close the circle, please, please—no more comparisons to Dickens. Ms. Tartt, you are no Charles Dickens.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1H9TZGOQGT06Y?ASIN=0316055441 Editor Wanted "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ms. Tartt is no doubt a gifted writer. Where is her editor?! It's pretty shameful. So after a writer as a few bestsellers to her name, she's untouchable to editor's suggestions? There are countless instances in this book where the writer says something absolutely brilliant, but then proceeds to tell you what she just said in the most banal prose you've ever heard. It's unbelievable. How could an editor not see that and say, ""You've got a masterful book here, just lose the tiresome reiterations."" What a missed opportunity this book is.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1602W0AA8LHYC?ASIN=0316055441 What is it about length? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Do writers think that length equals quality? Or is it simply their demand to be taken seriously? A lot of the books acclaimed this year have been very long ones. Some examples, just among those that I have read, have been THE LUMINARIES by Eleanor Catton (830 pages), THE WOMAN WHO LOST HER SOUL By Bob Shacochis (712 pages), NIGHT FILM by Marissa Pessl (592 pages), THE SON by Philipp Meyer (572 pages), and LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson (527 pages). All of these books had interesting qualities, but my enjoyment in each case (except possibly the Catton) was compromised by sheer length. Both Shacochis and Pessl piled incident on highly colored incident; the last generation in Meyer's multi-generational epic was less interesting than the other two; and the open-ended structure of Atkinson's extraordinary approach to story-telling could have been any length at all.<br/><br/>At 771 pages, this latest by Donna Tartt weighs in near the top of the class. But why wait ten years to write a book of this length, rather than publish two or three shorter novels in the same time? The entire story could easily have been a trilogy, and I could have enjoyed any one of the volumes separately, especially given its arresting opening. It first drew me into its orbit on page 22. Theo Decker, the 13-year-old protagonist, enters a New York exhibit of Dutch painting with his mother. Tartt's writing, which had been serviceable up to that time, bursts into bloom with a glorious paragraph that exactly captures the luminous wonder of the Dutch Golden Age. Soon after that, the main plot kicked in, and we were away. The museum is targeted by a terrorist bomb. Theo's mother is killed; he survives. But first comes a dazed encounter with a dying man in the rubble, who gives him a signet ring and an address to take it to, and entrusts him with the small painting by Carel Fabritius called ""The Goldfinch"" that had featured in the exhibition.<br/><br/>[SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH if you do not want to know any more about the plot, though the details below are minor ones.] I mentioned trilogy since the rest of the novel falls roughly into three phases, each relating to one of the things that Theo lost or gained on that day: his mother, the ring, and the painting. So the next 250 pages have to do with Theo's life as an orphan, virtually adopted by a wealthy family on the Upper East Side. This certainly held my interest, but when Theo's vanished father turns up to cart him off the Las Vegas, my attention began to flag. The middle section overlaps with the other two. It begins when Theo presents the ring at an antique store in Greenwich Village and meets the dead man's partner, a furniture restorer called Hobie, a wonderfully sympathetic character, who brings the story to life whenever he appears. Under his loving tutelage, Theo learns the antiques business, and how to tell the real from the fake. But as we move into the last 300 pages of the book, following a gap of eight years, Theo's life becomes increasingly dominated by his continued possession of the painting which, together with a series of foolish choices of his own, drags him down into a shady underworld without a moral compass.<br/><br/>For the huge book to work as a whole, you must have one or more of these things: a prose style that is a joy in itself, or an all-embracing formal structure, or a sequence of events that keeps you fascinated throughout, or character development that is consistent from beginning to end and traces some clear arc, or some major theme or moral payoff that makes the long journey worthwhile. Donna Tartt's style seldom reaches to those heights, but in all fairness few of the writers I mention above are especially noted for their prose. Her roughly chronological organization is at least straightforward, but she does not have the tight control of Catton, and a lot of her material seems arbitrary. She keeps minor events coming without falling into the hyperactivity of Shacochis or Pessl, but moves too slowly in significant ways to maintain the necessary momentum, leaving several thickets of dead wood. I do think she created a very attractive character in the young Theo at first, but either I did not see the organic evolution into the man he becomes, or I simply did not want to stick with him as he falls into foolish, addictive, or criminal behaviors.<br/><br/>And as for the overriding moral, consider what he says near the end of the book: ""No one will ever, ever be able to persuade me that life is some awesome, rewarding treat. Because, here's the truth: life is catastrophe."" If you care to read 771 pages to reach that conclusion, go for it. But be warned: it is a long haul.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19EFXZ2S5WY9S?ASIN=0316055441 Not as great as expected. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Given all of the amazing reviews, and the NY Times rating, I had really high expectations. The story started off really strong and interesting, but became tedious, to the point that by the end I was skipping pages just to get through it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UCLRJFJNKB0Y?ASIN=0316055441 Could Have Been Good, At HALF THE LENGTH "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Oh my,talk about loquacious, this book is one that could have been really,really good but every,little,wee,tiny,thing was just written to death. I found myself saying ""oh for God's sake get ON with it"" you are numbing my brain! But alas,Ms.Tartt never did ""get on with it."" The protagonist's seminal ""event"" an explosion in a museum,went on, I kid you not, for over 150 pages of single spaced fairly small type I finally gave up,decided the ""day"" was never going to end and skipped ahead to the next ""event"" found it to be equally done to death and skipped ahead again and heaven help us, ditto... droning on and on and on.<br/><br/>Finally, in utter frustration I decided to just skip the rest of the book.<br/><br/>Why this novel got so much praise I'm afraid I just can't fathom. Ms.Tartt does have talent and in places in the book I was ""caught up"" by her writing but her wordy-ness was totally off putting and frankly, made what could have been a decent book, a total drone of a thing that one felt one needed to put Wellies on to slug through.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R749USPJIKS0G?ASIN=0316055441 Not deserving "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What kind of statement about contemporary literature is the Pulitzer committee making? In The Goldfinch they have honored page after repetitive page of alcohol- and drug-induced sloppy, reprehensible characters. This is no literary masterpiece. No prize winner. I can't help but think that the early hype and publisher's promotion of Donna Tartt's work teaches us more about commerce than about craft.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BB0YV6H0FZ0D?ASIN=0316055441 Back to the Future? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Please explain to me where I am wrong, and I'll delete this review. (I haven't yet finished reading the novel, but have enough information to establish an opinion about the flow, the pace, the plot. But that's not what concerns me today.)<br/><br/>OK, the narrator starts out by saying he is 27 years old and recalls events which happened 14 years earlier, correct? Let us be generous and say it is 2013 in this critically acclaimed novel (although it must have been written and finished earlier than this year), and 14 years earlier when the narrator was 13 years old was, let's see, 1999, right? (D'uh!) (I've found no indications that the narration starts out in the future!) Everyone in this novel has a cellphone. The 13 year old narrator has an iPod. The iPod was introduced by Apple in 2001. There are references to Harry Potter. OK, the first Harry Potter volume was published in 1997. What about the reference to the shoe bomber? (2001 as well.) Las Vegas, we are made to understand, is undergoing a housing crisis in 1999, abandoned homes, desert reclaiming developments, cheap rents (check yourself if that is true for the late 1990s.) Well, at least the 1933 movie ""SOS Iceberg"" checks out, although how and where these 13 year old characters had heard of such an obscure film is not explained.<br/><br/>And if the narrative is indeed in the future and time remembered by the narrator now in 2013, then how many 13 year olds today (or anyone?) would know or remember the shoe bomber of 2001?<br/><br/>More. Theo's Las Vegas pal is for an unexplained reason tri-national, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian. Or is the reason to show his vast knowledge of obscenities in three and more (he's widely traveled) languages? You should savor the conversations between Theo and this Boris (or Borys in Ukrainian, as the author sees necessary to inform us), endless exchanges of eF words, and later on cryptic cellphone text messages (again in 1999, at the latest.)<br/><br/>You can mess with geography and weather in fiction. You can invent events, such as the museum bombing in this novel, invent cities and streets, businesses on existing streets, but when you start messing with time, you've entered the science fiction category and even science fiction has its rules which this novel does not seem to observe. End result is a confused, distracted reader.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R266JBLK5PZ8K1?ASIN=0316055441 Wish there were zero stars. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a rambling, maudlin piece of crap! I always finish a book to give it a chance, but this was beyond tedious. A completely unappealing protagonist, one-dimensional caricatures of supporting players, and plot that is just ridiculous. Dialogue is stilted and unnatural, with plot holes to drive a truck through. Don't waste your money or time on this.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1D7H7N5XFVBXQ?ASIN=0316055441 Not worth the effort "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I urge you to read the Editors review of this book on the first page of the listing. In a graceful manner this editor spots many of the same complaints of this book that I have.<br/><br/>1. This book could have been written in 300 pages and gotten all its content out.<br/>2. The mechanics of this book redundant. Over and over and over and over you will read the same conversations played out in the same ways. I think if you did a word count on this book the word 'sorry' would appear about 300 times.<br/>3. There is nothing likeable about the main character. He is an unfortunate whiney parasite that is a thief and drug addict. On top of that he is a wimp that wont step up and get this things he wants.<br/>4. If I wanted to hear so many long passages about getting stoned, being stoned and recovering from being stoned I would go to a AA meeting</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R172KNP8OS6P3U?ASIN=0316055441 Meh "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Meh. Let me repeat myself. Meh. I had high hopes for this novel--over 700 pages, described as literary yet eminently readable. I'd hesitated for weeks because of my innate dread of creative-writerly, high-falutin' and meandering ""Aboutist"" works of prose. So I decided to try it and I dove in. At the beginning it had the language and style and narrative that were like food straight to the brain. And then I wondered, how old is this author? Where are the adults? Theo lives in Theo-land and while the story comes straight from his mouth or pen, why is there no conflict? No one asks him a straight question like where were you when the bomb went off? All the adults were weak and passive. Really that was what the book was all about, passivity and laziness, jammed up with narcissistic moods, self pitying hoo-hah and a lot of tony upscale dysfunctionality. I hurt therefore I do drugs. So I was right to dread the creative-writing seminar content. I'll give it a 0.75 star just because the author should know better. One detail missing in reviews is the brief mention of the terrorist bombers as having been ""right wing conservatives."" Seriously? I think that is a New Yorker's view of what constitutes the Bogeyman.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2PTDCA3DCJLV9?ASIN=0316055441 I like novels that "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I prefer to phrase this negative review in positive terms.<br/><br/>I like novels that:<br/><br/>--Present at least one character I care about, whom I like, or whom I can root for;<br/><br/>--Tell an interesting and/or entertaining story and demonstrate a sense of humor;<br/><br/>--Teach me about times in history and places in the world that I am not familiar with;<br/><br/>--Are written in such a way that I cannot put the book down;<br/><br/>--Adopt a thoughtful and understanding perspective on the way people face challenges and difficulties in their lives, and avoid condescending to them;<br/><br/>--Are about working people, women, minorities, and so many other types of people throughout history (rather than spoiled middle or upper-class brats) who struggle against the obstacles designed to keep them in their place;<br/><br/>--Place their stories in a social, historical, or political context to help define the way their characters behave, rather than just elaboration in terms of individual psychology;<br/><br/>--Avoid wallowing in degeneracy, sex, violence, and despair for their own sake, or for the purpose of selling more books;<br/><br/>--Are more than just showpieces to demonstrate how intelligent and literate the author thinks he or she is;<br/><br/>--Are “hidden gems” that do not get the attention of elite literary critics concerned with promoting the “right” books to make a name for themselves;<br/><br/>--Affirm positive spiritual and personal values on some level, even if--actually, especially if--taking place in the worst possible environments;<br/><br/>--Show a picture of the author on the back cover as a real human being I would like to know more about, rather than one who is sneering at the reader.<br/><br/>The Goldfinch is the direct and thoroughly unpleasant opposite of all of these.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RRFW3L4VQYCCA?ASIN=0316055441 BIG disappointment "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I kept reading this book, wondering when I'd find whatever everyone else liked about it, but never did. Tedious descriptions of events that drag on page after page (including a direct reference to Dickens, in case the reader didn't get what was being said). Two dimensional characters and relationships that felt forced. And an ending that I suppose should have felt bleak but just felt like a relief to leave a world where the characters were uninteresting and a story that took about 200 pages more than it needed. I don't know who Ms. Tartt's editor is, but they should be fired!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2UV662Q3MY36F?ASIN=0316055441 Too much, and not enough "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautifully written, in places, but a slog to an entirely predictable outcome. The plot is as thin and easy to detect as a bad veneer and the characters are shallow, simplistic and overdrawn. Boris has some gemlike moments, but is much too erudite and long winded for a Ukrainian thug. Hobie is a sweetheart but entirely unbelievable. Theo is a bore and a not very nice one. Pippa seems to exist only as a plot device to be taken up and discarded as needed like a cleaning rag. Some of the descriptions of NYC are among the best I've ever read, but finding them amid the mind numbingly overwritten prose is like panning for gold - lot's of work, not a lot of reward.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6XYS8N5FXMRJ?ASIN=0316055441 Thanks for the explanation "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If you manage to survive all the way to the end of this very long novel, Tartt, through her first-person protagonist, Theo Decker, will explain to you what the book means. That we need this explanation is a sign of the book's ultimate failure, and that Tartt includes it is a sign that she's aware of how apparently meaningless the first 750-whatever pages of the book may seem to the reader.<br/><br/>As a young teenager, Theo loses his mother and gains a valuable painting when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC blows up. An indication of how vacuous Theo is: he never even bothers to find out what caused the explosion that claimed his mother's life. Instead, he drifts here and there, finding friendship and protection from some affluent, pedantic and pretentious people before being spirited off to Las Vegas by his alcoholic father. There he falls under the sway of the spirited, criminally inclined Boris, who (spoiler alert) steals the valuable painting. Theo does not notice this theft for years and years, although we are supposed to believe he is obsessed with the painting. He returns to NYC, where he--and we--are subjected to interminable lectures about art history and antiques restoration. He engages in fraudulent business practices that threaten the livelihood of his mentor and de facto guardian. He becomes engaged to a young woman he doesn't love, and when he finds out she's cheating on him, he allows her to convince him that they should remain engaged while she now openly continues to cheat on him. Boris reveals that he stole the painting, and he unquestioningly follows Boris to Europe to reclaim the painting. Mayhem and violence ensue. But Theo winds up suffering no consequences for his violent and fraudulent actions, because in a deus-ex-machina moment, Boris dumps a fortune in money on Theo and spirits him back to New York, out of the reach of European authorities.<br/><br/>No wonder we need Tartt's closing explanation to figure out what this long-winded, stagnant bildungsroman about a young man with the curiosity of a turnip is supposed to mean.<br/><br/>Last year, the Pulitzer Prize judges decided no novel merited winning the Pulitzer. This year, they chose The Goldfinch for that honor. My esteem for that prize has sunken to new lows.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R315M6WW3NYDZU?ASIN=0316055441 Terrible Book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am an avid reader, I have never posted any reviews about books I have read. Books are personal and everyone experiences a book in a diferent way. Having said that, I just finished Goldfinch and felt the need to share how over hyped, dry and dificult this book was to finish. I kept thinking, if I just press on I will discover the wonder of this book---don't waste a moment of your time reading this. It is terrible.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2TEZDIPD4USWO?ASIN=0316055441 I really wanted to like this book. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Parts of this book were very compelling and other parts, I was just kind of stumbling through. By the end of the book, I didn't really enjoy it that much, I was just reading it to finish it. I wouldn't recommend this book as a ""must read"" to friends.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R321MNEDB7K87E?ASIN=0316055441 Not what you may think "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch taught me a lesson---don't buy a book based on the title alone. My love of art history and stories seen through the eyes of youth, had me hoping for a really great read. What I got was a most graphic 'picture' of drugs, despair, and abuse. I made it to the bitter end, but feel I slogged through endless suffering to get there. The bones of a good story were there, but the author ruined it for me with excessive descriptions of misery. There is more than enough depravity in the nightly news. I don't need it in my entertainment.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16Z5FA13TK39W?ASIN=0316055441 Don't Believe the Hype! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book's central obsessions are death and a Dutch masterpiece, giving it an intellectual vibe that seems to have fooled many readers and reviewers into thinking that it is an intelligent book. It is not. If you met this book at a party, you would make up a lame excuse to get out of talking to it.<br/><br/>I've never written one of these before, but it is because of reviews, here and in more prestigious quarters, that I bought this book. These reviews were so overwhelmingly positive that I overcame my misgivings about the book being ""too popular"" and decided to give it a try. Reading some of the negative reviews posted here after I had read and hated the book, I realized that most of these people had quite accurately diagnosed the book's central flaws. So, while I don't have much to add, I wanted to confirm that this book's ponderous philosophical ramblings are neither insightful nor thought-provoking. Its characters, as well as the cities and milieus they frequent, are largely lifeless and often range on caricature. Its central mystery runs out of steam long before the book runs out of pages. Its resolution is neither plausible nor satisfying. It is also morally ambiguous and dark in ways that neither the protagonist nor the author seem to realize. The book is smug and pretentious and just very, very bad.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HOI3T5SC7C5L?ASIN=0316055441 Banality incarnate "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I almost never shut a book down having almost completed it but after 600 pages of this deathly boring tripe I did just that. The book's timeline-as pointed out by other reviewers-just makes no sense. That is indicative of its overall sloppiness. Tartt writes whatever comes into her head. It is the antithesis of good literature. While editing is a major issue here, no amount of consolidation could or should have saved this worthless diatribe, which moves from one rambling exhortation to the next. About half of the narrative is allegedly about drug addiction but the subject is drawn obsessively and gives us no insight at all into the behavior. In fact the author seems to idealize the experience. Another quarter of the narrative is a encyclopedic-like description of the nuances of antiques and their restoration. (Oh heart, can you withstand the suspense here?)<br/><br/>The characters feel cartoonish, which is the only reason they are saved from being despicable. Sorry, but there is no saving grace here. I have no idea why this miserable failure has been highly reviewed by some critics. It is in a word, awful.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23W0G3ZSZWF81?ASIN=0316055441 Whatever Happened to Book Editors? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After finishing this book - which to me was quite repetitive and way too long - I read the original review from The New Yorker which for me was spot on. Not to be a spoiler - the book really should have been about Theo or Theo and Boris. For a title ""character"" the painting is hardly present. Plus, there are times that things happen for literary convenience i.e.: running into Mr. Barbour immediately upon return to NY and meeting up with Boris after all those years. And I was bothered by the use of English expressions such as knackered. Where did these come from when the story is set in America and the author is American. The New Yorker review explained: much of this book is based on E. Nesbit's The Story of the Treasure Seekers - an English book for children. But if using language like that is distracting from the story at hand it lessens the homage. There were parts that presented compelling reading (which is why I gave it 2 stars) and other parts crying out for an editor: on the way back to NY did he stop in Syracuse or was he merely passing through? If it had been edited to half its size and mistakes like that fixed it would have been better. And then there is that sermonizing at the end. This book isn't important enough to preach.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3KE8YGHNLQ8VX?ASIN=0316055441 Author Needs To Edit "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a terrible disappointment, and huge waste of reading hours. First let me say something good: The story line was original and had great potential. Now for what is wrong with this novel: The Author could have had a really enjoyable and insightful book if she had only learned somewhere along the way to not describe every random, obsessive thought the protagonist had. Really! Page after page describing how he felt when he looked at someone walking down the street, or gazing into a restaurant window, or any other mundane moment not related to the story. Not to mention reliving the pivotal moment in his life over and over and over and over, ad invent um. At half-way into the book I finally just gave up on reading each page and would skim and turn a page until I got to some relevant dialogue or action. This book should have been half its size, and it would have been a 5 starred book. Hopefully, as Ms Tartt matures in her writing skills, and a good editor works with her, she will learn to restrain her desire to pound something to death with her words.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HDGRQNKW079?ASIN=0316055441 Would have been twice as good at half the length "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is an interesting story that is so overwrought and over wrung that I went from being really interested to begging her to wrap it up. It is very well researched( in parts- other areas are in a time warp) and technically well written but Theo's myriad of mental machinations go from angst to apoplexy. She really should have worked with some mystery writers because the plot was so transparent as to be improbable ( no, it couldn't be ? I must have missed something but alas, I had not).<br/>Lastly, I was really bothered by some inconsistencies . The first of which is Boris' speech patterns. In the beginning she describes him as having an Australian accent with a Slavic undertone, by the end of the book he is portrayed as a walking Russian stereotype with nary a definite article to be found. The second inconsistency is of technology to time. If Theo was 12 in 1999 did he really have a cell phone? And if he did then why would he not know how to charge ( and/or replace) one in 2012 in Holland? I travel extensively in Europe and using someone else's charger doesn't blow your phone up- not to mention if he was so savvy at tracking the global art world wouldn't he at least have an iPad?<br/>I'm not even going to get into the philosophical emesis she spews forth in the last twenty pages. How could an editor have let that little self indulgent epistle be published?<br/>I'm giving it three stars only because the initial premise and story concept are good.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1PU7Y28YGCCP0?ASIN=0316055441 It took her HOW long to write this? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is a failure on so many interesting levels.<br/><br/>First, Donna Tartt spent over a decade writing this book. I did the math, and that breaks down to something like a single paragraph per week. My problem with this is that ANYONE given eleven years should be able to write a novel of substance. Because of the rarity of her output, this novel is being heralded as an important work and a big contribution to the literary world. I'm not sure why, however, her inability to write faster or more often somehow automatically makes the quality of that output better. So many terrific and brilliant writers working today produce a novel once a year; she, however, needs over a DECADE. Which leads me to my next criticism.<br/><br/>One would think that with eleven years of reclusive struggle, the final work would be hugely imaginative. Incredibly, however, this book, written by an art history major, is all about art, art history, paintings, forgeries, and even concludes with a numbing thesis on the purpose of art itself. The experience, quite frankly, is like watching her masturbate in public.<br/><br/>As to the book itself: there is no plot. I for one don't necessarily need a plot per se, but the book goes out of its way to shape itself as a plot-oriented novel, and then all the plot points and threads and character issues are left completely and totally unresolved. Theo's crappy fiance, Pippa, Lucious Reeve, they all just STOP. Since people keep comparing Tartt to Dickens--an astounding comparison given that Dickens was the closure master--I would liken the experience to reading Dickens' unfinished Edwin Drood. He at least had a legitimate excuse for not finishing: he died. Her characters, however, just STOP once the problem of the painting is resolved. And this, finally, leads me to the biggest problem of the whole book:<br/><br/>WHY DIDN'T THE KID JUST RETURN THE DAMN PAINTING? The whole books hinges on his keeping the painting; once that plot point becomes impossible to fathom, the book begins to feel like a waste of time. For no reason I could discern, Theo tortures himself with the prospect of being caught and labelled as an art thief, but at ANY TIME he could have returned the painting, anonymously, and yet he doesn't. His decision not to strains all credulity; an amusement park of dinosaurs resurrected from the DNA of the blood contained in a petrified mosquito is more believable. What's more, I just didn't care that he had the damn thing. His ridiculous decision to risk his life to retrieve the thing also turns the novel into a preposterous and poorly written airport thriller without the thrills. And once the painting takes center stage, the book, as others have pointed out, becomes plain boring.<br/><br/>Much has been made of the author's detail in her prose. And, indeed, the characters and details she creates do seem to be carved with tiny tools at a deeply minute and microscopic level. However, detail aside, I was surprised at how little poetry the prose had. It was workmanlike and the verbs were used correctly, but out of 800 pages, I can count on one hand the number of times I read something that resonated or sung.<br/><br/>This is not the worst book ever written, obviously. The portion of the novel which occurs in Las Vegas is hugely engaging. Following Theo to the tract-home wasteland of his life with his horrible dad was enthralling and certainly kept me guessing. However, even then that portion only reminded me of Russell Banks' Rule of The Bone, a far superior work of fiction about a teenage boy and his travails.<br/><br/>I truly don't get the hype, and I think the hype is offensive to more talented writers whose biggest sin is producing multiple novels before three full Olympic games have come and gone.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2J14Y1W02LHYV?ASIN=0316055441 740 pages of WOW followed by 30 of Really...??? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ms. Tartt's writing is some of the best I've ever had the privilege to read. Granted I'm a sucker for wrong-place-wrong-time disasters, orphans, great art, wise-but-obsessed craftsmen and youthfully brash criminals with hearts of gold. But it wasn't so much the story I loved, as I have just a modicum of patience for self-pitying, self-absorbed junkies, (which this story sorely tested.)<br/><br/>At least for the first three-quarters of the book, the descriptive passages are so evocative, creative, crazy brilliant...every damn one of them...one after the other after the other, that I suspect everything I've ever written is hack in comparison. Unbelievable that this could all come from just one mind.<br/><br/>But the ending? It is not worthy of the first 740 pages. The climax is contrived, and the denouement forgets that readers who thrilled to every previous word probably already understand arbitrariness, irony and fate, and to spell it out in excruciating detail feels like being trapped in a musty library with with a pompous old English professor.<br/><br/>I feel like a curmudgeon even mentioning these slight disappointments, but given they happened at the end, the experience tarnished the afterglow and that's really too bad.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3RHC3YXHGXWHW?ASIN=0316055441 A very long and boring story that just goes nowhere! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This 800 page book is one of the most cumbersome, tedious, boring books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. For someone who has nothing to say, why take 800 pages to say it. Ms. Tartt says at the end of her book that the message of her story is that life is short and we better enjoy it while we can. How funny to say that in an 800 page book that goes no where and says nothing.<br/>I really wanted to like this book. It did not start badly. The story of Theo is interesting...for a while. And then it goes off the rails. Theo is (along with his buddies) an egocentric, drug addicted, alcoholic, dishonest human being. He has absolutely no good quality about him and yet we are asked to care about his story. Why? Because he stole a painting that is valuable? Really?<br/>I do not want to spoil any of the story for anyone. The reviews of others go into the story and frankly, I am so bored by the story that I do not want to write about it. But I will say this...The Goldfinch has received rave reviews. I don't get it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1EXHK7M12Q4JO?ASIN=0316055441 Hours of my life that I'll never get back "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Somewhere in this over-hyped, over-written 800-page book there is a pretty good 300 page story. The fist quarter of the book is interesting. But then comes a repeating cycle of pages and pages of tedious drug induced introspection by the main character, followed by a tiny bit of the actual story, followed by pages and pages of drug induced introspection by the main character, followed by a tiny bit of the actual story, followed by . . . you get the idea. For this kind of writing you get a Pulitzer these days? A sad commentary on the state of modern literature.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RQVJ4LATBYOZN?ASIN=0316055441 A Good Read, but not a Great Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As a huge fan of Donna Tartt, I was prepared to love this book. The quality of the writing did not disappoint. The novel opens extremely strong with evocative portraits of New York, but loses steam in Las Vegas. The novel could have used stronger editing. The story drifts along with the protagonist in the middle of the novel. While Boris, Hobie, and others are characters that ""come alive"" through Tartt's writing, the protagonist, Theo, suffers from an inability to clearly understand him or to see him. At times, I found myself frustrated by his inarticulateness, which is ironic since Theo is extremely articulate about his thoughts, he is inarticulate when communicating with loved ones. The excessive self-destructiveness of Theo was a bit overdone and dragged on and on well after the point was made. The book seemed to drift endlessly from one drug/alcohol induced binge to another. Frankly, it got old and did not advance the narrative. While the book is still well worth reading, I wish a kind editor would have seen fit to have tightened the story and edited out these repetitive ""lost soul to drugs/alcohol"" scenes. Theo suffers for these overdrawn passages as does the story. Boris is very likable (more likable than Theo) and at times I wonder, like Boris, why he puts up with Theo. I care less and less about Theo's fate as the book goes on. Theo's hopelessness and lack of backbone and ingenuity in the final third of the novel made me care less about him. His creativity and scrappiness, evident in the first half or so of the book makes him likable but Tartt disposes of his finer traits for an ennui that does not satisfy or interest. A book that is almost 800 pages needs a strong payoff at the end which Tartt tries to deliver but does so only half-heartedly. While the novel delivers from a plot standpoint, it fails on a character level. Theo does not receive the epiphany or redemption that we as readers have read hundreds of pages to receive, but rather, there is an abstract ending that is very cerebral rather than visceral. Theo seems to have changed little from his ordeal. He is like an emotional automaton. Perhaps Tartt's point is that the ""damaged"" can never be whole. Yet, for a character to hold our interest for nearly 800 pages, we need more than an emotional automaton. That being said, lovers of art, New York, beautiful writing etc will find this a Good read, just not a Great read.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGDZWTQIP37W2?ASIN=0316055441 Stay away "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is the first review I have ever written . I am doing this because I make decisions based on reviews and this was probably the worst reading decision I have ever made. I was totally mislead by it popping up as a "" you might also like.."" In addition a friend who heart Donna Tartt interviewed on NPR was struck by her literacy and taste. So he bought this for me, as a present. I guess we kind of thought it might be about art. Haha. I had read that the horrific stuff at the beginning went on a little long, which it did , but then there was a continuous stream of dysphoria- forget the terrorist attack, okay that is over, but now it is alcoholism, child abuse, drug addiction, gambling, shady rooms full of drug dealers, lots of vomit and blood, sick scenes of suburbia and more people dying . And virtually every character, save two maybe three, are nasty people you cannot imagine spending time learning about. Why I kept reading is beyond me. I just wanted it to be over and it kept going on. I was hoping it would get a bit more upbeat and all it did was get deeper into misery. I don't like reading fluff, and sadness and misery can be essential to a real story; maybe the ""philosophy"" of it all, which people liked to highlight, was over my head but all I can say is I wish someone had told me to stay away</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGBTEXYGFUTYW?ASIN=0316055441 Can't understand the fuss "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Way too self-indulgent. 771 pages. The length doesn’t bother me, so long as I’m engaged, a book can go on forever as far as I’m concerned. But when it’s 771 pages of meandering prose touching on everything in tremendous detail, it can get excruciating & sometimes desultory. TMI, as some would say.<br/><br/>Donna Tartt’s writing is beautiful and evocative and she seems knowledgeable in a myriad of subjects. If you love New York, her descriptions of Manhattan will take you right there. You’ll learn about Rembrandt & his students – most notably the artist who painted The Goldfinch (who, interestingly, existed) & whose fate is shared tragic comedy style with his painting. You’ll also learn about drugs (both illegal & prescription), alcohol & their dependencies, antique furniture & the painstaking steps in their restoration… etc. etc. etc.<br/><br/>About 80% through, the ball falls for me. Everything was hollow. The protagonist seemed the most self-absorbed character I had come across in a long time. Although his childhood friend was previously an engaging & favourite character, his antics become increasingly implausible. Leaving me cold. The end could not come sooner for me.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2W23Y5PR2CB24?ASIN=0316055441 Should come with downloadable prescription for antidepressant meds "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Bleak & sludge-paced. I lost interest in Main Character Theo (what a whiner!) around page 7,500 of this 20,000 page book. Theo’s friend - The Polish Guy - is one huge cheesy stereotype. The whole unfunny bromance reads like an add-on pasted into the story after the book’s completion, probably in hopes of providing some comedic relief from the unimaginative misery & strangulating pace. Plus Tartt saves her Really Big Ideas for the end – at which point we’re way beyond benefiting from stale observations about Life, Loss, and Purpose. Just want the thing to be OVER! Editors, where were you?</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCPDNF66KWMAS?ASIN=0316055441 Anachronisms! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Honest to Pete, this book is so full of wrong time references. It is sheer laziness and arrogance on the part of the author, the editors, and the publishing house. To sum up, the book starts in the present. Let's assume that means 2013, absent any evidence to the contrary, and I did look. So 14 years prior to that would be 1999. 14 years was the time given as when his mother was killed.<br/><br/>Children were not given phones back then, there were no iPods, and Google was not a household word. Any author who cannot put together even the most rudimentary accurate timeline needs to get into another line of work.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3EPP9GEFGS1JV?ASIN=0316055441 Waste of my time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was my first Donna Tartt book and now will probably be my last. Possibly the most verbose work ever written. The basis of this story is excellent but I felt little empathy for the characters after the initial section of the book. I am one those readers who finishes a book once I begin. The only book I did not finish was the mysteriously popular Eat, Pray, Love. The Goldfinch was excellent reading material for putting me to sleep. If I'm engaged I will ruin my work schedule by staying up all night reading. I slogged my way through The Goldfinch and wasted the three (!!!) weeks of evenings that it required to Finally finish this book.<br/><br/>I should have paid attention to my friend Steve Gibbs' (a gallery owner) low rating of this book!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15YAFDRMM0T2V?ASIN=0316055441 A waste of time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm embarrassed to admit that I read the whole book. I had read some positive reviews of it, so I kept reading, expecting that it would get better. It never did. I found it grossly overwritten and ponderous. It's basically a mediocre 300 page first person narrative that is bloated to 700+ pages. The incessant depictions of boozing and drug use and their physical, psychological and social effects get very boring very quickly. The central role of a Dutch golden age masterpiece has potential for thoughtful insights on the value of art, but this is lost in the morass of poor writing, stereotypical character development and meandering plot. The historic and aesthetic value of the painting do not salvage this literary failure.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HQWC6J241U7Q?ASIN=0316055441 "Can't justify wasting any more time to finish this poorly-edited, highly over-rated ""bestseller""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story started out with a lot of potential, but got progressively more unreadable as the tale droned on. Only character I enjoyed was the dog. With 200 more pages left, i just can't force myself to read another page. At this point, its more like a punishment to continue reading...<br/><br/>Don't buy into the hype for this book...it is AWFUL!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RBGYBHAM1R9A5?ASIN=0316055441 Most exhausting book I've ever read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Goldfish started out with a bang...thought I was going to love it, but then I didn't. The book is way too long and wordy. It has moments of excitement, then it bogs down with so much repetitive description that I found myself wishing for the end. I have never felt so exhausted reading a book before. The continual story line of drug abuse was tedious and the ramblings of the character Boris were humorous at times, but became tiresome as well. I felt like I had invested so much time in this book that I had to stick it out to the end, but it was not an enjoyable journey.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WS1XA1ZEVAV7?ASIN=0316055441 worst book I have read in years! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Interminable...on and on....rambling. Written by someone trying to prove how smart they are. Could not wait for it to end...and then horrible ending. Don't waste your time.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R341YX5V6RA8CH?ASIN=0316055441 Undoubtably the worst book I have ever read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As a teacher of literature and writing, I found the entire book to be without merit. The useless description, the four and five page paragraphs, the wondering lists of adjectives, often relying heavily upon alliteration, were evidence of a lack of thought upon the writer and tedious and boring to the reader. Presentation could have been over-looked if the content (story line) was of some value, which is was not. Terrorism, drugs, dysfunctional relationships, Russian mafia, suicide, murder, art theft....the author included something for everyone; too much for anyone. Why not quite reading it? As a reader, I searched for resolution. Surely as a Best Seller, the book had to have some redeeming feature or at least a good ending. No, it just faded into smoke and mirrors with a philosophical sermonette by the central character. I didn't think I could find or read anything as disgusting as Fifty Shades of Grey, but I did in The Goldfinch.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RPZKADXG1V2Y?ASIN=0316055441 very disappointing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Great start, falling quickly into a dark pit from which one never fully recovers. Much too dark, upsetting, ultimately I felt it was a waste of my time. Definitely not a light read. Boring in parts with infinite details, to fill pages? I cannot recommend this book to anyone I know.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NV87MNM5IWZW?ASIN=0316055441 When Donna Tartt is good she is very very good; and when she is bad she is...well... not so good. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book has been trumpeted as everything from the greatest book ever written - and Tartt herself heralded as ""the New Charles Dickens"" to being torn apart for being boring and overlong. For me, I found it not really either of those things and I came away with some mixed feelings about this lengthy and complex novel.<br/><br/>To begin, let me say categorically that I loved the first several hundred pages - and Tartt truly has a gift for capturing the grief and confusion of our young protagonist Theo as he loses his beloved mother in desperate and horrifying circumstances. Likewise as Theo is farmed out to increasingly odder and odder ""families"" (one is, in fact, his biological father whom he not seen in years and hates with all the bile of an angry, abandoned little boy) Tartt's masterful ability to weave a truly convincing portrayal of the suffocating lives of bored, upper-crust people with too much money and not enough to do absolutely shines.<br/><br/>The book is at it's best when Tartt focuses on creating the fuddled dream-like world of the fusty, drowsy antique shop where Theo find as much happiness as this sad hero is ever going to find, and in true tragic form Theo's own demons prove too much for him and he harms even the gentlest folk that love him the most deeply.<br/><br/>While these parts of the narrative are magical - I could have equally have done without the rather odd turn the novel takes 2/3 of the way through where it shifts from a story of love and tragedy into an odd, jarring and ridiculous Tom Clancy-esque action/adventure complete with a 100+ page ""Plot twist"" involving a shoot-out in Amsterdam with Russian Mobsters who speak in silly ""Moose & Squirrel"" accents. (The entire episode doesn't advance the plot at all and is, quite simply, totally unnecessary)<br/><br/>In addition, Tartt's many, many long-winded and pain-staking descriptions of drug use seem repetitive and pointless after the multitudes of similar scenes of bad drug trips, and it felt like Tartt had handed the novel over to fellow writer and pal Brett Easton Ellis and just crammed these scenes into the novel for no real discernible reason except to prove she could be ""tough"". (""Look! Now I'm being gritty! I'm going to spend several paragraphs describing vomiting!""). These endlessly repeated scenes (at least one every other chapter over 700+ pages) only seemed to prove the very simple point over and over and over ad nauseum with an endlessly pounded sledgehammer to the temple that our Protagonist is one messed-up kid with a resulting drug problem. (""Look! Drugs are bad! My character is really messed up and depressed!"")<br/><br/>Ultimately, this is at he heart of where my frustrations with this book lie(and I had similar problems with Tartt's last book ""The Little Friend""). At times it seems as if Tartt is not so much advancing the narrative of her stories or the plot - but somewhat disingenuously being clever only to show us how clever she is being (""Look! I am referencing Great Expectations! I'm even calling a character Pippa! Isn't that droll of me?""; ""Look! My book has a Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe complete with twinkly old man and sweet granddaughter who our Hero will fall hopelessly in love with! See how educated I am?"") and as a result I find myself siding to a degree with Lydia Kiesling's review on The Rumpus [...] where she writes ""Donna Tartt is catnip for educated people who want to read entertaining but not difficult things about lofty topics and cosmopolitan people"", and, like Kiesling, I found myself frustrated with a great deal in this sometimes messy and at times downright silly book.<br/><br/>And then in the last chapters, the story wriggles and shakes itself and returns to the lyrical, poetic language we began with and, like a dream, Tartt makes us forget the gigantic plot holes, ridiculously stereotyped characters and nonsensical segues that frustrated us chapters ago, and I found myself, once again, back on board with the novel.<br/><br/>In the end, Theo's story is tied up so neatly and so heart-breakingly beautifully we forgive Tartt, just as Theo learns to forgive himself.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1DICJG32ZLW8?ASIN=0316055441 It reminded me of the Jerry Springer show. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The title of the book really has very little to do with the plot...or art or the art world or hopes, dreams. Nothing. This book reminded me of the Jerry Springer show. The characters have no redeeming value, the plot is shallow, and the ending, the final few pages, are supposed to make up for the author's complete lack of control over her keyboard. The author takes the reader through soooo many drug trips that when she finally gets around to the main plot I didn't care one bit about the characters. I persevered through to the end only to be rewarded with a Jerry Springer like ""Final Thought"".</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RNBB8DCU8EXEW?ASIN=0316055441 Hated it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book started out with promise. I was engaged and interested in the main character. I had compassion for him and rooted for him and was saddened by the turns his life taking, but being ever hopeful that there would be redemption. If there was, I don't know about it. The book plodded on and on and I grew to care less and less about the two boys. They had no redeeming qualities and I tired of reading about their decadence, selfishness and warped minds. After about 3/4 of the book, I had to put it down because I couldn't bear to read a book in which there was no longer anyone I wanted to root for. They all could have died for all I cared. I hope there was some redemption in the end, but I'll never know.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R9KXQ9021BTAP?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed to the extreme! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was one of the worst books I have ever attempted to read ... and I've read many hundreds. The book was boring; the storyline incomprehensible; I skipped lots of pages many times! Don't understand why it's No.1 on lists. Tried to finish because I wanted to find some redeeming features ... but I failed.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3KD9K0WAIY8FW?ASIN=0316055441 Writing overload "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It is with some distress that I could not rank this one higher. I still waiver on giving it 3.5 stars because I do think this writer is gifted. The problem is there's too much here--sometimes good pruning and cutting makes a better story overall. And I don't know what happened to good editing, but there are far too many 800 page works of fiction out there these days. In Dickens' time, it made sense (there was not all this media we have today). But Dickens kept the story-clip going. Tartt loses her narrative thread, despite good character-development. There were times I wondered why I was continuing to read--and I had to skim through the thicket of too much prose. All in all, I don't think this author will ever surpass the masterful first novel she produced some 20 years ago.<br/><br/>With all the praise and marketing heaped on this read, it can only disappoint.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3T58UXWL3LFEF?ASIN=0316055441 Less would be far more! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Let me start by saying that I really like long books, in fact, I prefer them. Therefore, I was not daunted when our Florida book club chose this for the first book of next season. Some objected, and some had heard the book was not worth reading. When I began, I thought they were mistaken. What an interesting story -- at least for the first third: interesting narrator, characters, plot.<br/><br/>The middle section was less so as it wallowed in highly repetitious scenes of the drunken or drug-induced stupor of our angst-filled narrator in his stormy teens. Less would have been more, or perhaps I am just unsympathetic to the subject. Only so many gulps, sniffs and blackouts and I felt that I, too. was living through this very depressing, tedious passage of time. Too long.<br/><br/>And then, there is the last third, the adult years, which pick up narrative for a bit and then end with another long, excessively long, monologue examining guilt (a major recurring theme) and going on to speculate on the meaning (or lack of meaning) of life. Kirkus called it ""A long-awaited, elegant meditation on love, memory and the haunting power of art."" Perhaps there are some elegant moments -- especially on art -- but all the words -- in much the same way as all the drugs -- ultimately became stultifying. I will not reread the book for our Fall session, and will not feel it is a loss if I forget much over the summer. Amnesia would be just fine....</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R44TNU1ACPIT4?ASIN=0316055441 Vastly overrated "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Rarely have I been so disappointed by a book that has been so highly praised. Much as I enjoyed Donna Tartt's first novel, this one is a piece of monumental logorrhea. Characters speak in longwinded monologues, pages are devoted to descriptions of the restoration of furniture; we are spared no detail of the reactions to drugs, both up and down; the book ends with a philosophic disquisition that might have been written by a graduate student, and on and on. I made a point of finding Francine Prose's review, which I had heard was among the few negative voices, and found that she was generous, limiting herself to stylistic problems, such as clichés and diction, whereas I find the novel seriously lacking as fiction.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HPB6T6LJRBVO?ASIN=0316055441 All Hacks Off the Stage "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Stephen King once said that if you are reading a book and it isn't good, put it down and start another because life is too short. This book took over a week of my life that I'll never get back. I put the book down right when the character was going off to live with his father and the ""evil"" step-mother. This stream of conscienceless BS that some writers think makes them sound intellectual is ridiculous. This is the author's attempt to write ""The Catcher in the Rye"". She failed because, you know, Salinger already did this. Moreover, the author reaches for impossible plot twists that are only there because she needs it to be that way. I read a different review that wondered why the main character didn't just turn in the painting. Even if it is anonymous. Doesn't take a genius (which, by the way, the character was supposed to be) to know that a teen age boy isn't going to be an art master thief. He's under the care of a psychiatrist, has a school counselor meeting with him, and has a social worker. All of them know he is traumatized by the explosion and the death of his mother, so, his story about the painting would be accepted as true. I noticed many interviews that trashed the book but gave it 4 stars. I'm going to give it no stars which is what it deserves. If you want to appear erudite and sophisticated, read this book and you can be a pretend intellectual as well. If you are intelligent and discerning, avoid it and you won't miss anything.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RR0F98A8IEPDE?ASIN=0316055441 Dissolute, disappointing, depressing. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book started out quite well and posed an interesting sounding situation. However it became more and more convoluted and unbelievable as it progressed. The writing which began as very descriptive to all our senses devolved to tiresome repetition. At times it seemed it was being written to become a horror movie, definitely noir. This is one of the few books I've ever read that I could not finish with less than 100 pages left. Please don't waste your time or money.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R36TQAV4M9D24T?ASIN=0316055441 For the brids "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">For the life of me I can't understand why this book is on the best seller list. I am on page 335 of a long, laborious, detailed description of juvenile drug use. Really? I thought I was buying some sort or a thriller with intellectual ""art"" overtones. Do I want to continue reading endless episodes of children behaving badly? No thank you. I'm bailing out of this novel which is, in my opinion, ""for the birds.""</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R22LY0X3L9BJ9J?ASIN=0316055441 Closure. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I enjoyed this book because the story was so unusual. However, I knew before I started it that I was going to have a problem with the ending. I did. One would think, after almost 800 pages, the author would have tried a bit harder to tie up a few loose strings. Maybe she is thinking about writing a sequel? What happens to Theo....does he just continue to drift? The last 1/4 of the book almost felt like the author herself was getting tired of writing and just wanted to end it all in the easiest way. But, after the reader has made a commitment of that many pages, I think the author owes us some closure.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ZOFW6TYMXOKU?ASIN=0316055441 Unbelievably boring "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although Donna Tartt really does write wonderfully hypnotically, and I love that, this book went nowhere and took forever to get there. I had read about 300 pages when I started thinking, am I going to have to read every thought this kid has, for every minute of the rest of his life? And when, god, when, can we get OUT of Las Vegas, ugh, what a BORING setting, and to go on for hundreds of pages, it was just torture, so I started skimming and then realized that nothing ever does happen. Theo grows up to be just like his father, whiny, self-obsessed, incapable, and corrupt. By the time I was done with the book, I didn't want to hear one more word on the loss of his mother. I just did not care anymore. I am SO disappointed. My advice is to read a couple hundred pages in the book store and then decide whether to buy it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHP9GQBB2JD8X?ASIN=0316055441 What was the point? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">“The Goldfinch,” Donna Tartt’s long and intricate neo-Victorian novel (the second of 2013 after Eleanor Catton’s far better “The Luminaries”) begins in a hotel room in Amsterdam and immediately flashes back to the narrator, Theo Decker, at 13, as he and his mother are about to embark on a journey to his school for a conference with the principal. With time to spare on a rainy morning, they duck into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Disaster ensues, and the boy finds himself in possession of the painting of the title. Maybe here you’ll remember what Roger Ebert used to call “the idiot plot.” The whole tale hinges on Theo’s not reporting to authorities (or the remaining adults in his life) that he has ""acquired"" this painting. Indeed, since the narrative is first person (a calamitous mistake), Ms. Tartt has to keep inventing excuses for her character. In an unsuccessful movie, this is problematic enough. In a book, especially a leisurely one like this, it’s hard to get that out of your mind.<br/><br/>But, whatever.<br/><br/>Theo, after a stay with his friend’s family, the Barbours (Bill Murray will doubtless play Mr. Barbour in the film version—especially if Wes Anderson directs), next finds himself in Las Vegas, where Ms. Tartt somehow manages to avoid total disaster, if only barely. This way too long sequence, with Theo’s dad, his cliché second wife, and a cardboard gangster, seems more “CSI” than Dickens, but it does introduce us to an important character, Boris.<br/><br/>Finally (after 40% of the book is done, according to my Kindle), Theo leaves Sin City on a bus, with a dog (never mind why there’s a dog), and returns to New York.<br/><br/>It was at this point in the tale that I called a t/o baby, quickly flicked ahead to see how many e-pages this bus trip would take up, and with some relief found their number acceptable; I made the decision to continue on. A borderline wise one, as it turned out, because the return (spoiled by one unfortunate coincidence necessary for the plot), is the point where the story picks up a bit, and we meet another assortment of characters and welcome the return of others, experience a few incidents bordering on the soap operatic, and encounter another cardboard villain, this one more from “The Blacklist” than “CSI.”<br/><br/>With 70 percent of the book over, there’s a Big Reveal, Jeffery Deaver style, that’s almost impossible to believe (at least with Deaver you usually do believe), which made me wonder what on earth the author was attempting to do in the first place, and made me wonder how, finally, to “star” it. Since I’ve awarded five stars to authors as disparate as, for example, the aforementioned Ms. Catton and Mr. Deaver, Rachel Kushner, Jennifer Egan, David Weber, Catherine Asaro, and Caitlin R. Kiernan, I’ve long decided that my stars would indicate how well the author succeeded in what she was trying to do. As in this case I’ve no idea, I’ll throw up three and move along to the next book on my list.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTUDMB4GAMTOB?ASIN=0316055441 Superb. . .then so disappointing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was the most puzzling read I've encountered in quite awhile. I have never read anything by<br/>Donna Tartt before - have wanted to. Tartt's writing captured me immediately, and I found her writing - in the first person voice of Theo, an adolescent, just excellent. I felt like I could really feel all that Theo was describing. Let me say - no spoiler here - that Tartt sets up a tragedy in Theo's<br/>young life. The book is long, but it seemed like a the plot was set up and so well through what I'll call ""the first two phases"" of Theo's life - in Manhattan, and subsequently, in Las Vegas.<br/><br/>I found the story so compelling until about 3/4 of the way through the book; at that point, I honestly felt like Tartt got up from writing - left the room - and some other author stepped in.<br/>I was just that puzzled by the final portions of the book. It seemed as though Tartt set up an arc that could have been such a compelling and excellent story - that somehow came off the tracks towards the end. I would still say - read it, but I have to say I was so very disappointed. Several other reviews I read on my Kindle said they started just skimming towards the end - and I can surely see why. There were loose ends that needed to be resolved, I thought. So -<br/>just a troublesome puzzle as this could have been great, it seems to me.<br/><br/>.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3N4JYUNVZNE4V?ASIN=0316055441 Powerful book....but flawed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I REALLY wanted to love this book, and halfway through, I wrote to a friend and told him he must get a copy and read it. Then, as the story went along I became more and more disenchanted with the main character, and less and less tolerant of his self-destructive behavior and his annoying self-pity. On the other hand, Boris was an absolute revelation: spontaneous, gregarious, forgiving, generous...simply a wonderful characterization, even though he had enormous faults which brought troubles to so many people.<br/><br/>Here is for me the key to the novel: in answer to the cliched advice, ""Be yourself. Follow your heart."" the author simply says the following: ""What if one happens to be possessed of a heart that cannot be trusted?"" That is the essence of Theo, and he has to live for many years and over 700 pages to figure it out...and we, the readers, have to endure his unappealing character for that long too.<br/><br/>Having said all that, I must state that I cannot recall a book with such vibrant descriptive language, such poetic phrases, such wildly unpredictable situations and characters. I read all the time, and this novel kept me awake many, many nights. I just wish that I liked Theo more, and if I had I would have enjoyed the book more.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2QZ0NG7Y5ELXM?ASIN=0316055441 This book gave reading back to me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After many years of passionate reading, I found that my attention was trailing off; that I simply didn't have the desire or ability to push through an 800-page book any longer. Was thinking of getting a neurological workup actually, but it seems the fault lay not in my brain, but in my books. Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch has restored the thrill of reading to me-the kind of flashlight-under-the-covers reading we do when we are young and just discovering the amazing power of story. Despite feeling lukewarm about the subject matter...a stolen painting? a motherless boy?...in the first 10 pages I was completely hooked, and did not put the book down until I had finished it three days later. Must confess to an unfortunate after-effect; all books I've begun since Goldfinch just seem utterly pedestrian; reading anything else has been like walking through glue. Other reviewers will outline the story of Theo Decker more comprehensively: the tragedy of the museum attack that cost him his mother, his uneasy migration through a classmate's affluent and dysfunctional family, then a new and awful home in the hinterlands of Las Vegas with his appalling father, where he forms a deep friendship with a Russian teenager who is more an explosive force of nature than a literary invention. Tartt then returns Theo to the compassionate oversight of master furniture restorer Hobie and the girl, Pippa, who was also in the museum, and who captured Theo's attention before their two worlds were simultaneously destroyed in the terrorists' blast. The locations are rendered richly, flawlessly; they take on the weight of characters, really-particularly Las Vegas in the recession and Amsterdam in December, chilly, festive, with all the city's splendors and idiosyncrasies on display. Then there is New York, one of Tartt's homes. So much has been written about the city, but Tartt captured small flashes of visions that we all see in New York, but never articulate, much less preserve in text. Often, I had to stop reading through to reexamine a sentence that seemed to describe something both familiar and entirely new and fresh, in language that reduced me to blithering envy of her craft. What an eye she has! The writing is superlative. Since it is publication week, I read a New Yorker review I considered completely churlish, and a New York Times review that simply didn't seem to be treating the novel with the immense gravitas it deserves. The Goldfinch has been called Dickensian, and perhaps it is; but it is also Tartt's completely original and achingly splendid creation. I loved this novel and will remember it forever, something I haven't said since To Kill a Mockingbird.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2PUC4ZGSFCAZT?ASIN=0316055441 755 Pages with a Drug Addict "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a brilliant writer with vivid characters, but 755 pages of someone who can't shake a drug addiction is not my idea of good reads. In the last 20 pages, I got to wondering about the author herself and why exactly she is so thrilled about the endless nuances of a drug high.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3GI9X1L4VG25S?ASIN=0316055441 tedious with a disappointing ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book had a lot of potential but the main character, Theo, became really tedious. The interesting characters and exciting parts of the plot were secondary to long overly philosophical meandering thoughts and whiny self pity from Theo. I stuck with it just to be completely disappointed by the end. I never write reviews but felt compelled to share how irritated I was by this book. It has nice writing and a great concept but that wasn't enough to make up for the down sides.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2Y62NAF4HA18Z?ASIN=0316055441 Engaging, Depressing Saga "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Exhausted and unsatisfied when I finished. Disappointed in life view of protagonist and his inability to escape the impact of his early trauma and DNA. Yet, this book kept you moving forward with the hope of resolution on many levels and several of the characters are enduring.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BYO3CCB5TJCZ?ASIN=0316055441 Too Many Words "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Yes, Donna Tartt is a talented fiction writer, and you can open this novel at any page and be engaged by it. But she needs a Max Perkins to cut this down to size. There is too much prose here, too many inner reflections, too many modifiers, too much detailed description. (Do we really need six pages to describe the tedium of standing in line at the Metropolitan Museum of Art? What is this, Henry Fielding telling an interpolated story to convey the passage of time?)<br/><br/>Too many precisely delineated minor characters, too many mildly eccentric hangers-on. The result for me is a dilution of sympathy for the main character. ""When everybody's some-body, Then no one's any-body.""<br/><br/>Tartt's cloying, over-egged pudding of a prose style makes me over-aware of the artifice going on. I often wanted to throw the book against the wall, only I have it on Audible and Kindle, so I'd be smashing my iPhone.<br/><br/>Errors of fact, anachronisms, and implausible situations abound. Tartt has people using iPhones and recent-model BlackBerrys back around 2001. She's got a 13-year-old boy, an experienced Manhattanite, taking a Fifth Avenue bus to get from the Upper East Side to Greenwich Village, where he immediately gets lost (even though he's supposedly been down there often) because he is confused by the crooked old streets (although they're not crooked old streets around Fifth Avenue). Next time, Donna, put him on the subway. An eatery on Greenwich Avenue is said to be on Greenwich Street (quite some distance away). When the boy's mother gets killed, a pair of mutant-like social workers immediately descend upon the boy's apartment and abduct him. Tartt apparently thinks this happens every day and that there is some fierce stricture against 13-year-olds being alone at home.<br/><br/>She's got 13-year-olds taking Advanced Placement classes (in calculus, even!) although these prodigies are not being packed off to college for another few years. But the weirdest feature of Tarttland is that everybody has a thoroughgoing knowledge of art history and decorative arts, and will rhapsodize like a coked-up antiques queen at the slightest provocation. Even our narrator, at age 13, is using words like ""faience"" and ""finial.""<br/><br/>The only reason to read this book (unless you're spending a couple weeks in bed) is to learn how to write long-form fiction and how not to write long-form fiction. Class, this month's exercise is to take Donna Tartt's 'The Goldfinch' and edit it down to 250 pages. Next month we turn that into a screenplay of 200 pages. First step: lose most of the minor characters.<br/><br/>But four stars for overall talent and effort.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R14CVVJSYLFJI8?ASIN=0316055441 A+ in college creative writing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is written in the kind of prose that is awarded an A+ in creative writing courses; intricately detailed, but interminable, re-re-redundant descriptive verbally diarrhetic passages that numb the mind by sheer volume, like reading Wikipedia or the OED – which I enjoy – but 800 some-odd pages could have been told in 400.<br/>Though the Goldfinch is told from the POV of a fourteen year old boy, Theo, our hero seems to view his world from the POV and values of a middle-aged, middle-class woman with an insatiable appetite for upscale consumerism, from shoes to food to furniture and all else too-too expensive in between; a combination Neiman-Marcus and Sotheby’s auction catalogue running amok on every page.<br/>The central character is really secondary to the action [not the philosophy] The plot moves along with the narrator getting stoned and having deep, colorful thoughts – especially on LSD or model glue – and getting himself into deep, deep trouble. But instead of learning, growing, evolving as a not-so-tragic hero, every time a crisis needs resolving, the book’s Deus ex machina magically appears from nowhere, our narrator’s boyhood friend, name of Boris, speaking in pijin [not goldfinch] Russified-english and it is Boris who moves the action another notch. Were Boris black, speaking eternal truths in ebonic, like Uncle Remus, there would be an uproar, but here it seems to fly.<br/>The moral of this book seems to be that it’s perfectly okay to ingest – daily –every mood-altering substance known to man for fourteen years with absolutely no adverse physical or moral consequences for our hero. Around age thirteen, after the life-changing EVENT happens, he starts drinking stolen beer – to stupefaction – then proceeds to vodka, glue-sniffing, marijuana, Oxys, Roxys, dilaudid, X, cocaine, morphine, heroin – and countless other intoxicants along the way. Unlike his buddy, Theo prissily stops short of injecting heroin, only snorting it, no explanation given. The author describes in detail - about every other chapter - Theo being blasted totally out of his mind, unconscious, near death, and then vividly describes morning after hangovers in colorful detail as the narrator vomits up the night’s binging. Yes, his vomit, too, is described in all different colors and textures! Great if you like vomit, or finding the meaning of life in upchuck, as our narrator seems to.<br/>Strangely, at the end of the book, he/she chronicles an eleven month period immediately after, during which there is no mention of drugs of any kind and miraculously, the narrator has no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever, no remorse, no comment. After a fourteen-year non-stop daily binge-to-stupefaction drug intake, this makes no sense. I read this in a Kindle edition. Amazon Kindle routinely censors out what it deems too much sex description, but fourteen years of teenage drug binging with no consequences seems to be okay. Go figure.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16P98CAVKWTSP?ASIN=0316055441 A Pulitzer Winner "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved The Secret History by Tartt. The Little Friend not so much. I had bought The Goldfinch some time ago, but put off reading it. When it won the Pulitzer price, I decided to start on it.<br/><br/>The beginning was okay. The young hero and his mother are in a museum (reluctantly on Theo's part) when she goes ahead to another gallery while he dawdles. A bomb goes off and, among many others, kills his mother. Theo himself is left with a dying man who gives him a ring to deliver and urges him to take the painting they were admiring: The Goldfinch.<br/><br/>For some reason Theo does. He crawls through debris and bodies and comes out a back entrance and goes home.<br/><br/>The rest of the story goes into his hiding it, worrying about it being found, following the news reports about its theft, delivering the ring, living with various people (including at one point his father who'd abandoned Theo and his mother), and going through all the phases many young people do (including drugs). He makes friends, loves someone who doesn't love him back (she was with the man in the museum who urged Theo to take the painting), becomes engaged (to someone else), loses friends, has friends show up again, has friends die. In other words, the story takes us through his life. And it's really rather tedious.<br/><br/>The book wasn't impossible to finish, but I found myself hating to come back to it. I should have known better; Pulitzer winners and Oprah choices are seldom books I want to read.<br/><br/>I'm not an intellectual. I'm sure this story has some larger than life meaning that I'm not smart enough to appreciate. I suspect those people will enjoy this.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YC5VIRFFRW36?ASIN=0316055441 Dickens It's Not "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a huge disappointment, for me anyway. The opening New York sections were excellent, but once things move to Las Vegas the story takes a seriously wrong turn. I have to wonder for whom Tartt thinks she's writing. Does she really imagine that intelligent adult readers are going to be enthralled with hundreds of pages detailing the antics of a pair of burned-out druggie teenagers who spend their time smoking weed, swilling vodka, and dining on packets of sugar and whatever delicacies they can steal from the local supermarket? Well, perhaps they will, the book *is* on the NYT besteller list. But once all the hype and interviews die down...who knows? The comparisons to Dickens are particularly inappropriate. Dickens wrote about orphans and others who are on the receiving end of undeserved bad luck, but his characters struggle *against* degradation and dissipation. Here Theo and Boris revel in their moral squalor. (Boris is the kind of character who seems to exist only in books and movies: the burn-out loser druggie who is failing all his classes in school but is really a secret genius who reads Dostoevsky and Thoreau in his rare sober and lucid moments. Yeah...right. I went to high school. Burn outs are burn outs).<br/><br/>Nor is there any hint of Dickens' wild and life-affirming humor. There's not a drop of wit in the book. No one even cracks a halfway decent dirty joke.<br/><br/>Too bad. I gave up halfway though the book. There is just such an incredible ugliness about all (or almost all) of the characters that I found I didn't care a damn what happened to them and certainly didn't want to spend any more time with them. The ironic part is that Tartt is an incredible writer, a master of descriptive prose, attentive to detail and able to create a truly believable world on the page. Too bad it's such a rotten world.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R67BLUKAGZPVU?ASIN=0316055441 The more I read, the less I liked the book. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the rare books that I enjoyed less and less as I read through it. I found it quite excruciating to get through the last 20% of the book, but I was determined to finish it.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R9FCRKT7PU16S?ASIN=0316055441 depressing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I truly feel sorry for this author. This has been an extremely depressing read, and feel she must have been on her own<br/>""high"" while writing this story. Can't believe it is considered a best seller.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2T9XI9PJQYBWE?ASIN=0316055441 Great storyline but a tedious read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Pros: I learned a lot about exquisite art/antique furniture restoration when reading this book. The characters are well-developed and unforgettable, and the general plot is interesting and believable. The honest, intelligent candor of the young central character was his most endearing quality..<br/><br/>Cons: I found the story to be frustrating, and often downright depressing. There were too many instances of the reader being dragged through the gutter on teenage/young adult unhealthy and dangerous 3-day drug and alcohol binges.. There were obvious reasons why the young characters would be so flawed, and I must admit that their ability to physically survive was remarkable. The main character stayed consistent throughout the book, which isn't a good thing when one is caught in the throes of post traumatic stress disorder since the age of thirteen.<br/><br/>Learning about art and its effects on humanity is interesting to a degree, but holding the storyline hostage, while the reader muddles through page after page of descriptive writing, is not the best way to write an engaging book. I found myself skipping pages while searching for the continuing storyline.<br/><br/>I am glad I read the book. It opened up another sub culture for me. But I suspect that the important teaching points could have been made with 200 less pages.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R9HDJLPVE32JE?ASIN=0316055441 Not recommended - "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A gifted young man who experiences losses and falls into drugs. The narrative of 2/3 of the book are graphic scenes for a youthful drug addition. This is horribly demoralizing and depressing. I do not recommend that anyone read this book. I can't for the life of me understand why it got such rave reviews.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Y5UXLVOTT59U?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointing. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I agree with many of the other reviews. I now have more knowledge about drugs, addiction, alcoholism, etc than I ever cared to acquire. As to the resolution of the issues surrounding the painting? I just don't get it. Was there actually a coherent conclusion? If so, my version must be missing that part. What a tremendous waste of my time.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R47GLV6ABYM0F?ASIN=0316055441 This book has some great descriptions and conversations "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book has some great descriptions and conversations, but it rambles and repeats things over and over again. The end of the book almost becomes stream of consciousness writing that may have been fun for the author, but very painful for the reader.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NJS4NO2CXL63?ASIN=0316055441 Pass "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a novel with an interesting premise clumsily handled by Donna Tartt. Her characters are flattened stereotypes without pathos, animus, or motivation, and she skips ahead in time only to gloss over important character developments (addiction recoveries, mourning periods, criminal escalations). I would almost believe that these were intentional narrative choices if she weren't such a poor writer. She never establishes her own voice, instead vacillating between finer authors' styles — borrowing from Raymond Carver in one paragraph, then blatantly stealing from Irvine Welsh in another. When her own adolescent style peeks through, it is laden with heavy-handed mixed metaphors and similes as poorly chosen as a horror movie on Christmas Eve.<br/><br/>If you've ever read and appreciated a literary masterpiece, this book is not for you. Please save your money (and, moreover, your time), and read some truly good modern fiction.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20F9NMJKYW31D?ASIN=0316055441 More Like Ayn Rand and Dr. Pangloss than Dickens "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Expected more, based on reviews. I rate it ""one star"" it in reaction to the over-hype, I might otherwise rate it worthy of three stars, no more.<br/><br/>The author is capable of putting words together in an artful manner and there are satisfying sentences and passages, long or short. There is rhythm, there are words lovingly chosen by a connoisseur of words, there are examples of deft description, there are bits of truth here and there. Some characters are fairly well drawn. Because of this (and also the rave reviews) I was patient through the first three quarters of the book. I stayed open minded through the unrelenting drug abuse, dishonesty, unethical behavior, bad choices and/or lack of responsibility displayed by nearly all the characters in the hopes of a brilliant payoff at the end of the book. Unfortunately, when I reached the climax and last sections of the novel, my hopes and expectations were for the most part, dashed. The story of The Goldfinch (painting) itself is wrapped up satisfactorily, decently, and tidily enough. The problem is that the author begins Explaining her metaphysical/philosophical worldview, nearly preaching, I would assert, through Boris' last long rant to Theo and then later through Theo's last bit of writing/narration. Explaining! Good grief! The book died for me right there. Moreover, I myself am highly dubious of the assertions made by the author with regard to the futility of ethics and responsibility, the allegiance to a deterministic-fatalistic POV, the magical thinking applied to random coincidence, and many other points made in the virtual opinion essays inserted at the end of the book. I hate to say it, but really ham-handed at the end. Great literature does not stoop to this.<br/><br/>I really do not understand the comparisons that have been made by reviewers of this book to Dickens. If the book is at all like Dickens, it is only superficially so, in the number of characters and that sort of thing. Dickens was an author all about social responsibility, ethics, and progress. This book is a justification of individual freedom minus responsibility. Not a world I want to live in.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R14TBIG8DX8HKN?ASIN=0316055441 Worst. Book. Ever "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Okay, maybe not the worst book ever. But close. If this book had been 300 pages shorter, I may have liked it more. Too much unnecessary filler and information. I think I skipped over more than I actually read. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters, just couldn't find much to like about any of them. Except for Popper, the dog. I might have poked a sharp stick through my eye if it hadn't been for him. After awhile, I just stopped caring about most any of them. There's no written, or unwritten, rule that says you have to connect to characters in a book. But, it helps to at least throw something out there that makes you want to keep reading. Do not have a clue why this book won a Pulitzer Prize. Maybe it was the pretentiousness of using 27-letter words that NO ONE ever uses or would even want to use. Or the paragraphs written in foreign languages without a clue what was being said. Or the use of far too many question marks in places where they didn't belong. I'm only assuming that was some kind of artistic' trick'. Guess I'm too stupid to get it though, because it really just aggravated me more than anything else. Actually, I'm not stupid at all. I just don't like books like The Goldfinch. Pretentious. Yawn. Boring.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WWRFITXATJWH?ASIN=0316055441 Much ado about nothing, a long ride that goes nowhere "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The main character, who we live with on every page, I just wanted to smack upside the head and tell him to pull up his socks and stop his sniveling. Even though his life explodes, tragically, I did not care about him, found him exhausting and annoying. Almost stopped reading the book a few times, because he was so un compelling a character. The characters of Boris and Hobie, help the book greatly, would have stopped reading if not for them. But in the end, while beautifully written at times, this book is a long slog that doesn't deliver anything I found of value.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3OBRB04LGEY0M?ASIN=0316055441 bogged down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I tried very hard to like this book as I had heard so much about it. The first part was interesting, but soon got bogged down. I quit about halfway through the novel.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NE8XHM55U2S7?ASIN=0316055441 Tedium at its Finest "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is beautifully written, and I really enjoyed the beginning. The characters were interesting and I really thought it was going to be great, but as I got further and further into it, it just sounded like someone who liked to hear themselves talk. The descriptions were beautiful, but so many unnecessary. I just finished the book, thinking there had to be a great ending, but there was only someone opining on the meaning of life? I would scan and skip and scan and skip. If you have read the book, Atonement, it's just like that. See the movie instead. The first 200 pages of Atonement takes 5 minutes in the movie. The Goldfinch should have been 200 pages long.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1EKJVHO6RM2YX?ASIN=0316055441 Much ado about nothing... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Can you say, ""Editor"" please? I'm among those readers who kept hoping overblown over-hyped book would redeem itself with me but no. At first I hoped there'd be some positive turns but no that didn't happen...initially I cared what happened...about 400 pages into it not so much and by 600 pages I figured life is too short to waste any more of it on this basically unedited downward spiral.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NZRVNQGUBGHS?ASIN=0316055441 "Torn between 'I don't like it"" and ""I hate it""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Someone once told me that there is no bad art -it's a matter of taste, so, one should say ""I don't like"", but never ""It's a bad movie (book, painting, or whatever)."" Well, I really didn't like this book(read -what I really want to say is THIS IS A TERRIBLE BOOK, in my opinion).<br/>I bought it because after a visit to The Frick, I saw it in the museum store and unconsciously (and wrongly) I expected it to be magical as the painting. I love art in any shape or form. I love paintings, I love books, I love dance. This book doesn't do justice to art. The story doesn't make any sense, it's sad, the main character manages to always make a bad decision after another for no good reason other than ""my mom died..."" yet he is tried to be portrayed as a good guy whose liked by others, yada yada.<br/>During the first few pages I just thought it was a sad beginning and that if I could just hang on I'd be rewarded. That was not the case. It just got increasingly annoying because again, it doesn't make sense. The goldfinch is not a fantasy book, it is not magical realism, So, is it a (somewhat) serious book? I found it difficult to enjoy a book written by someone who doesn't even have the minimal understanding of technology yet it makes it part of the story repeatedly?. What am I talking about? Well, 13 years ago there were no iphones -iphones were launched in 2007/2008 if I recall correctly. The author goes back between the protagonist using ""iphones"" and then not having a cellphone at all. He snail mails letters!? Does anyone know a teenager that mails letters and doesn't text? That's about technology. I could go on and on with (nonsensical) examples like this. So, would I trust a thing about art written by this author?! Oh no.<br/>Anyway, there's actual fantasy/sci-fi/magical realism (not that this one is) books that are not disguised as serious fiction; books where the characters develop, where you learn something, where the prose is simply beautiful.<br/>Don't waste your money, don't waste your time. Move on to the next book. That's my recommendation.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29D8TDFAYPD3J?ASIN=0316055441 Overwrought Drivel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Sent from my iPhone<br/><br/>Begin forwarded But that afforded the author plenty of time to hook me and she did not.:<br/><br/>From: frisson310@gmail.com<br/>Date: May 16, 2014, 7:29:33 AM EDT<br/>I read ""The Secret History"" years ago and liked it and I think somewhere in the tsunami of words that is ""The Goldfinch"" there's a good 300-page book. But in its current form, I found it unreadable. Donna Tartt does have a way with words, I will give her that, but she needs to be told by somebody when to rein it in and ""murder her darlings."" Unfortunately these days, publishers with an eye on the bottom line, simply don't shell out money on editors. Many of my issues could have been so easily rectified by the blue pencil marks of a good editor.<br/><br/>Okay, I admit I only read the first part through the catastrophe at the Metropolitan Museum. That afforded the author plenty of time to hook me, but she patently did not. I couldn't continue; it was just so poorly written.<br/><br/>People may think I am overly picky, but I consider myself a well-qualified critic having grown up in New York City enjoying a life quite similar to Theo, fortunately, without the tragedies. I am also an art historian and a writer.<br/><br/>""The Goldfinch"" has been hailed as great literature and even won the Pulitzer Prize! Shouldn't such an award be reserved for excellence?<br/><br/>It's no wonder in recent years I have become very cynical about prizes, reviews and ratings, having seen in recent years overly favorable New York Times reviews written by writers I know to be the authors' friends. Corruption seems to be everywhere these days.<br/><br/>I believe reading a book of this ilk should be effortless, like you're driving down a road and it's smooth sailing all the way. There shouldn't be all these bumps along the way causing you to slam on the brakes. You shouldn't notice the writing at all unless it's something that stops you in your tracks because it's so beautifully expressed, or there's an occasional word you need to look up. While I think digressions can be an effective conceit, experiencing two significant ones in the paltry part I did read, made me suspect that during the course of the novel, Tartt was going to overuse them. Her ungainly scaffolding and ornate wordsmithery was all too apparent for me and I felt like I was slogging through a morass.<br/><br/>Other specific complaints:<br/><br/>Tartt talks about how precarious Theo and his mother's finances are and yet they live in a doorman building in Sutton Place, take cabs everywhere and seem to eat out all the time.<br/><br/>Would she really have gone into the Metropolitan Museum, which opens at 10 when she had an important appointment with her son's principal across town at 11:30? Much less waste time at the gift shop buying a book for her boss (I know she actually never got there, but she was planning to.) And Tartt obviously hasn't been buying art books; they are hardly ""inexpensive.""<br/><br/>Nobody in New York refers to the subway as ""the train"" it's ""the subway.""<br/><br/>After the explosion, Tartt describes Theo trying to locate train fare--Hello? It would be a Metrocard. Theo suggests getting a Metrocard as a gift for Mathilde so why wasn't Tartt consistent?<br/><br/>Tartt also mentions him taking the train to school. Would he really take the train from East 57th Street to the Upper West Side? Far more likely, he'd take a crosstown bus and transfer to an uptown bus (or possibly a subway at that point). And he'd have a student Metrocard, which would save his mother a bundle.<br/><br/>The boy's conversation with his mother and thoughts and observations about her work at a fashion PR firm were completely unbelievable. He's supposed to be a 13-year old boy, give him the voice, thoughts and mannerisms of a 13-year old boy! During That whole section Tartt seemed to be grandstanding about how much she knows about the fashion world.<br/><br/>I find the reference to a ""school on the Upper West Side"" overly coy. Just name it, or make up a name. She's names the Lycée Français after all. And Theo certainly wouldn't refer to it as ""my school on the Upper West Side"" when talking to the old man.<br/><br/>The death of the old man was excruciatingly long (not in a you-are-there way; in a boring and overly-lengthy way) and repetitive. Tartt could have accomplished so much more with so much less. I suggest she read ""Atonement"" for tips on astringent, powerful prose.<br/><br/>She overused words that tend to jump out at the reader like ""loitering"" and ""grappling."" Does Tartt not own a Thesaurus? It would be so easy to substitute synonyms...<br/><br/>While I thought her observations about the paintings were interesting, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was showing off and didn't quite believe the way Tartt's mouthpiece, the mother, was talking to her young boy. Compounded with everything else it was just too much and it was irritating.<br/><br/>I used to think it was terrible to not finish a book, now I realize life's too short, to wallow through drivel. Next!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UW3RWYPQVOT9?ASIN=0316055441 Tedious, overrated book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As a reader (or listener as I choose the 32-hour audio) I would hope a writer invests more in her characters than in a description of a menu or a room. Tartt spends entirely too many words describing things in several different ways, as if she's impressed with her own ability to be descriptive. The characters are just hideous, with the exception of Boris who seems to know his shortcomings and presses ahead with a positive attitude. I found nothing to like about Theo: I never felt his pain and he was not in the least a redeeming soul. Theo only had one friend that he respected, Boris. Other than that, he was a drugged out selfish jerk to everyone else. The story is disjointed, going for hours and pages at a time to describe events that add nothing, nothing to the story.<br/><br/>What bothered me most is the title: The Goldfinch. It was not about the painting because it seems that Theo had no real interest in this painting, and for a great portion of the book, I had forgotten about the painting and so did the author and the main character<br/><br/>Tartt is a good writer and sought out to prove that she can ""paint"" a picture, but to me it was just a long waste of time for characters who were horrible, places I didn't need to be taken to, and many story lines that were left dangling until the author reached the end of her thesaurus and decided to opine on her philosophy of life.<br/><br/>One note to audio listeners: I found the narrator to be overall good, but his voicing of Theo made the character seem self-indulgent, whiny, and not that intelligent. Every female voice sounded like an imitation of an effeminate man and as horrible, especially Pippa's voice. The narrator was great with accents and consistent with all the the other voices.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RIYOP0GPXNDZV?ASIN=0316055441 tedious "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found I was skipping most of the writing trying to get to something that was happening. When I started the book, I really enjoyed the details and meandering ruminations but found myself shocked at times because there were so many ruminations, I had expected a long period of time had passed, only to find that hardly any time at all had changed in the story. The main character is so narcissistic that it became painful to read and I finally had to put it down when I found I was forcing myself to pick the book back up. Sad.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1INS6RKJW7F9W?ASIN=0316055441 I Really Tried. Really. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to love this book so badly.<br/><br/>**beware of spoilers ahead**<br/><br/>I loved The Goldfinch up until Theo went to Vegas. From that point on I steadily began losing sympathy. The premise is fascinating, the description of the destruction, his emotional devastation, the aftermath of a horrible tragedy - all this was riveting. However, the further Theo sunk into a drug/alcohol induced haze, the more I began wishing that someone would just find the friggin' painting and put us all out of our misery. It's not that I don't understand why he took a downturn, he had ample reason to escape into addiction - it's more that Tartt makes him so unlikable. He spends the Vegas years waking up in a puddle of vomit. At times I could smell him through the pages, while that means that the writing is amazing, it also turns my stomach.<br/><br/>Theo becomes even more unsympathetic as he returns to New York, floating through school, wallowing in a bag of pills, wasting opportunity after opportunity. Again, not that I don't understand the whys of the situation, but at this point, I just didn't care. The thing that makes literary protagonists interesting (in my humble opinion anyhow) is that they have a special something, a spark, a quirk, a something that sets them apart from reality. Theo has none of this, he is exceedingly average, unlikable and unsympathetic. The imagined smell of vomit was replaced with cigarettes, and he remained a broken, self-destructive slug.<br/><br/>It's during the early chapters of Theo's return to New York that I wanted to transport myself into the book, call the cops, tell them about the painting and end the whole thing. However, I kept on reading, I believed that there was going to be some kind of amazing twist that was going to make the whole journey worth it.<br/><br/>Boris. Where do I start with Boris? Boris' overly complicated lineage, his entirely absurd network of connections and impeccably impossible timing make him into a caricature rather than an actual living, breathing character. The fact that he stole the painting made no sense to me, and maybe this is because I don't understand the whole black market underground art trade, however, what did Boris think he was going to do with it?<br/><br/>The entire story is riddled with false moments of suspense. While I loved Popper the dog, the poor creature was used as a tool to create more false moments of anxiety than the actual Goldfinch painting itself. I spend the entire book thinking there was going to be some reason for Popper's inclusion in this story, and while I love a dog as much as the next person, I never found that reason.<br/><br/>Overall, I have to give two stars because I loved the first part of this story. As Theo dissolved into a pit of vomit and vodka, I waited for something to happen that would redeem him and this story. Never happened. I will say this, the writing is impeccable, it's just the story construction that left me empty.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3DMM99643N8EE?ASIN=0316055441 Verbose to the extreme "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What could have been an interesting story was turned into this mammoth book where the writer is voluble to the extreme. I did stick with it until the last page where all of a sudden the end came like a train hitting a brick wall. In fact the ending was so abrupt it had me looking to see if I truly were missing pages. About the only story line that came to a conclusion was that the painting was back where it belonged.<br/><br/>I found that I couldn't engage with the main character until a third of the way into the book and even then I couldn't care about him. About the only character that garnered any sympathy was Hobie, the partner of the man who also died in the bombing and , who took Theo in when he had no place to go. Hobie is the only stalwart character in Theo's life it seems and it's Hobie you care for when Theo betrays Hobie's trust in him.<br/><br/>The main character is a young boy called Theo. Theo is traumatized when his mother is killed in a bombing at a museum. Finding his way out of the rubble, Theo steals the painting of the Goldfinch that his mother had loved and aids a dying man who gives him a ring to give to his partner. From there Theo's life plays out in a series of misfortunes, drugs and drugs and more drugs, art theft, antique forgery and bad choices in general. If there is any redemption in Theo's story it is unbelievable as the prior 800 pages have told the reader that Theo reverts to drugs and lies whenever life gets to tough for him.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ONPI99TXI1P?ASIN=0316055441 The author exudes existential nihilism and contempt for mankind -- read if you like drugs, depression, and negativity "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What starts out as a gripping story of a bright, senistive art-loving innocent 13-yr-old boy caught up in a terrorist bombing of a museum, devolves into a self-indulgent series of chapters depicting drug and alcohol debauchery and a collection of sociopathic and narcisisstic characters with no moral codes and no redeeming features who do not learn from their mistakes.The most likeable though ridiculous character in the 700 page book is a tiny dog.<br/>The author repeatedly portrays almost any group of humans, from the homeschooled to immigrants to affluent privileged socialites, as disgusting and pathetic losers, even the guy who painted a picture of a Goldfinch over 300 years ago that is at the center of the plot. She seems to believe (and expresses through her pathetic protagonist) that life is so miserable it is not worth living, and humankind is evil and destructive and is just fooling itself by distracting itself with every day things like family, friends, work, and parties. Life is short and brutish, then you die. Unfortunately this topic has been previously explored, in less than 700 tedious pages, by people who are not perpetually angst-ridden adolescents, and many have concluded that there actually can be pleasure in life, and manmade beauty, and nobility, and concern for others, and value, and productive work, even if death awaits us all. ""Carpe diem"" would not likely be this author's favorite words.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2K2KBDRNN9BN8?ASIN=0316055441 wy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There were to much describing of each little thing!! I have skipped more than I read. Not finished with it yet! Of course I have bad eyes and can't read all day! Wil be glad for the end to come!! I am new on kindle and don't know how to skip to the end!! Would like to know how Theo ends up.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HJPHA6MDJZ0V?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought this book, which won a Pulitzer Prize would be a great book but it was a disappointment! The book was too long and drawn out. The author had too much detail I had to skim a lot of it. By the end of the book I didn't care what happened to Theo I just wanted it to END!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BLSX7AX4JWZB?ASIN=0316055441 not for me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did not like the foul language, nor the use of many foreign languages with no English interpretation. Also, the book was very dark. Nothing good seemed to happen. Left me with a feeling of sadness for all the things that can never be. A ""hopeless"" attitude book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RQR7OFVDROKP4?ASIN=0316055441 I hated the book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I hated the book. Way too lengthy. Author seems to want to impress us with her knowledge in drugs, big words, art collections and artists as well as authors. I felt that she is on a ego trip and I was not impressed.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3F3RFUH6VBAQG?ASIN=0316055441 Just awful; "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I must say that the author writes beautifully. She is extremely descriptive- extremely. However, that is the problem. I really have no idea as to how this book is a Pulitzer prize winner. Not only was it very dark throughout the entire novel (that I could have handled), but since it referenced illegal drug use throughout the whole story....I had to begin to wonder if the author was using illegal substances herself while she was writing it. For example- Five pages (every time) of lengthy description for each and every body movement that the main character makes throughout the entire book. It just goes on and on. I felt like I was being forced to listen to a pot-head ramble on for an hour about how puffy the clouds in the sky are. The entire book was like that. I kept reading, in hopes that it would turn into an excellent story since it was a Pulitzer prize winner....it never happened.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2G2TC48OPRUYD?ASIN=0316055441 MORE WEIGHT THAN SUBSTANCE "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I actually had great expectancy over this book. Though usually I am not one to buy a book because of all the publicity giving over it nor because of the gushing book reviews, I did in this case and I regret it. ""The Goldfinch"" was sold as yet another masterpiece by yet another Charles Dickens (interesting plots, complex characters, etc), but this book is nothing of the sort. It is simply a boring, meandering, zig-zagging 700 + page book that has no mystery, no character development, not even much in the way of art history. You can read dozens of pages and nothing happens, just words that seem to spew out from an automatic word processing program. It is a lesson in what NOT to buy, even when Amazon and all other book outlets make this a stellar read.<br/><br/>Save yourself the money and buy something else with the $30.00 pricetag.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NB54IFAOQOE0?ASIN=0316055441 In One Word: Boring "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book could have used fewer words and seriously it's just words and words filled page after page. Everything is described in the utmost detail except for the story itself. The story itself, it just meanders around. There is a boy, there is his mother, there is his friend, there is another friend and some more people and god alone knows when these characters will actually do something. Oh and there is a torn painting or something that is supposed to be a big deal. I skipped 5-10 pages at a time and still never seemed to miss a beat in the story which did I mention just goes on and on.<br/><br/>I know this book has received a lot of rave reviews but I am quite sure their copy had fewer words and more meaning. My copy was just a bore. And before I bore the reader of this review, I shall sign off. Someone tell me how it ends since I am still skipping pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1T0391D8WTOO3?ASIN=0316055441 Not my taste "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read on and on hoping it would get better. you then reach the point of no return and make the decision to continue, thinking the story will develop and unfold. No, never happened.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29A3SO7XD4VMD?ASIN=0316055441 Misleading start ... crazy finish "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book was enthralling at the start. But by the end it had devolved into a James-Bond-like mishmash of hard to believe shootouts. The story evaporated in the goofiness.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RVA1QLBH0F1RW?ASIN=0316055441 Great up until 93% (according to my Kindle) "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a page turner, with an interesting story to tell and compelling characters. But in the final 7%, the author veers away from the narrative to give each main character a chance to pontificate on weighty matters of life, death, loss, and oh, art. So rather than the actions and motives of the characters stirring us to our own philosophical musings, we have an overblown version of ""what it all means"" spelled out in evangelical tones. I cared for the characters, and the story provided some urgent late night reading, but when all was said and done, I was strangely unmoved by the book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RAQUNFQO3GZ1R?ASIN=0316055441 Could have used better editing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have liked some of Donna Tartt's previous works, and this one started out with an engaging storyline, a fast pace, an endearing main character, and very real human interactions. The unfortunate part of this is that editors did not take out a lot of the subsequent monotony, rampant descriptions of teenage ill-behavior, and long and painfully slow process before taking the story to a conclusion. And when the conclusion arrived, it was packaged in odd movie-script kind of twist that was a let down for a reader who is drawn to the complexity that reader of Tartt's deserves. This could have been a great 300 page story.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30JG1TVI7QD7M?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful beginning, but horrible ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can't believe a book was so enthralling for the first 3/4, but the last part of it was such a let down!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1U722MMN9LL5K?ASIN=0316055441 What was all the hype about? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a potentially amazing book. But as the book wore on (word choice deliberate), it got so bogged down in freak drug trips, excruciating discussions of having the flu (how many times can one get the flu in one book?), and what felt like a ton of dream scenes (hint: NOBODY WANTS HEAR ABOUT YOUR LONG AND BORING DREAMS!). And what's up with his 15-year pining for a girl he did not even know? I did manage to force myself to finish it. But was sorry I did. What was all the hype about?</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16F9JEH2MSY3K?ASIN=0316055441 Exquisitely Encompassing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can't say I'm a scholar of literature... I'm more an indulgent reader, I base my appreciation of a book by weird factors: 1) Can I guess what will happen (if so, I'm not a big fan), 2) Do I care about the 'main' characters (if not, I barely scratch my way through a book) and 3) Language, I adore word use, and learning new words (and usually, after trying a sample, I never even bother buying, borrowing a book if it's not linguistically mature-- though some teen-genre reads are well done, I'll add that as to not sound like a snob--I'm not, smile, smile).<br/><br/>So: THE GOLDFINCH: I saw it was a huge volume, and I immediately thought 'convoluted' and 'good'. I wanted depth, I was hoping it would be rich in texture and as I read the first sample, I was intrigued and drawn in by Tartt's use of adjectives, weaving full-on, visual scenes I knew, but could feel too... she had me.<br/>Theo, oh the poor kid---what hell of life he was about to be introduced to....and Tartt's depth of psychological machinations, and the ability to bring them from this 'kid's' experience to us the reader was phenomenal.... And her work about Theo's development, how PTSD impacted his life, how crap-parenting devolved him along with the loving albeit unsettling friendship with Boris... but THESE were HIS.... and all that made him who he was.<br/>So, yes, indeed, I cared deeply about this Theo, boy into young adult into almost-but-not-wholly grown man... and I grew to love the people he loved, Hobie and even Welty through the sharings of Hobie.... it became a book, almost a FEEL of the wondering, ""IS THIS A TRUE STORY?"" (Of course not, the horror that opens the story has not happened to the best of my knowledge).<br/><br/>And...NO: I could not remotely imagine the turns and twists this literature (AND I mean, true-blue, solidly written, and I think should be held to the same scrutiny and study as of the greatest authors of all time) would take. There were surprises, that really, in hindsight are 'but of course THAT would happen'...but nothing I'd imagine. And the things we hope for when reading, a 'changed' person or heart, a coupling of two, or an appropriate ending--- all hoped for, but never happened, and yet, always there was more than my limited thinking. So well done.<br/><br/>Language: Simply and apparently a fine art for Tartt. She wove the use of some even archaic words, so exquisitely into this piece... Rare it is that when I put down a book, and feel so darn contented and satisfied by the wholeness of it that I immediately (like as lightening speed as our DSL allows) search for and buy other works... I often consider the idea, and then skip doing it...But I have bought ""The Little Friend"" and look forward to it (but first must do some other things...The Goldfinch DID take up a lot of time as it is a huge piece, and I let a lot of my world slide as I indulged).<br/><br/>I read someone's review and they spoke of Donna Tartt as a ""prodigious talent""... I must agree: SHE IS --- and I am grateful for her gift, as it is a refreshing find for my eyes and brain! I promise you, those who read this long-winded review, you will not be disappointed. Enjoy!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTJXZ5FEYZYOC?ASIN=0316055441 Pulitzer is a joke "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I bought this before the Pulitzer based on NYT reviews as one of 10 best of the year. This may be one of the 10 most boring ever. Self indulgement does describe this book. Every adjective and metaphor in the English language is used in the first 20 pages and then repeated incessantly. It's like a college English assignment to see how long you can make a paragraph using only adjectives. Despite this mind numbing diatribe you know everything about the characters in a few pages and they never grow or change or adapt in any way. The story is so predictable but unbelievable. Again a college paper not a Pulitzer novel. Just can't figure what to do with the painting, oh the suspense as he passes by choice after choice and then boom he just happens to meet Boris again in the middle of New York. How convenient that Boris wanders back in and we have to put up again with this completely uninteresting character. This was just a waste of time reading, from now on I'll never get a book recommended by NYT unless I get a kindle free chapter to check first.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3QLUNVRCRZG2T?ASIN=0316055441 Fianlly "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As a lover of all things printed (whether on page or digitally) there has been a lack of actual fictional literature lately. With Donna's most recent book I finally felt I had something with weight. yes it's long, but worth it. If you loved the secret history, this is not the same book. This is something entirely different and wonderful in its own right. You have the ability to follow the main character and actually see how a boy and his experiences, becomes an individual. The writing has a way of bringing you TO a scene ( much like history) and allow you to immerse yourself in that moment, then shockingly show the outside perspective as well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who love to actually Read, just for the pure pleasure of it. And everyone else as well.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1F4DKRSNDRA6N?ASIN=0316055441 Ugh! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can't imagine what put this book on the best seller list. There must be a lot of drug addicts and criminals that like to read about people who can't kick the habit. I read at least 3 books a week and almost always finish them. This book I started skimming about half way through. I couldn't wait for it to end. I did finish it, thinking, it's a best seller, there must be some redeeming quality. But there wasn't. It dragged and dragged (for 1000 pages), the main characters were horrible people, and I disagreed with the philosophy it advocated. It was a very depressing and disgusting book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3M4U1QFBLHWYI?ASIN=0316055441 Grim, Gloomy Disappointment "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ugh. So much hope. Her words are many and some require a dictionary. It's often beautiful to read those words -- albeit many, many could have been edited out. The problem is the book is just plan gloomy. The characters are not believable whatsoever. The words Tartt gives to the 13 year old Theo are silly and elitist given his upbringing. He's depressed and depressing, his friends and acquaintances are depressed and depressing, the story is depressing. I saw only gray scenery, gray people in a gray story. The last two pages appear to be from Tartt's own gray life experiences rather than that of Theo. There is not one ounce of authenticity to this novel.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17OYYT1JXJ4NJ?ASIN=0316055441 A total waste of time and paper "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I bought this book because it was on the bestseller list. I'm beginning to think I will never understand why such crappy books are bestsellers, or maybe the ratings are a ruse. It wasn't until page 93 that the momentum began picking up but I kept waiting for some excitement, something that would make me continue to read. (The explosion at the beginning was so poorly described that I couldn't get a handle on any of the specifics.) I continued to scan a multitude of useless lengthy descriptions and I finally gave up at page 590-something. I couldn't force myself to continue wasting my time for another almost-200 pages. This could easily have been whittled down to 200 pages and might have made a more interesting story.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2R2JEGW0K2OLF?ASIN=0316055441 Such a disappointment! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Maybe my expectations were too high. I read all the time -- great , good, mediocre and really bad. I read this book like I was doing a mandatory assignment in college. It was tedious most of the time. I plowed my way through with determination, anticipating that glorious climactic ending that would redeem it. Alas, the end was just as mundane as the rest of the book. True--some if the writing was great, but too much was plain boring.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KYRUFP1DNDL4?ASIN=0316055441 Awful! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I purchased this based on all the rave reviews. In the beginning, I'll admit it was interesting....but by the time I got through a third of the book, I was liking it less & less. I pushed myself to keep reading, hoping it would get better...I got 2/3 of the way through it and just could not finish. Too bleak with no redemption, too confusing and way too much unnecessary profanity. In my opinion, a waste of my hard earned money!!!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3I9XLBOV56V6P?ASIN=0316055441 Doesn't live up to hype "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One star for good writing only. The story was well written, I'll give the author that. However, it is an extremely long and drawn out book that leads nowhere, I mean it, nowhere. I kept waiting for a resolution, or something to happen.... Don't get me wrong, lots of things happen, but it doesn't lead to anything.... Disappointing end after investing a lot of time into reading a long book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NK0QO46F5AZB?ASIN=0316055441 An Unnecessary Story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This well-written but tedious story had no meaning for me. It was a pointless exercise in how to waste time. The premise was intriguing enough had the story been told in a cogent and coherent manner. The extreme wordiness rendered this story unpleasant, at best. The fact that the author's command of the written word is superb does not save the book from being a tortuous read.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2SLT3QFDD8GNE?ASIN=0316055441 Not recommended "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very long with very little to say. My Bookclub read it and not one of us liked it. Long and pointless.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RWQY3K3Q93CC9?ASIN=0316055441 A Downer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A downer book and I did not enjoy it much. Book club reading, but I was not able to finish the book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JWG8JAD0SXH8?ASIN=0316055441 not an enjoyable read for me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although I learned a lot about kids at risk, drug addiction, alcoholism, the black market, theft and depression....it was a totally horrible book to read! If it were not a book club selection I would not have finished it. Definitely not bedtime fare. Lots of details that I could have done without! Although I realize these lifestyles exist, it would not be a book I could easily recommend to anyone else, nor would I read this author's work again.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RD45P5PNX6XE?ASIN=0316055441 just so so "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The main character is so flawed that it becomes frustrating. For a while you feel sympathetic, but he never learns what is really his fault and what isn't. He never straightens his life out and it's frustrating. He's so stupidly vulnerable. It could happen to someone with his experiences and age but it grows old.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R661NU9ZEQ7SE?ASIN=0316055441 Oh Please!!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ugh... so much gratuitous drug and alcohol abuse use it totally takes over the book- what is the purpose of this??? I've read people comparing Donna Tartt to Charles Dickens and frankly it's an insult to Dickens to put their names together in the same sentence. Where is her editor, you wonder? I could go on and on but it boils down to this: if you love literature don't waste your time and money on this psuedo-erudite trash. Sorry Donna.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3MT84GQ10O184?ASIN=0316055441 So disappointed! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Like other reviewers, I was very excited to read this book because I had seen it on so many top rated lists, but I didn't not enjoy the book at all. Overall the story was very depressing and very long and drawn out and so many incidents were described in too much detail. I think the story could have been told in about 300 pages, instead of 771 pages. I definitely lost interest in the book and just wanted it to be over.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2K00SOZYIDTG0?ASIN=0316055441 "maybe it's my ""headspace""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">but, this book is just unpleasant to read. I don't look forward to reading it, and find it over the top annoying that this child keeps making such horrible choices after all the horrible things that happen to him. It does bring up many thought provoking ideas, and some of the writing is beautiful. I just do not enjoy it, and at 50% through it, am giving it up. (giving up on a book is very unusual for me)</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21MQHQ7ZEMLAY?ASIN=0316055441 Beautiful Prose, Profound Insights, Self-Indulgent and Tedious "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm guessing that the author is one stubborn woman. Her prose is brilliant. It brought me to tears at times. But she doesn't know when to shut up. I'm sure she refused to truly hear her editor. Hey, she had a NY Times bestseller twenty years ago. It's her book and she can go on and on if she wants. The reviewer in Time magazine was clearly in love with her, said he read her book, Secret History, five times, but he pointed out the obvious on The Goldfinch: it needed to be cut 10-15% (he was being kind). The story of the young accidental art thief was heart-tugging in the beginning. There were paragraphs that were so moving and profound that I wished I were reading a real book instead of my beloved Kindle, so I could dog ear the page and read it over and over (even years from now). It's that good. Unfortunately there were more times when I wanted to shout at the author and tell her to get out of the story. I just finished the book and only gave it two stars, despite Tartt's sometimes brilliant prose. The story died for me from midway on. Endless descriptions of hangovers, debauchery and blurred drug-induced images killed the pleasure of escaping into the characters lives. The ending was predictable, and though I think the author wanted it to be bittersweet. It wasn't.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R177ETNDPOHI19?ASIN=0316055441 Lost the plot "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a meandering mess. Tartt starts off with a compelling story and then squanders it, much as her characters do, in a repetitive circle of substance abuse and mental masturbation. In that way, it's very similar to her first book, ""The Secret History."" which deviated from an interesting murder mystery of sorts to simply waste time for pages on end in ruminations that had nothing to do with character development or plot. I know some will strongly disagree with me, saying I've missed the point, but to me, there is no point. Great writing can transcend any plot and take on a life of its own. And early on, there are glimmers of this potential. But in the end, it's not enough to inspire me to read even one more page than I already have.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26EYLE626EPHJ?ASIN=0316055441 terrible book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Rambling, disconnected, trying too hard, .... Took forever to finish it..<br/>There is a tedium to this book , which after finally coming to the climax of the story, limps on with several chapters of a sore attempt at<br/>philosophy on the real meaning of life. I can't recommend it.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKNR8UK668BUY?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A brilliant, spellbinding beginning. Gorgeous writing. Profound insights. For the first three-quarters. The last quarter I found tedious and preachy. I got that the protagonist was traumatized by the hideous loss of his mother and the manner in which he lost her and I got that, at least during his adolescence, he might have gone a bit haywire as a result of the people around him not giving him the support and understanding he needed but then he turns into this inarticulate adult who seems to have no will of his own, just blindly stumbles along making incredibly unintelligent and unintelligible decisions. I got the significance of the painting, art transcending the ugly realities of life, etc. etc. I didn't get the endless goings on about drugs. I mean the first couple of times it was brilliant, but after pages and pages of it I found myself skipping, like I've read this before, or where is she going with this? I have to admit I also skipped some of her endless descriptions of Vegas and Amsterdam. Same thing. Brilliant but went on way too long and way too much of it, like, I got it already. I also had problems with the plotting and pacing towards the end. Still, it did win the Pulitzer Prize. No question, Ms Tartt is a brilliant writer. I just think this particular book needed some serious editing.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R80X45RQFY9YB?ASIN=0316055441 My great expectations turned to great disappointment page after page and ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">My great expectations turned to great disappointment page after page and cliche after cluche as the 2-D characters drank and drugged and dragged through their low lives. Peppering the book with bits of info on art and antiques could not save the book. I wish I had not spent time reading this long book, I got to the point It only irritated me to read on. The last chapter's attempt to give some philodphical meaning only underscored the failure of the book and added to the sense of superficiality. I love books (including Dickens - comparing this to a Dickens is like comparing a factory knock-off to a real antique chest), but this is one of the very few books that i disliked to the point of annoyance.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2J38G8K8DZNTN?ASIN=0316055441 Unbearable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have tried to like this book since the beginning was quite interesting, but have been dragging through 305 pages of it (skipping quite a few of them) and can't bear the torture of trying to keep on reading just because I spent some money on it. I'm considering whether to simply remove it from my kindle or leaving it there to try to get to the part pertaining to the painting itself. There is not one single likeable character in the book thus far except for the dead mother at the beginning of the book. Maybe I have to read 300 more pages to understand why it has so many 5 star reviews. I love to read but it has to be an enriching experience and not a torture.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2L9CI9DVPWA4T?ASIN=0316055441 A Brave Try "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's a mighty long story, told in the first person. As has been said again and again, it's in five acts. It's a tragedy. It's sad. It's thoughtful. It's trying very hard to be transformative, philosophical, and spiritual. There's many different characters, all of whom are very well realized.<br/>As also been said, the book is somewhat uneven. It's griping, and then flags, particularly when we get to Vegas. And I have to say that toward the last two hundred pages, I was in the book's grip but resented being so, as I wasn't getting enough back. I felt like I was trapped with Woody Allen in his most neurotic self-deluded moments. Part of me was saying, ""Just get me out of here."" But in the long run, I liked this book. It was a great investment in time to read it. If you have the time, go for it.<br/>I think there's been way too much hype about the book. I don't think it will be remembered one-hundred years from now. It's not Dickens. It's part of our times, but frankly drugs and sex are dragged through the novel's pages to excess.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2FVQ4K7LUTI9C?ASIN=0316055441 Sad and drepressing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I felt like I had been on a trip with a drugged out adolescent. Except for the large vocabulary, I found nothing interesting about this book. I forced myself to finish it and wish that I had not purchased it at all.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1UG3M2576E4VA?ASIN=0316055441 less than one star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Prize winning ...whaaat! Verbose and tiresome prose drones on and on and takes us nowhere. Tartt steps right into being a depressed teenager and imbues the lad with all the sensibility of an urban litterary snob.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2KQ2ANUC7XBRZ?ASIN=0316055441 Marathon Faux Faulkner Contest "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Reading this book was like drowning in hundreds of submissions for the Faux Faulkner Contest. I'm casting my vote with the hundreds of other one and two star reviewers. Yeah, what they said. All of them. In CAPS!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMKWCHJM6Y8TZ?ASIN=0316055441 A decent 300 page novel dragged out over 800 interminable pages "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Where was the editor on this overlong, redundant, tiresome book? It started with a winning premise, intriguing characters, and stellar writing, then went on and on and on and...well, you get the idea. If I'd bought the print edition, I'd have thrown it against the wall in utter frustration. But I wasn't about to break my Kindle.<br/><br/>If you like self-indulgent descriptions of drug abuse and alcoholism, this is the protagonist for you. He wastes his life, takes advantage of characters who are kind to him in the wake of his tragedy, and gets buffeted around like an aimless boat adrift on a sea of boredom. Early on, I felt sorry for him. But after 500 or 600 pages, he still showed no signs of life and I got fed up. I only finished the book on the recommendation of a friend who insisted it got better. It didn't. Maybe every 75-100 pages, there was a brilliant line buried in redundancy. But not worth slogging through the verbiage to unearth a few tiny gems.<br/><br/>Wait for the Cliff Notes.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RF8LEW985XSRB?ASIN=0316055441 Horribly depressing and idiotic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is the risk with reading a book that has received an award from some some ivory tower types . Ok, I am not a literary critic, just the average reader who likes various genres of books. While this was beautifully written, to the point you truly felt you were there (especially the critical scene at the museum), the story is just too damned depressing. This idiot could have solved his problems multiple times, with ease. If I had to read one more time what it felt like to be in a drug induced fog, I was going to go get some heroin and OD myself. Geez. Given the opportunity to do well, he squanders it, for no logical reason. Various elements in the story don't hold up to any sort of reason. Every single time he was asked a question of importance, his answer was ""I....uh"". This from a clearly smart fellow. Unless you want to get as clinically depressed as the lead character, stay away. At the end, I was just flipping pages to see how it ended, which was also a let down. Ick.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HAVGW390MWLI?ASIN=0316055441 Way too wordy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story line and the characters were reasonably interesting but I was led to believe we would learn more about the underworld of the art trade, so I was disappointed on that account. I was not impressed with that aspect of the book. Mostly it came across to me as an academic assignment where the teacher instructed the students to philosophize and go into excruciating details about the environment, what people are thinking, and conversations people had. To me, it would have been a better book had it been consolidated into 1/3 to 1/2 of the current length. I will not be recommending this book to anyone.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RYB7IPH97M8M2?ASIN=0316055441 Mishmash "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Starts fine, then becomes a mix of several story lines. It reads as if the author jotted down all the individual stories, then got lazy and decided to string them together. And that did not work well.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R388GVTTU2SOE3?ASIN=0316055441 Emperor's new clothes "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The popularity of this bloated, ill-constructed story is a mystery to me. (Was the Pulizter committee on drugs?) Like Tartt's Secret History, it has a thoroughly sad and unlikable male protagonist who blunders through his life avoiding decisions (at best), doing all the wrong things (which he knows are wrong but can't stop himself from doing), and letting himself be used, fascinated and manipulated by glamorous yet usually evil characters. Interminable forays into esoteric subjects like international money laundering and antique dealing mirror the same formula the author used in Secret History for stuff like Ancient Greek. At best, a piece of high-class trash without one beautiful sentence in almost 800 pages.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1QNYBFLEQ0CH0?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">While there was a story line, I found it difficult to keep reading because it was very wordy. I chose it for our book club and I was disappointed.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3KBSD7OVZN0OP?ASIN=0316055441 long torture about drug addict alcoholics "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book took forever to get remotely interesting. I literally had to force myself to stick it out. It got somewhat better near the end- finally- but, not enough to give this book more than the deserved 1 star rating. I cannot recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19HCJVQS5GAG6?ASIN=0316055441 Depressing and Dysfunctional "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Too verbose - repetitions of scenes and thoughts<br/>No moral and no purpose to novel<br/>Deeply upsetting and depressing<br/>A wasted life</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTJ3UG6SMNVGI?ASIN=0316055441 Emperor's Clothes? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">How this novel got as much hype is beyond me. At least 150 pages too long, with characters I cared little about, and red herring relationships. When Boris wasn't the focus it was deadly dull. Agonizing to finish but a bit of spark at the end. Not a shred of plausibility anywhere in the novel. Reminded me of a term paper due tomorrow and written on speed the night before. No more Tartt for me.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2L3PB2HTQWBQO?ASIN=0316055441 Yuk and double yuk "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Had this book not been a selection for my bookclub I would have stopped reading it after about 100 pages. I found it very slow, much too descriptive and very, very depressing. As it was, after 400 pages I could not longer continue. Life is too short for me to spend my free time reading something I find no enjoyment in.<br/><br/>Come to find out, all of the women in my book club disliked it!!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2TVT2EKN32J8C?ASIN=0316055441 Don't waste your time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story was interesting in the beginning, but that didn't last long. The overwhelming melancholy became a never ending barage of self-indulgent, self-absorbed drug and alcohol benders and abuse. There were no redeming qualities to the main characters, nothing to make me care or be interested in their lives. Halfway through the book I skipped to the last chapter to see if it got any better, and it never occured to me that it could have possibly gotten worse -- but it did. The self-indulgence of the author was overpowering and the diatribe at the end was enough to make me never read another of her books. Goodbye to bad rubbish!!!!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2RQXA3CBA0KYW?ASIN=0316055441 In my opinion, the author gives herself away in the Picasso quote "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's obvious Ms. Tartt had a good liberal arts education that included some Russian literature, an aquaintance with 19th century English authors, philosophy, psychology, and a working association both then and perhaps now, either firsthand or vicariously with mind altering substances. To compare this novel to GREAT EXPECTATIONS, by Dickens, as some have done, is an insult to one of the world's great authors. Dickens had a lucid (and I stress lucid) mastery of both descriptive details and human nature, perhaps only second in the latter to Shakespeare, and while his novels were often lengthy, it must also be remembered that many of them were written in installments, which readers eagerly awaited from one section to the next. The obvious depiction of Theo to be like the protagonist in GREAT EXPECTATIONS, Pip, is glaring, extending even to giving Theo's life long unrequited love interest the name Pippa.<br/><br/>Ms. Tartt mentions another lengthy novel, THE IDIOT, toward the end of the book, and while she adds Russian/Ukranian (some people insist on a differentiation) characters, the only real thing this book shares with the great Russian novels is abject misery and suffering that goes on way too long, but that was before TV and movies...people had more time to devote to reading, it was the only entertainment for many and those novels possessed intellectual integrity, a quality sadly lacking in this book. What bothered me about this book, other than I spent too many hours wading through it, was its meandering, despondent passages that lacked clarity in the sense that the narrative was often skewed so negatively as to be almost unbelievable. In short, the experience was laborious, and despite what many who've read the book think, I DON'T see this book as great literature. Those who do need to pick up some decent reading lists of the classics.<br/><br/>The few positve influences in Theo's life (Andy, Hobie,) lacked any developmental depth and the story seemed to be almost like THE PERILS OF PAULINE on mindbenders. I was often physically exhausted and depressed by the ongoing, never-ending torture the protagonist endured. The incidence of invoking a reaction by your reader is not always a sign of good writing. The plot(s) seemed to rely heavily on random chance, which Tartt has the characters discuss toward the end of the book in an almost comically adolescent passage, along with Theo's final summarizing of his personal philosopy of art/enduring beauty and standing up to life's difficulties, refusing to stand back, being stalwart and brave, like the little goldfinch; the last several pages had an almost shotgun-like scattering of ruminations and what might be loosely termed as ""conclusions.""<br/><br/>In an art textbook's rendition of the artist's use of trompe l'oeil in the painting of The Goldfinch, amplified by somewhat fanciful theories, Theo ascribes various reasons for the artist, Fabritius, for having done so, omitting that it was a new technique in Dutch painting popularized by another pupil of Rembrandt's, Samuel Van Hoogstraten, and Fabritius might have been just dabbling with technique, as it was painted in the same year as Van Hoogstraten's first trompe l'oeil painting. While modern sensibilities perceive a bird chained up as a pet as being gruesome, goldfinches were commonly kept as depicted in the painting in many households of the period, thus the artist might not have attributed anything cruel to the representation. The point of trompe l'oeil is to make something appear other than it is.....real, dimensional, not flat, in short, it's deceptive. Much as the perceived ""greatness"" of this novel is, I would add...<br/><br/> Theo finally gets around to mentioning Hobie's reference to a quote attributed to Picasso....Hobie says, ""Well, I'm just an old copyist talking to myself. You know what Picasso says, 'Bad artists copy, good artists steal.' "" Perhaps Ms. Tartt took this quote to heart.... but more damming, her use of this quote is just one more example of her shoddy research, use of anachronisms and psuedo-intellectualism. For those who want to read an article that refutes Picasso's coining of this phrase, go to [...]It's a short article written by Nancy Prager, Esq., who took the time to research the etymology of the quote from an indisputable source. In short, Picasso never said it.<br/><br/> What really saddens me are the 2,000 people who participated in ""follow the leader"" or ""group think"" or whatever term you want to use for those who gave this book a five star rating. Perhaps its more of an indictment of our increasingly intellectually lazy educational system.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NF9W50IFRA1L?ASIN=0316055441 disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very disappointed 1/3 of the way through and cannot bring myself to finish. The beginning was promising but 1/3 of the way through the story dragged on and similar scenes repeated (getting drunk/partying in high school). The language written during these partying high times is also a downer for me. I really don't like swearing and it is quite annoying how many F-bombs are repeated. Sorry, if I was at a party and someone was dropping the F-bomb continuously, I usually walk away as I walked away from this book. I have no interest seeing this if it becomes a movie. Surprised it won a Pulitzer. Disappointing.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3458F8J7FRRW3?ASIN=0316055441 A Complex Study of What It Means to Be Us "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was prepared to give it 2 stars, or 3 at the most. While I've loved Dona Tartt's writing since her first book, ""The Secret History,"" by a little over half-way through this tome, I realized that I didn't really like the characters--none of the living ones, and only one of the dead ones! But, instead of pitching it, I stayed to the bitter end, only to see in the very last 100 pages or so things come together in such a way that made it clear what she was exploring--the truth of life and living--the shadow-boundaries between good and evil, the metaphysics, if you will, of destiny. I saw opening before me new possibilities for ""seeing"" people in my own life who have been so difficult, and who I had decided to ignore--this novel made me want to keep them closer EVEN in their faulted state, and made me more able to see my own faulted self with less judgment. I came away a richer man for having shared this study of what it means to be a human being, a thinking being that exists in a world of chance, but who knows?--perhaps Chance With Some Logical Order in it? In some way, reading this book, I was able to ""study myself"" as Ms. Tartt studied the human condition. She urges us to have the courage to move on in hope and humor, no matter what seem the odds, and that is always sound advice. Her writing, was fluid and profound--even in the parts leading up to my evaluation that I didn't like the characters (all of whom I did like well enough by the end)--with turns of phrase that resonated in a deep place within me. The story flowed forward and back upon itself like the tide of being that we are. I see no way to give this book less than an excellent rating, and I'm grateful for the work. I shall read parts of it again and again.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RVXJX90ZPM2LF?ASIN=0316055441 Waste of time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The beginning caught me but it took so long to get back to it that I found myself skipping paragraphs. Never<br/>could warm up to the main character, he was such a weak indecisive boy/man. the length of the book was<br/>not necessary as the story was scattered and the adjectives in excess. All in all I would not recommend</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTHIBTF1X2H1G?ASIN=0316055441 What's all the hype about?? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read the whole, long book. I don't know what the excitement was about... i didn't find the characters very believable; the plot was thin, the concept was interesting .....but i found the book flawed. If this is the best book of 2013... something's wrong!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21CHSPAYMR7LR?ASIN=0316055441 Can't understand why this is so highly rated "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I think she really failed. It might sound odd, since the book is 767 pages, but it just seemed lazy to me. I often don't need straight narrative in a book, but this reminded me of my home. Big, open, sunny in places and a total mess. Things piled up all over the place ignored and gathering dust. (Maybe like Hobie's shop, too...) I guess she has become such a literary star that her editor is afraid to actually edit. Too bad. But I do love the cover. I think the goldfinch needs a more disciplined writer, poor thing, maybe we can rescue it somehow, and really set it free?</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R31C9ZSCDEGG18?ASIN=0316055441 Engrossing Story, But Too Long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was totally absorbed in this intriguing story about a 13 year old boy, Theo Decker, and the evolution of his life in the face of tragedy. But, after the 500 page mark, the shear length of the novel became exhausting and a race to finish. It was an amazing book, but editing would have enhanced, rather than detracted, from the work. The author created numerous fully-developed characters, and her ability to take severely flawed and troubled characters and make them relatable, even likable, was brilliant.<br/><br/>I was so saddened by the circumstances of Theo's life; he was a very passive character, and his loneliness and desperate need to love somebody and for somebody to love him was palpable. The choices that he made for himself, however, were often questionable at best. Thus, despite empathizing with Theo, and even hoping for his happily-ever-after, the reader learned quickly that Theo may very well let him/her down, time and time again. I loved Theo's friend, Boris. Boris was as neglected and lonely as Theo, but there was something very unique and uplifting about him, and even during his most outrageously precarious, criminal behavior, the reader was always on Boris' side. Together, Theo and Boris created a friendship that was more like a brotherhood; despite their dangerous relationship and heartbreaking set of circumstances, there was no denying their connection to one another or to the reader. In Boris, Theo experienced the true meaning of long-lasting friendship, and in Theo, Boris experienced pure, unadulterated, generosity, trustworthiness and loyalty. To find that kind of love and devotion in the most awful of conditions almost made their fear and misery worth it; it was their dedication to one another that saved them time and time again.<br/><br/>I also adored Hobie. Hobie was one of the few adults that offered Theo kindness and guidance when he needed it most. He was a gentle, compassionate man who not only served as a father figure to Theo, but who was also an upstanding role model to a young man walking the line between decency and criminality.<br/><br/>Many of the characters were despicable, and it is no wonder that the line is blurred for Theo and Boris as to right and wrong. Theo's father and his father's girlfriend, Xander were two such characters; they were self-involved and neglectful, despite taking very good care of themselves. They hurt Theo immeasurably.<br/><br/>What I needed from The Goldfinch, but did not get, was a real expression of Theo's love for those people who meant the most to him, Boris, Hobie, Pippa, or Mrs. Barbour. Additionally, I would have liked Hobie to tell Theo how much he meant to him. Boris expressed himself affectionately and with ease, and perhaps that is why we loved him so much, even though his actions defied respectability. In Theo's world, there were very few people who stood by him and helped him. I was waiting for those meaningful moments of appreciation and thankfulness. For me those missing emotional moments, would have brought the work to a different level.<br/><br/>The book took the reader on a captivating journey, but its length, 771 pages, overshadowed the excellent storytelling.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R10NR8BNR1V77G?ASIN=0316055441 No editing...became unbearable. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really regret persevering with this LONG book. It started off fine, really got my attention but then it just went downhill after that. The section where he went to live with his Dad could have been cut down to a few pages. Instead, chapter after chapter of drug-taking, a theme that continued throughout the book. His life with Hobie was pleasant though he seemed too much of a fool to appreciate what he had. After he went to Europe I really struggled. I felt obliged to see the book through to the end but at times I think slitting my wrists might have been a better alternative to picking up this book. At one point the author was contemplating suicide and I wished he would so I could just finish. I really was sick of the main character at that stage. I really didn't care what happened to him. Yes he had a traumatic event early in life but he also had someone to love him and was given opportunities but he seemed to want to blow it all. I expected a book mainly about art. This book was mainly about drug-taking in any shape possible with art very much in the background. I didn't enjoy that. This book might have been bearable had it been a quarter of the length. You would think after ten years writing the author would have produced a masterpiece, instead she seemed to be wallowing in her own writing style. The main character could not walk down the street without a few sentences on every person, bicycle or tree that he encountered. We can't enjoy a silent moment without a little soliloquy on the telephone or paper rustling that breaks the silence. The story itself seemed to become irrelevant. I will not be reading anything by this author again.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R18YHAPY7GH53?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch comes off as a peacock "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This site certainly doesn't need another review to add to the over 7,000 already here. I won't add much to the discourse, but I'm doing this for my own satisfaction and to write down my thoughts about this book that can be both awesome and awful.<br/><br/>Donna Tartt is at times a brilliant writer and a masterful wordsmith. But she reminds me of a Grammy-winning jazz trombonist that I saw at a club once. He was an amazing technician and could coax more notes and different sounds out of the trombone than anyone I had ever heard. And while I could certainly appreciate his technical abilities and marvel at the otherwordly sounds he could create with the instrument, in the end the performance was not satisfying. I was looking for some semblance of a melody and artistry at least somewhat pleasant to the ear, but what I got was a cacophanous display of technical ability.<br/><br/>Yes, you can have too much of a good thing. And Donna Tartt proves it with The Goldfinch. No matter how skillfully she writes about Theo's drug-fueled escapades in Las Vegas, we are so tired of hearing about them after a while. And regardless of how well she conveys all of the things going through his mind while holed up in a hotel in Amsterdam, we just don't care at some point.<br/><br/>I understand the tendency of a good writer to do more of what she does well. What I don't understand is the writer's conceit in not recognizing and overcoming that tendency. While I see this as a serious fault in a writer, I find it unforgivable in an editor. Both of them are guilty of taking a 500 page great book and turning it into an 800 page good book.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RW3WA1MTXJSMN?ASIN=0316055441 "Not for the ""faint-of-heart!""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This novel made me very uneasy. I don't believe that the main character was developed properly in the beginning. As the book progressed, it lost it's impact and probably it's readers. The story line was a good one, but the details of thoughts and descriptions didn't all add to the story. The areas dealing with all of the drugs and alcohol were too graphic for me and, also, seemed to be too commonplace which was very disturbing to me.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3CKW8IOHHDDHM?ASIN=0316055441 the only book that ever put me in a bad mood "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As a native New Yorker the first thing I have to say is the author has no idea what New York City is about. Just about everything she writes about NYC is just wrong-o. Most of the details are just absurd. No one takes the 5th Avenue bus from uptown to Greenwich Village. People don't say ""I 'aint got all day"" or describe a bar in the East Village as a Polack bar. This is just so not us. The dialog is ridiculous. Really. Then, the whole plot premise of a bombing at the Museum is offensive especially the way this author poses it. That's not the way New York would react. I do not see why this book has merited all the attention. It drones on and on and on; the characters are unbelievable, the dialog is stilted, the action forced. I can only do one thing with this book - throw it in the garbage.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BNQ23LCGWK35?ASIN=0316055441 Should I throw it away or pass it on? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just finished the first half of this novel, and I cannot go on. I knew I wanted to read it and bought it as soon as I read a NYTBR review. Fabritius, New York, a writer who may have spent ten years on it? Sounds great! I liked the beginning, but once we're in Las Vegas, I could not believe the quality of the writing and the emptiness of it all, page after page after page. I don't think there's much more than a short story worth of plot or character development here. I'm an English teacher and an avid reader, and I would feel sorry for the writer who produced it, but she just won a Pulitzer Prize for it. We all have different reactions to novels, and I guess I'm in the minority, but I'm sorry I wasted my time on the first part. There is so much great literature to read.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ACSCE62RTXAO?ASIN=0316055441 It's no Secret History "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">On the plus side, the novel is pretty readable, and for a book that long, that's saying something. I wouldn't call it gripping though, and the main problem I felt throughout was that I just didn't really care about the protagonist that much. About half way through the novel, I actually took a moment and tried to mentally describe Theo, the main character, and it was hard to do. I think that is a pretty huge error on a writer's part. All the characters that surround Theo are extreme and charismatic, and very describable, but Theo, the one to whom we are supposed to attach most is sort of a non-entity, a chameleon, who gravitates to bold characters and then appropriates their characteristics and interests.<br/>Rule number 1 for writing a great, epic, coming of age novel- create a memorable and lovable protagonist to hold it all together.<br/>I also thought it could have used better editing, someone should be steering Donna Tartt away from writing half her novel (in parenthesis.) It pulls the reader out of the reality of the story and draws their attention to the artifice of the novel, and when an adult female author is trying to write as an adolescent male, drawing attention to the authorial presence is the last thing you want to do.<br/>That said, I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading the novel, but if you're stuck on the proverbial island and only get to pick one, read The Secret History!<br/><br/>I've written a fuller review on my blog [...]</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3ONP4BL00IPQK?ASIN=0316055441 a twist too far "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the Goldfinch to be overlong .Theo's life in New York was interesting before and after the exlposion L A stretched it a bit but Amsterdam<br/>was definitely a twist too far.And the ending was so disappointing. All that trite philosophising .She had definitely run out of steam</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCQI42NOVEOBV?ASIN=0316055441 A Very Dishonest Author "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved the first part of the book and wanted it to continue. But when Donna Tartt skipped about 5 years in Theo's young life--and he emerges cheating his antiques customers and becomes addicted to drugs without much motive, I was put off.<br/> Very dishonest of Donna Tartt to give us a basically naive and tender young man and have him change morals in midstream. I wasn't interested in Theo then, he wasn't Theo anymore.<br/>I liked her earlier book, The Secret History.<br/> Was she lazy to skip over those formative years without telling us why Theo became a cheat? I don't know and I certainly didn't see any reason for his moral structure to remold so drastically without explanation.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3QODJAE7IR1DD?ASIN=0316055441 A beautiful painting but the book is not. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Innovative idea to guide one through multiple stories by using the painting. However, there are many tried and true plot clichés: Dead parent...plot changes directions, crazy, alcoholic, druggie stereotypical Russian shows up....plot direction changes, switching real art for fake without a character's knowledge, dysfunction in a ""perfect appearing"" family, the list goes on and on. Nothing original other that use of the painting.<br/><br/>As others have written, this is truly a book of at least four stories. Each if fully explored could have been interesting. The reader is asked to suspend belief in reality and not ask why the main character ""drifted"" through life and never took control of his life or even thought of taking control of his life. The novel is truly too long by about 300 pages and really reads like an ambitious first novel. I am surprised at how simplistic it is. The Amsterdam scenes are truly the most badly written. She is not a crime novelist. Nor is Ms. Tartt a good philosopher: Life is short, Beautiful objects that inspire transcend time, really....???? I never would have guessed those pearls of wisdom.<br/><br/>Not sure how this won a the Pulitzer over Phillipp Meyer's ""The Son"". ""The Son"" is a much more cohesive story and is much more intelligently written with beautiful descriptive passages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1JL67AFS2KH91?ASIN=0316055441 It was good... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really liked Tartt's first book, didn't care so much for her second, and this one was...ok, good. She really likes to use paper. I enjoyed her language and phrasing even during the parts when a red pencil could've moved things along more efficiently. But after not being able to leave Theo, the protagonist, to muddle through his idiotic passivity without me, I almost quit at the very end when Tartt kept banging me over the head with the same take home points over and over and over and over again. And over again! My suggestion: read the book until things get resolved, then put it down. It's almost the end of the book but you won't miss anything by moving on when you've got the point.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VAKFGIS90USB?ASIN=0316055441 ISO: Desperately Seeking Editor Who Cares About Readers "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The things I learned from this book:<br/><br/>Donna Tartt knows a s*** ton about<br/>- obscure yet important<br/> - works of art<br/> - vintage and priceless furniture<br/>- restoration of said vintage and priceless furniture<br/>- veneers, all grains and how to fake them<br/>- wood fillers<br/>- aging wood to deceive<br/>- the myriad policies on liberated minors in Nevada and New York<br/>- explosions<br/>- excessive (like insane-excessive, like these-kids-should-be-dead-by-now excessive) alcohol and drug consumption<br/>- prescription drug abuse and abusers<br/>- opiates<br/>- withdrawal symptoms from opiates<br/>- depression from symptoms of withdrawal from opiates<br/>- theft<br/>- duplicity<br/>- expat Russians of dubious intent<br/>- vodka<br/>- art storage facilities<br/>- how to write about people talking about sailing<br/>- NYC's upper east side and the vacuous culture therein, while also being ""nice"" about it<br/>- airports<br/>- buses<br/>- cool music teens listen to<br/>- vomit<br/>- waking in vomit or with vomit caked on a person<br/>- text messaging as a teenager<br/>- the burning sensation of sunlight on the eyes of an addict or hungover teenager<br/>- smoke, all vagaries: lingering, silvery, billowing, sylvan, streaming, breathy, wispy and wafting<br/>- pool care<br/>- big fancy words, such as ""sang-froid""<br/>- how to waste 250 pages without adding one iota to a story's value or progress<br/>- making you wish you'd read something else.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30VO92Y8JNP4K?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch Flounders "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book, this book! I listened to it on audio on my commute to work and even let it come overdue at the library for two weeks so I could finish it. Why? Because I had to believe the ending would redeem the setup of the book. Alas, it did not. Cons: The ending was overly philosophical and didactic. Details are essential to any book, but does Tartt have to go on and on and on about every little thing, from drapes to legs of chairs? These are the questions I would ask her: Why did you have so much trouble cementing this book in a time period that was realistic and coherent? I never really new what year we were supposed to be imagining. Why did you develop characters and then ditch them? For example, Xander was an interesting duck, but Tartt left her to dwindle out. Pippa--Theo's Great Love--is only partially developed and mentioned far too little in this book. Do you really think a 13-year-old boy (I have one) could be so philosophical, profound, and pay so much attention to the details around him at his age (answer: no). Why, oh why, didn't you find a better editor? Someone that could have cut the book down to half the size? And what's up with all the drug use? It was so prolific it seemd as if Tartt assumes every average Joe is on drugs. She really went over the top there. We got it. Theo was depressed and bottoming out. If he had taken less drugs, he would have been a more sentimental character (I can only assume he was in a drug haze all the time...maybe that is why the book fell apart in places?). Finally, it drives me crazy when authors overly use their knowledge (in this case, antiques and art) to dress up a book to a point where the details cause the reader to throw up a little in his or her mouth. Pros: I give the reader of the book a thumbs up. He did a great job with the accents (especially Boris's), but I wish Hobie would have had an authentic New York accent rather than a slightly British one. He wasn't a foreigner, afterall. I understand readers (not listeners) of the book also picked up on this accent. This was just one more example of how Tartt over sensationalized the old money glitz she wanted the readers to feel(although when the Barbars went broke, they still had lots of money it seemed). Tartt DID have some beautiful language woven throughout; unfortunately, her attempt to do it too often decreased the value of the real golden nuggets. I did appreciate the appreciation of art that she emphasized in her book, but felt all she wanted to say about it got all buggered up at the end of the book. As I'm writing this, I see that even my pros are turning into cons! So I will stop, but not without saying how poorly the book ended. Don't keep reading in hopes of finding a satisfying ending. You'll be wasting valuable other book-reading moments.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R36LKIXO1OQFOA?ASIN=0316055441 Compelling, but sadly, falls short of expectations "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found that The Goldfinch, despite its length, continued to be a page-turner throughout. It is a very interesting and complex story, a philosophical and heartbreaking story. Some of the prose is stunningly beautiful, and several of the character portrayals are fascinating. But Theo's great flaw, his inability to make the Good a part of his life, even though he recognizes the goodness in several around him -- his mother, Welty, Hobie, Pippa, and even Andy and Mrs. Barbour, becomes very frustrating, and unbelievable, especially in a character who has a great intellect. His continuing moral and social paralysis, whether in simply making a life for himself or expressing what is in his heart to those he loves, is disappointing, to say the very least. This could have been a great novel, but like so many examples of contemporary literature, there is no God in the lives of the characters. I guess it's a sign of the times, but I really want to read something edifying, and in that department, the novel fails. So what can I take away from it? After hundreds of pages of tales involving drug an alcohol abuse, the author concludes with several pages of artless preaching about the meaning of art and life -- and ending that seems to be pasted on. Very sad. I feel let down.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2D3092LWA6WRL?ASIN=0316055441 I'm Confused "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just finished reading The Goldfinch. I can't, at this point, decide how I feel about it. I was held captive by the plot, in spite of the fact that I often felt that the author was going on and on and needed a good editor. If the lengthy and numerous passages describing the characters' use of drugs and alcohol were designed to place the reader in the heart of their morass, she certainly succeeded. I also, at this point, think that Ms. Tart succeeded beautifully in conveying the eternal and redemptive value of beauty as metaphorically represented by the painting and by Hobie's constant dedication to restoring the beauty in furniture. There was discussion about how a great artist, specifically the one who painted The Goldfinch, includes a ""little joke"" in his depiction. If a novel is a work of art, this one surely includes a ""little joke"" in the ironic twist where the crime of the painting's theft ultimately ends in the redemption of the thief's problems. So, my ambiguity about the novel arises from its meandering and also from its rather heavy-handed moralizing at the end. Perhaps the fact that it will take me time to sort out my complex response to the story is indicative of the greatness of the work. I'd like to think so.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3VRX8F1O1U9K5?ASIN=0316055441 I am deeply disappointed in this highly recommended novel. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am about one third of the way through this story and I have yet to find any redemptive qualities in the protagonist. From the beginning he is in trouble in school, possibly just for smoking, but equally likely for breaking into summer homes with a friend who takes the keys from his mother who is a real estate agent. It is apparent that the main character is susceptible to the influence of his friends, and he has made some poor choices. His chance connection with the little girl, who is also in the museum that will be bombed thus taking the only caring responsible person in his life away from him, sets up the most positive relationship he will have in the story. There is a whiff of hope when Theo begins to work for Pippa's guardian who teaches him about restoring furniture. This all dissolves when Theo's dissolute father arrives and takes him to Las Vegas. It all goes downhill from there. All the most interesting characters, including the painting, are left behind in New York. I found so little to like about this boy and his choices. There may be a good amount of reality in the scenario of teenage boys falling into drugs, alcohol and sexual behaviors, but I need a reason to care about this boy and I have not yet found it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2K05JIBXQUNK5?ASIN=0316055441 Not even a poor woman's Dickens "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I went into it with high hopes based on reviews and a friend's recommendation. This book has been compared to Great Expectations, and in fact, it made me yearn to pick up this beloved book to wash The Goldfinch out of my consciousness.<br/><br/>In my mind, The Goldfinch was more Catcher in the Rye, than Great Expectations. Full admission, I book I read Catcher in the Rye in high school and did not enjoy it. My main criticism of this book would be that I wanted more character development and less convoluted plot. I never found myself rooting for Theo or really caring much what happened to him. That maybe because of his drug use kept him at a distance from everyone, including the reader. I do not know.<br/><br/>I am a voracious reader and I struggled ... struggled to finish this book. I felt like this book led me through a labyrinth, twist and turns, made me ""work for it"" but in the end left me feeling empty. This book really really really needed a deft editor to come in and prune this story. At the end of the day, for me, this story didn't add up to much.<br/><br/>As for the drug porn, I must say I now have a very clear understanding of the different ""highs"" from acid to oxycontin. T</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2933H6ZPTL9R8?ASIN=0316055441 I had to force myself to finish it, RARE for me. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I purchased this book for my Grandmother for Christmas in 2013. She is always desperate for new books, and it is difficult to get her anything she hasn't read yet. She passed it back to me to read afterward with a thank you note inside reading 'Thank you for the book. It was long.' Hmmm. For my New England Grandmother, this bordered on rude.<br/><br/>Then I found out what she meant.<br/><br/>I was excited to read this. There were fantastic reviews.<br/><br/>I started reading with a lot of enthusiasm. I lost my enthusiasm and ended up forcing myself to plow through the book as the main character makes bad decision after bad decision. In addition to this, the majority of those around him also seem to be on a mission to make the wrong decision at every turn.<br/><br/>The book also features an overly done caricature of a Russian/Ukrainian (and he may have also been Polish)?<br/><br/>There was no plot arc that I could find. I don't want to give any spoilers, but the only one I could even think of as a possibility just does not work from any flow perspective.<br/><br/>I could not really find anything redeeming about the book. This may well be the worst book I've ever read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RY6JV3HY5KPC7?ASIN=0316055441 Overwritten, over-hyped. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The final, lecturing, 30 or so pages of this novel attempt to do what the previous 740 or so fail to accomplish: convince readers they have experienced a transcendent work of literary art. They haven't, Pulitzer Prize notwithstanding. Bloated descriptive passages, confusing anachronisms, and two-dimensional characters do not elevate a trite theme - Life Is Hard And Then You Die - above an overwrought preachy-ness. If you choose to pass on this flavor-of-the-day product you will not have missed much at all.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1K3DH0RYOCS8Y?ASIN=0316055441 What is going on with the Pulitzer Prize these days???? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">At first I thought I would really like this book - but after the first chapter I never liked our 'protagonist' and ended up hating this book. I can't decide which is the biggest reason, but one of the worst things about this book was the author's clear love of hearing herself talk and obvious attempt to impress us with her vocabulary - an adjective or 2 (or 10) in EVERY sentence! And the fact that the book went on and on and on even without a very good story... Don't get me wrong - I love a good long book, but few stories can hold up for almost 800 pages - and this is not one of them. (I can't believe Stephen King endorsed this - he is a very clean writer.) And lastly, journaling is the place to let your thoughts flow and identify your philosophy on life, but PLEASE, dear publishers, don't subject the rest of us to that without warning! Since I'm 64 years old, I figure I only have about 25 years left to read and I'm disappointed in myself for wasting so much of my cherished reading time on this stupid thing.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R25IVAT4OC7G35?ASIN=0316055441 Too long; becomes tedious; strains credulity "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This might have been a good 534 page book. Ms. Tartt overwrites, drags out, repeats and repeats. Eventually it becomes boring to read e-x-t-e-n-d-e-d descriptions of Theo (and Boris) drinking incredible quantities of alcohol or consuming various drugs in improbable volumes without dying, or vomiting here, there and everywhere. And there are too many oh-not-that-again plot twists mostly involving Boris showing up just-on-time to keep the story line from following apart because Theo is too lame to punch his way out of a paper bag. On a more positive note, the narrator of the Audiobook version, David Pittu, is outstanding. He does a fantastic job with all the voice variations and accents.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23Z4AWLVW7164?ASIN=0316055441 Too much of a good thing. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt deals with the theft of a painting from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC during a terrorist attack, and the burden (remorse and responsibility for keeping the work safe ) that befalls the teenage boy who took the painting. Tartt offers the reader a nuanced manuscript full of surprises, and her skills for description and characterization are evident throughout. But it is precisely her ability to bring to life minute details that mars her narrative. At 776 pages, the book feels overworked, particularly in the final 100 pages. Toward the end, I became restless, wanting to get on with the story and not linger on scenes that stretched forever with attentive details that took away from the whole. Donna Tartt is without a doubt a terrific writer, but she gives us too much of a good thing and that is,in my opinion, too much. I still recommend this book, and encourage readers to delight in the musicality of the writing.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R173QN20K9VYKX?ASIN=0316055441 Very well written but not pleasant "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing style was wonderful... so much detail in the descriptions that you can almost smell/see/hear/feel what the character is experiencing. The characters are well developed and, although I know some reviews see the characters as unbelieveable, they are well-drawn and exciting. The major criticism I have is that the novel stops being fun to read at some point. The main character makes one bad decision after another and really becomes a ""loser"", even at the end when I guess we are supposed to see some small redemption. It's hard to keep being interested in the outcome when it seems so predictable that the outcome will be more of the same unhappiness. I just wanted to say...""get over it and stop feeling so sorry for yourself"". It's worth reading but if you generally like being happy, manage your expectations with this book.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3CQT31HP19BM4?ASIN=0316055441 Well-researched Novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There was so much hype about this novel, I was anxious to read it. I had not read anything by this author so didn't know what to expect. However, I was not disappointed.<br/><br/>The characters are strong, the descriptions of the Museum of Modern Art and various paintings, New York City, Las Vegas, and Amsterdam are vivid, and the sad life of a motherless boy are enough to recommend this book.<br/><br/>The first 550 pages are so well-written that I didn't want to put the book down. But I did put it down, then picked up it up and it seemed as though I had never stopped! I would have given this novel 5 Stars, but after the first 550 pages, the plot got weaker and slower and stayed that way until the end.<br/><br/>It's obvious Ms. Tartt put lots of research into her novel and she is to be commended. I will definitely read other books by her.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1DKXWGGQEQL8S?ASIN=0316055441 I wish I could get back the time I wasted on this book. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have no idea why this book won a Pulitzer, but I will be sure to steer clear of any future winner, if this is an indication of the quality they are looking for. This book was terrible and worse than that -- 800 pages of terrible! The only reason I finished is because I am reading it for book club, otherwise I would have stopped long before the halfway point. The author was in desperate need of a good editor, I don't know who is more to blame for this 800 page disappointment, this book could have easily been 400 pages max and I am being generous. I am not sure why we had to read page after page of his drug addiction, his altered mind, etc. Perhaps Ms. Tartt was on drugs when she was writing the book and wasn't able to comprehend that writing about something over and over and over and over is BORING!!! Do not waste your time!</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3QCPPRXARH13H?ASIN=0316055441 Subject matter not my favorite "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing was very good but I am not a big fan of Russian or Las Vegas mob activity or children using drugs.. Strong characters but I did not like them. Glad it was on my Kindle because it was so many pages, would have been difficult for me to hold to read. Make sure you look up the painting to see entire piece, changes how you may feel about the painting and the theme of the book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2FQQWS16JYER2?ASIN=0316055441 Could have been a great book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt surely must have based her story line on the symbolism of a bird, the goldfinch, which according to the ornithologist, Herbert Friedman, has several symbolic meanings - principally, death, resurrection, sacrifice, and the soul. Another symbol, he says, is recovery from illness as a kind of resurrection.<br/><br/>All those symbols abound with intricate details in the long work of fiction involving an actual painting entitled The Goldfinch, by the Dutch artist, Fabritius. It is probably no coincidence that Tartt begins the story with the death of Theo's mother during the bombing of the museum where The Goldfinch has been displayed, similar to the actual death of Fabritius at the age of 32, in 1654, caused by an explosion of gunpowder.<br/><br/>Theo, at age 13, mourns his mother's death and begins a life of incomprehensibly difficult circumstances, of questionable friendships, and of facing the consequences of drug addiction and illegal acts. His happiness is less dependent on friends and family than on the painting, which he has stolen from the museum as he escapes from the fire and bombing.<br/><br/>Tragic deaths occur, one after the other - his mother, his father, his friends. His life of drugs and lies is one of little hope.<br/><br/>Positives:<br/>Tartt displays vast knowledge of artists and writers, of various cultures and foreign languages. Her narrative is fluid and easy to read. The transition from one tragic incident to another actually piques the readers' interest. We wonder how it will all end. What will be the final outcome for Theo? So, in a sense, it is tantamount to suspense and we read on and on for the answer. The answer, it seems, is in the spiritual resurrection of Theo's mind and soul. Not his actions.<br/><br/>Negatives:<br/>Yes, we read on and on. Tartt's novel could have been GREAT, not just good, if she had reduced the number of pages by about 300 pages. It was an arduous task to read the long conversations and descriptions of past events, many repetitive. I skimmed over many pages. The excessive verbiage left little to the readers' imagination. In the end, Theo's spiritual resurrection may have occurred, but his actions leave one thinking that his life is hopeless. In fact, isn't that what he said?<br/><br/>But...do read the book!!!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17XQOL6XHOGEL?ASIN=0316055441 My Final Visit with Ms. Tartt "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really wanted to love The Goldfinch. It came highly recommended to me. I was hesitant, because I did not like The Secret History. At all. I wanted to like that novel as well, but it just seemed to go on and on, with so much of the content not really relevant to the plot. Just a lot of tangent. But it's been a long time since The Secret History, so I thought she might have gotten better. Look, I haven't published a novel so I hate to hate on her, but wow, I felt like this one just blathered on and on endlessly the same way as The Secret History. In the most annoying way. I find her prose SO PRECIOUS. The language is like a mash-up of British vernacular and the affected ""upper class"" dialogue that they spoke in 1930's movies. I just found it so self-conscious. And once again, the narrator dithers ON AND ON AND ON. Endlessly. Gratingly. Ennervatingly. I wanted to throw the book across the airplane aisle. And believe me, there is nothing I enjoy more than reading a good book on an airplane. Unfortunately, I was trapped onboard with THIS book. Yet, I stuck with her, gritting my teeth through the last quarter of the book, annoyed and exasperated and yes, hating her. This morning I learned that Ms. Tartt won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel and I thought, well, there must be someone connected with her publisher on that Pulitzer committee who just pushed and pushed and pushed until the poor folks on the committee just gave up. She tries to create a new Holden Caulfield but she doesn't come close. Whatsisname the hero of Goldfinch is a somewhat lifelike mannequin, but certainly feels like a puppet with a drawn-on sad face next to Salinger's brilliant creation.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2I3FD3NY469JD?ASIN=0316055441 The nay-sayers read the wrong book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As this book was published a while ago, there are lots of reviews by casual readers on this site as well as others. It seems people either love it or are puzzled by its success. This novel is so rich in theme, plot, character development and style, it amazes me that so many posters have nit picked it apart. I am astounded that several reviewers mentioned that young Theo going through the Met Museum speaks about his cell phone, ipod, etc., things that will not be available to him til later. And their point is??? This novel is narrated by the protagonist from a future standpoint, and like most humans, his memory of specific details may be imperfect. All the characters are so richly drawn, and the plot just hums along. Yes, the story is fantastic and unbelievable. At times the story is maddening. I kept yelling at Theo, ""Don't do that!"" Or, ""Why are you trusting him now when he has already proven to be so shady?"" I yelled a lot. And then there are the layers that are revealed over time: the randomness of life; the places where we arrive, not knowing how we got there, or what their outcome will be; what is it about art that draws us to it; which obsessions, which compromises will define us. I could go on for the 700 plus pages just talking about the themes! I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Five stars means nothing. If you appreciate imagination and good writing, this is a must read. If you are willing to take the ride with the author, you will not be disappointed.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2EEQ6HQDS90Z3?ASIN=0316055441 Way too long!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I think the story is a good one but there is so much that is not necessary to the plot and it just makes you wish for this book to end! Things like a dream Theo has about his mother.....not necessary to the story at all, and takes up pages and pages and pages...too much time spent on just ""stuff"" in Las Vegas. This book could have been shorter. Unfortunately the ""bang"" of a beginning caught my attention enough that I got dragged into it to the end.<br/>Another issue I had with this book is that it is supposed to be from a male point of view but I found that not really believable. I actually thought at the beginning it was from a female POV, I guess I must have missed something. Then I was surprised when I discovered this first-person voice was actually a male, and then that he was writing an account of things that had happened years before. It would have helped had I known that in the beginning, but like I said I could have missed it - I did find myself speeding through some things trying to get to the next ""thing"" happening and not wanting to read all the detail about dreams, drug highs, stupid things done as kids in Las Vegas (of which a lot could have been left out.) However, it was a good story and some of the detail, especially in Amsterdam, was very well done and helped the story. I wavered between 2 and 3 stars, because overall I liked the story but was really annoyed with how much time I spent with it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1F1TV3WE7JSGT?ASIN=0316055441 If you only read one book this year... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this book! The plot, the flow, the skill contained in its pages is breath taking! I'd jump out of bed to start reading in the morning and still found turning pages at bedtime. I loved it and was sad at the end of the 7hundred plus pages!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WU8TOVGDXTO3?ASIN=0316055441 I Wanted to Give It Five Stars "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I had heard so many great things about this book that I was really looking forward to reading it. I wanted it to be a book that I could read again and again for the joy of finding intricacies that I did not piece together before. I was looking for a new favorite. I was fascinated by the beginning of the book. I enjoyed the way Tartt shaped her characters and their relationships. The tragedy at the museum was well done, and I couldn't wait to find out what Theo would do with the ring and where this mysterious adventure would take him. Characters were well drawn and details were crystal clear, but I became disillusioned with too much detail. I wanted the parts of the book that held me spellbound to be closer together. I kept thinking that these pages should have been edited and found myself skimming pages. I never do that when I am in love with a book. I found the book unnecessarily long--I wanted to get to the end to see the results. What had these characters learned about life and others and themselves? I was disappointed with the philosophy and no real enlightenment. I wanted a ""To Kill a Mockingbird"" but ""The Goldfinch"" didn't fly for me even though it had so much promise.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RBS3IOKH3Z5X?ASIN=0316055441 Could have been said and done more expertly in 400 pages "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">About half way through this book the redundancy overwhelmed me; especially realizing how much there was to still get through and realizing there wasn't a lot to lie, about main character. Yes you could feel sorry for him but then that gets stretched. Much to preachy and speechy with unnecessary density at times. The last few pages were tortuous. Not sure why all the great reviews. It is just ok with the investment of time factored in. Sorry because there were high hopes.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3G1AP9NQ5DPSL?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Just finished this book in about four days.....could NOT stop reading! This is one of the BEST books I have read in a long time. One so compelling and transcending that it had me thinking about the book long after it's finish. It is a scope of writing that encompasses so much it's sometimes hard to wrap your head around everything. It is the human condition incarnate.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YQ7ZI92J422P?ASIN=0316055441 Started off well "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The beginning of The Goldfinch had my attention. The longer I read the more bored I became. I was practically comatose by the end.<br/>Gave the author 2 stars for having written so many pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1983KWIKFQZGB?ASIN=0316055441 Surprised at the love / 600 great pages / But 200 bad "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can't help but think there must be something wrong with me when I really dislike a book that so many readers and critics love. This book was at or near the top of so many Best of 2013 lists, but I found it to just be over-the-top. The last 200 pages were like some awful Bond novel, which detracted from a great first 600 pages. I prefer my buldungsroman's without shoot-outs (unless the main character is supposed to be violent, a la The Son).</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HW30AURWX1UE?ASIN=0316055441 I cannot believe it was so lauded to the skies BUT I am only on page 400 our of 700 plus. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first chapters of New York and the Met were good - some passages even great. But it is so unbelievable at every turn. When the protagonist moves to Las Vegas you might as well just skip the whole section. We are back in NY now but I cannot make myself return to the book. I was very disappointed since I gave copies to my relatives in hopes of a book club type experience over the holidays and no one can get past Las Vegas!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RO76XYJRVDG8C?ASIN=0316055441 WHEW...finally finished! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Great start, wonderful words and descriptions. I had a variety of feelings towards the characters which made me really want to see this story unfolded. The middle was slow and exhausting to get to the end. Honestly I started off loving this book but the story fell off the track tremendously and never pulled me back in. It could have been 300 pages shorter. I burned out, lost interest and just wanted to finish.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R5L4QSSWG26JX?ASIN=0316055441 Plod, plod, plod! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Started off interesting enough, but a third of the way through I began to have my doubts. Halfway through I couldn't stand it anymore. Evidently, it follows the life of the young boy protagonist DAY BY PLODDING DAY! I was so happy when I allowed myself to throw the damn thing to the floor and pick up the latest Harlan Coben. Might not be everlasting lit-ra-ture, but at least I want to turn the page!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3607XBM7WWJ88?ASIN=0316055441 Is it just me? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">OMG! I thought I was slogging through quicksand and sinking with each step! If you weren't depressed before starting the book, you would be after reading it. At the end when the main character was contemplating suicide, I wanted to go out and buy the drugs for him to hurry him along! I know it is a best seller and a Pulitzer Prize winner, but the best I can say is grammatically it was well written.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFYQ0E6K9H85D?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">With all the hype given to this book, I really did want to like it. But it was all I could to to finish reading it. It is very tedious in most parts of the book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RC6FYYRXD7VF2?ASIN=0316055441 don't waste your time. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Horrible. Nothing but drugs ands more drugs.......what could possibly make this a best seller???????? Would not recommend for anyone period.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30MDRSZQSOX11?ASIN=0316055441 Please punch yourself before you read this book. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">All I can say is...wow.<br/><br/>If I can stop even stop ONE person from reading this I will have done my job. I started reading this book on May 30th. I finished on December 25th. I thought it would be a nice Christmas present to release myself from the Vulcan Death-Grip The Goldfinch had on my manhood. I read three books WHILE reading the Goldfinch. Stop-Start-Stop-Start-Stop-Start. So boring. I'm talking like I wanted to light my own face on fire boring. Reading about this kid's drug induced comas and the number of bricks on the building across the street and the (how many pages did she spend talking about furniture restoration) excerpts on furniture restoration.<br/><br/>Let's talk about the ending (I'm going to give it away so spoiler alert)...words. Lots of words. I think Boris came through? That's about as much as SHE divulged. The rest of the ending was words. As if we didn't grasp the point of the whole thing she felt the needed to do some MORE explaining. You are thinking to yourself...""Zach, it's a book. There are words in books.""....NO. The only way to describe the rant that happened the last 50 pages is to type this. BLUUUUUUUUURRRRRGUFPAUFPPPPPPASDFJ. Yep. You just read the ending of The Goldfinch.<br/><br/>Hey, Donna...There is an old woman sitting in the window of that coffee shop. You forgot to describe her shoes to us. What's her maiden name and how much did she spend on her latte? PLEASE....KEEP DESCRIBING THINGS. IT'S ONLY PAGE 645 AND THE MAIN CHARACTER HAS ONLY AGED...WHAT?...A WEEK?<br/><br/>Pulitzer Prize my ass. MTV gives out awards to people for punching each other that are more deserving than anything this lady should have received.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1JCJ17KVGV2WZ?ASIN=0316055441 A Great Story (yes long, but don't let that bother you) with a Few Vexing Aspects "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I first encountered Donna Tartt in the eighth grade, when my English teacher, a Donna Tartt enthusiast, told us all about a book that she had recently published. I haven't reread The Little Friend since 2003, though I probably will go back and read it at some point this year, but when I heard about the release of Tartt's latest book, I knew it would have to go on my list. It took me a little while to get around to actually starting it, mostly because of the mixed reviews and the length (just under 800 pages), but I should not have let either stop me. Donna Tartt's novels are right up my alley - dark, a little twisted, fantastic writing, and always a compelling plot.<br/><br/>The novel begins with the main character of this bildungsroman, Theo, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his mother. Two sites that Theo views that day play heavily into the directionality of the plot: the first is a young girl walking with an older gentleman and the second is a painting that he and his mother discuss. A bomb goes off causing, well, the chaos you might expect if a bomb were to go off at the Met. Theo decides to take the painting, Carel Fabritius' The Goldfinch that he and his mother were viewing, giving little thought to the ramifications of pilfering a priceless work. The novel from that point follows Theo as he grows up, adjusting to a vastly changed existence after the attack and maneuvering through life with an invaluable stolen painting. The young girl, Pippa, that he had seen on the day of the attack, ebbs in and out of the plot, a love interest from the moment Theo spots her.<br/><br/>The characters in this novel definitely stand out. Each is vividly written, a unique persona with quirks and flaws not duplicated; each feels real. From Theo's father, an alcoholic with a gambling problem who lives in a large but basically unfurnished house in Nevada with his pill-popping, loud-mouthed girlfriend, to Boris, the Ukranian transplant, who introduces Theo to teenage life, Tartt's characters carry the story. Each has multiple layers and keeps the reader curious and engaged, wanting to know more about their thoughts and rationales. There are dozens of little side stories going on, as the world spins around Theo, and the story that the author weaves is so rich that it's as if any one of these characters could have their own novel.<br/><br/>Let's talk a little bit about Fabritius' painting, because it's very helpful in understanding Theo. I loved the art history tie in and the fact that the details about the artist in the novel were true. Carel Fabritius was a Dutch painter from Delft (same origin as Vermeer). He lived during the mid-1600s, was an extremely talented student of Rembrandt. He died when he was young in a gunpowder magazine explosion, which also destroyed many of his paintings. The Goldfinch is unique amidst Fabritius' oeuvre. It captures a living animal, as opposed to a portrait of a single human or a biblical scene. The bird is bathed in a very delicate light, perched upon a box and tethered to the wall indoors by a thin chain. The painting itself is physically very small, only about 13x9 inches, with rough brushstrokes only purportedly noticed when the viewer is close.<br/><br/>There are a number of links that can arguably be made between the main character and this painting. Firstly, the explosion that kills Fabritius himself and destroys most of his work parallels the terrorist attack that Theo experiences. One might even argue that what is left of Theo's psyche after that day is somewhat like the bird, imprisoned and chained to a bleak and undefined landscape. We could even say, perhaps, that the way other characters see Theo is like observers view The Goldfinch, from afar, he is composed and complete, but up close just a mess of emotions and experiences.<br/><br/>Despite the length, the plot moves quickly as Theo travels about, from New York, to Las Vegas, to Amsterdam. Two parts of this novel bothered me enough to note. Don't get me wrong, they didn't make me rethink my impression as a whole, which was in the strong-like category, but each was slightly vexing. The first was Theo's spiral into drugs and alcohol. This honestly was just not a topic I relate to, and I kept wanting to shake him and say ""get it together,"" always figuring that moment was coming sooner than it was.<br/><br/>The second aspect was the ending, which was not with a bang or a nice little knot, but more of a whisper. There is a surprising lack of resolution for a story that seemed to build to so much. Maybe we can chalk all that up to the post-9/11, ego-centric, and zombified reality that Tartt has created, a neat ending just would not fit in this world. I didn't feel like this story needed the massive zoom-out that it had before concluding, the rehash of Fabritius, the reason for the penning of the tale, Theo's ponderings on what having written all this down will mean. To me, it felt a little like that section of Atlas Shrugged where you just keep waiting for the author to get back to the story and stop yammering on about this other stuff.<br/><br/>Putting all that aside, if you're a Donna Tartt fan, of course don't pass this up. I haven't read her other two novels in quite some time, so I can't pass judgement on how this one stacks up in comparison. If you've never read her, well, I might recommend starting at the beginning, with The Secret History and savoring over all three. This is an author who has published once every 10 years, and each novel has some heft, but the stories all move quickly. You have to like dark motifs and twisted occurrences though, so if that's not your cup of tea, you should probably run in the other direction.<br/><br/>Check out this and other great reviews at Bookasaurus dot Weebly dot Com.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMZMI0DJTC9XD?ASIN=0316055441 You can speed read through last half. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story grows tiresome by the time it's halfway through the book. I finished it because I tend to finish books that I begin.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCRYO79ZUAOJK?ASIN=0316055441 too long and rather boring. I think the author could have made his ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought is was repeticious, too long and rather boring. I think the author could have made his message understood in 3 chapters. You can only read so many pages of someone getting drunk, passing out, getting high, getting sick, etc. the entire book is like this. I am surprised so many gave it wonderful reviews?</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RU6L79AT8JYQ0?ASIN=0316055441 Not worth my time... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The beginning was intriguing. Loved the first quarter and the last quarter somewhat redeemed the middle but the middle was well- written depressing crap that made me want to kill myself. I can't believe this got so many good reviews! The only people I can see loving it are psychiatrists and psychologists.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RDJO48CZYRCLD?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book kept me engaged for the first 1/4 of the story however, the plot becomes boring and ridiculously long before getting to the conclusion or wrap up. How this book became so highly rated as a book to read is beyond me. I regret the purchase. I wish I would have borrowed it from the library.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3QR7NQETR1D15?ASIN=0316055441 Didn't like this book at all!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is over-long and depressing. The descriptions of EVERYTHING go on forever and so does this book. I didn't like any of the characters except maybe Hobie. They're a bunch of drug addicts and alcoholics and - again - descriptions of the trips on drugs went on forever. I don't understand the rave reviews about this book. I finished it but kept checking to see how much time was left in the book - couldn't wait to finish It and move on to something else. I don't like not finishing a book but really feel this book was a total waste of time for me. Will not read this author again -ever!!!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2DB1MHHCV9Z00?ASIN=0316055441 Great story, good description of NYC, but foul language. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Engrossing and well written. However, I am not a fan of reading or hearing a lot of cursing and expletives in order to tell a story. I understand that is, unfortunately, the way most people speak, but the same story could be told without bringing the reader down to that level.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R24GVVV0X0NINZ?ASIN=0316055441 BORING, BORING, BORING "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read allot but this book is so slow and boring, I am 1/3 of the way through it and not sure if I will even finish it. The author spends way too much time on trivial unimportant facets of the story. How it got on the today show with all the great reviews I just don't understand. You are never sure of the story line which moves so slowly. The story doesn't seem to be going anywhere, you never know what the reason of the story is. I am not sure I will even finish it if it doesn't start to move along to a real story line. If they make a movie I will really loose it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3HG2RVOD6BXFC?ASIN=0316055441 Wish i had read a review "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I didn't care for this story very depressing way too much info that was not needed! Could of cut out 200-300 pages. And all the drug use was too much. I skimmed through to the end after awhile and was very disappointed!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2ZI1FY0CKD623?ASIN=0316055441 A so/so book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I had expected a different slant to the book. It was too long on the details about drugs, alcohol, etc. After reading page after page about the effects of drugs on the main charters actions, I began scanning and skipping many of the chapters. I am fully aware of the effect of drugs, but I don't need to read a book that is mostly dealing with that view point. When reading I prefer to not dwell upon only a ""drug"" theme. I had hoped the author would follow through more on the art and the effect it had on her characters. Too long, too boring</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R68Q9LTTR63RZ?ASIN=0316055441 Depressingly Nihilistic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was a depressingly nihilistic version of Catcher in the Rye. I would not recommend it. It was written in an extremely self absorbed manner..I kept with it hoping it would improve, but it didn't.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RYRS032WM9Y3H?ASIN=0316055441 Great Expectations "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A bit long winded, a few too many descriptions of the after effects of drug and alcohol abuse, but interesting well fleshed characters. .Hobie, a wonderful old Curiosity Shop kind of gentleman, who is Theo's substitute father and benefactor. Boris,Theo's best friend and accomplice in crime, another orphan, a crazy out of control mixed up kid, a contemporary Artful Dodger. Many fascinating details about antique restoration, New York Upper East side society, the seamy side of Las Vegas, how family and art affects our lives and so much more.<br/>Theo Decker, whose adolescence and rise to maturity is the main subject of the novel, is an interesting combination of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye and of course Pip in Great Expectations. His mother is killed in a bomb explosion at the Metropolitan Museum, and he suffers from an unrequited love for Pippa, a red haired girl who was also involved in the same incident. The book is well written and holds your attention, the final chapters set in Amsterdam just go on a bit too long. Ms. Tartt could have done with a stricter editor. Overall I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to actually seeing The Goldfinch, the eponymous Dutch Old Master painting which is the touchstone of Theo's life and currently and apparently quite coincidentally on loan to the Frick Museum in New York.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R34X03YQCYAQH4?ASIN=0316055441 Did I miss something? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is the second book I've read recently that, at its end, I'm staring at the wall, depressed, confused and as my little granddaughter says, ""Huh?"" After E. Gilbert's huge, disjointed, self-indulgent whirl though decades (in Signature of all Things), from which I was at least able to learn something, I hopefully began Goldfinch. Donna Tart just begins beautifully and then, after chapter 4......... Good grief. It's the most painfully awful bunch of mess I've ever tried to wade through. So I skimmed all of that section, tried to pick up the New York connection and finally said ""Enough."" Except for the brilliant parts about Hobie and his woodworking, there is nothing that I could take away from this book except sadness and a bad taste. I'm done with this mess and I don't even care how it ended.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R35A4JRR05ZBW2?ASIN=0316055441 Could've Wait to Read This Book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As soon as this book was available I put it into my Kindle imagining many evenings wrapped up on a delicious, unforgettable story. At about the halfway point, I wondered what all the fuss was about. I didn't like or care about any of the characters with the exception of Hobie. I believe that Ms. Tartt needs to learn to clip her sentences and streams of consciousness in half and allow her characters get over themselves. This book was very difficult to stomach to the finish. Not recommended.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RLFVV5SQJ2MHW?ASIN=0316055441 Left Me Mystified and Depressed! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">""The Goldfinch"" may have won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but this book left me wondering what I had missed that made this book such a noteworthy piece of fiction. I struggled throughout the book and kept thinking that while reading this book, I was living in a world of drunkenness, drug addiction, and total depression. I kept trying to figure out what lesson or meaning that I was totally missing - nothing ever got better for the main character, Theo. Maybe that is the lesson that the Big Three D's (drunkenness, drug addiction, and depression) is. Life NEVER gets any better - I don't think so and I sure hope not! Maybe I'm just not smart enough to get the meaning of this great piece of literature, but I would never recommend it. I have spoken with a friend who is in a book club, and seven out of eight members strongly disliked ""The Goldfinch"". Frankly, my husband is so happy when I finished this book - he said all I did was complain about how horrible it made me feel........Barbara Cognetta</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VGF5P74JVED8?ASIN=0316055441 Take out half of the book and it'll be good. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The storyline was good, but it was boring when the author became philosophical. I would skip pages to get through with the book. At least half of the book could have been omitted. Where was the editor?</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R390DY2UVCMOVX?ASIN=0316055441 GOLDFINCH Review "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Way too long and detailed yet far too compelling to put aside. The characters, flawed and detestable at times, are dragged and stumble through life taking the reader with them from beginning to end.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PZ8N1YGDTNK0?ASIN=0316055441 Don't get the rave reviews "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm with several other posters here - I just don't understand how this book gets such high acclaim. Usually I stop reading a book if it doesn't grab me in the first few days, but I kept plodding through this waiting for it to get better after everything I had read about the book. By the end, I was just flipping through the pages to see how it ended, but not really caring.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16SJ1635PM4O6?ASIN=0316055441 You will be amazed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt writes with a wisdom and precision and beauty unlike ANYTHING I have ever read. Just read it! And be grateful for this piece of art that will lodge in your heart forever...</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R479L7HIO7L75?ASIN=0316055441 Terrific book, not for the casual reader "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a wonderful book, intricate in detail, description, and character. It is not for the casual genre reader, but for someone with the patience to see it through over 700+ pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17FC6WHXY13R0?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really became engrossed in the book because of how easy the plot unraveled and the wonderful way this author described the characters. You won't be disappointed. Great depth.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R36G19BQYJ8MKJ?ASIN=0316055441 Too much drug abuse in the story. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was amazed what I learned about drug addiction and how prevalent it must be in our society which saddens me. She is a good writer but I did not like the seemingly glorification of drugs, continually through out the story. I will no recommend it to anyone.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R271TQ3ZR94ULO?ASIN=0316055441 Well written and unique plot "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The author had great characterization and it was well written. However, the end of the book seemed to drag on forever, and I ended up skipping many pages to get to the end.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R28368WAPB25UX?ASIN=0316055441 Long book. Interesting read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">We'll written and interesting story. Keeps various story lines coming. Charactor portrayals Are so descriped you fell you know them or have met them at see time</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R10EX5JSP4LOA?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch will keep your attention with every page "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Best book of 2013. Rarely do I find a book that keeps my attention page after page with twists and turns around every corner. You'll find it hard to put down.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2ARU2XASH8DYQ?ASIN=0316055441 great "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It catches you from the beginning and stays with you long after you're done. It reminds us that art is one of the few things that makes the journey possible.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3N6HGE2GOX1EO?ASIN=0316055441 A wasted week of my life. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">**********SPOILERS***** Please do not read if you don't want to know what happened******SPOILERS*****<br/>I started off loving this book. The opening, the explosion and the events immediately after it were all well written, pages turning stuff. The author's prose begged to be read aloud and the imagery was amazing. Then the Dad shows up and off we go into a wholly different book. Fine. Fine. Still a little interesting...but the main question (What about the painting?) becomes an after thought as Theo turns into a drug addict and alcoholic while really having no self evaluation about the physical side of his bromance with Boris. This side story line become predictable as we all know fairly early on the trajectory Theo's father is on. Ok. Pack your bags we're going back to NYC for yet another storyline with Hobie. Things start feeling a little on the unbelievable side while the reader is subjected to a mind numbing education about restoring old furniture. Hang in there because the author's math starts getting fuzzy too. Theo is 15 when he stores his package in some cash only storage facility--because we pan eight years into the alternate future: My math tells me Theo is 23 but the author says Theo is 26. And continues to repeats this bad math in several places. The almost romanticization of our pill-popping, drug snorting hero carries on throughout the book to the point where I question if our author is preaching from the pulpit of ""Been There-Done That"". Then hark, Lucien Reeves shows up and I perk up again. Someone is actually looking for the missing painting. Oooh. It looks like he has our hero dead to right....and then the book shifts again and our former bromance returns to word-vomit all over an unGodly number of pages that he's been up to for the last 8? 11? years. Wow. His life seems a whole lot more interesting than the drug haze that we've been forced to read about. AND none of it actually feels like it's true. Of course the evening is ruined when Boris drops this incredible story. Well, not incredible to the reader if they were paying attention to the kind of person Boris was in Las Vegas--but incredible that he fessed up to it. And here's the kicker, you're never really quite sure why he showed up to spill his guts so many years later. Alas, our Hero is upset and races to his private storage place and Voila. Theo is hurt and upset. But then here's the weird thing, instead of saying to himself well, this puts me in the clear and I don't have to worry about this anymore like I'd imagine most sane people would say, the two best buds sets out out find the painting again. Nothing that comes out Boris's mouth sounds feasible or possible but Theo follows the man around like a puppy. The Kitsey thing was another head scratcher. Are we going to get a confrontation with Tom Cable? No. Platt comes off sleazy and seems to be angling for some thing. Nothing happens with that. The girl we're kind of fooled to believe is his destiny, Pipa? Nothing. But hold onto your hat, the book is going to switch gears again as Boris shows up to the engagement party and they take off to Antwerp with very few questions as to why. Plus, why DID Theo have a passport? He's never left the country--never needed one. So I'm sort of surprised that he has one. Usually people get those on a need-to have basis. This is when everything gets really, really (I can't type the amount of reallys that need to be in this sentence) unbelievable. A Russian B-movie plays out as Boris word-vomits all over the pages with more unbelievable stories with stereotypical Russian thugs. The first time in a long while some action happens. Fine. At this point, I'll take it. Of course everything goes south and Theo returns to his hotel with his life turned upside down and then I'm forced to read about 40 pages of our hero building himself up to commit suicide. I'm not going to lie. I was rooting for the suicide. Either Theo's or mine, I can't recall now. Then Boris pops back up to word-vomit all over the pages again and to top it off, suddenly he's somewhat of a philosopher. More wasted pages of Boris's world view and Theo acting like he doesn't understand where he's coming from. Code for: please tell me more. At this point I'm glad that I don't actually keep a gun in my house. Oh, well, No big deal, here's your passport let's go back to NYC. I'm in full panic mode because there are still pages in this damn book. Clear things up with Hobie, but wait, Hobie has some more never heard of stories that he'll like to share with us. (I'm pretty much crying now and want my mother.) But everything is ok. Theo's rich and he can take his time cleaning up his mess and going back to ignoring Reeves. Maybe he'll get married, maybe he won't. But wait, Theo wants to give us his PhD Thesis on the Goldfinch painting and his own philosophy on life. Please spare me. How did this author's wonder prose descend into ridiculous bloviating nonsense? Who are the judges for Pulitzer Prize? Are they insane? Suicidal? The one MAJOR problem is that our narrator (supposedly Theo) is a heck of a lot smarter than the actual character. (That, plus the narrator knows how to make a Thesaurus her *itch) Theo was supposedly this young genius who read A LOT, but never exhibited any sort of intelligence outside of the author just telling us he's smart. We don't even know if he ever put himself in rehab or quit the drugs. Frankly, Theo is not interesting enough to carry a 771 page novel. It would have been best to split the book's narrative between Theo and Boris. That way we could have experienced all this other stuff that happened off the page. (At 771 pages, there shouldn't be such a thing as off the page action) When I started the book, I raced to come to Amazon to put her other works in my cart. Now, I since deleted them. I don't mind large books, but seriously, if the scene doesn't drive the story forward, you don't need it in the book. I have too many scene to count where I've marked with a ? in wondering what was the purpose of that scene. I guess, with it taking 11 years to write, that the author kept changing what this story was supposed to be and in the end we got like 4 or 5 different stories that really didn't satisfy. I would have liked to have seen how Boris got off that bridge. How he called the German SWAT. How they busted Sascha. All the interesting stuff happened off the page and I'm more than annoyed about that. In the end, it troubling to give this book a 2 star because the author does know how to write...but she can't find a plot even if it bites her on the behind.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BKXU7PVEEK4?ASIN=0316055441 Promise Thwarted "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I haven't read the author's other books so I didn't come to this book with preconceptions - good or bad. My writing teacher recommended it to our class, saying it didn't quite have the gravitas to win the Pulitzer, but who knows how these awards are decided....<br/><br/>For me, the writing soared in many places and dragged interminably in others. The plot was compelling. The beginning was superb, beautifully and sensitively rendered, if a tad drawn out. After the tragedy, the painfulness of Theo's predicament was palpable. The Barbour family was fascinating, Mrs. Barbour in particular. Don't we all know someone like her? The author has a way of capturing the essence of personalities, especially extreme stereotypes.<br/><br/>Then I began to feel as imprisoned as the Goldfinch. Chained to the promise offered in the beginning of this ultimately lengthy, verbose, self-conscious novel. a promise thwarted by the writer herself. I felt like a guest at one of the Barbour's insufferable dinner parties, backed into a corner by an officious old drunk, spitting saliva at me in his wired attempt to control my escape... Get me outta here!!<br/><br/>Outta here we got - to Vegas. The Vegas years were mildly interesting when Xandra and Dad appeared on the scene. I'll never chew juicy fruit (my secret addiction)again. Boris was implausible and his in extremis background added nothing to his credibility. But I loved that accent!! The macho bravado, yah!! He was Borat with criminal intent, no?!! Then, I began to miss the Barbour's boring dinner parties when the excruciatingly boring boring boring drunken and drug-fueled escapades of Theo and Boris took over maybe a hundred pages. It felt like a hundred years. Held hostage waiting for something to happen. And what decade were we in anyway, the crash of 2016 followed by the war with Russia? No external world as an anchor except the fantasy of Vegas. And there is nothing worse than watching someone get drunk while you are sober. Unless it's watching them get drunk and vomit, over-dose, whatever.. We saw some of that too.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, implausibly, the Goldfinch remained in the background. Why the Goldfinch? The author explicates a rationale somewhat at the end of the book but it essentially eluded me. I confess, I skimmed my way over the last half of this book so maybe that nugget of insight was hidden elsewhere.<br/><br/>Then the descent into despair. Theo returns to New York and the kindnesses of many offer redemption. Theo, we want you to be redeemed!!! Instead, we watch you destroy yourself - almost. Borat, er Boris reappears. Maybe we don't even care at that point. And who the heck thinks Amsterdam is an exotic location? Maybe we back in 1960's, no? Yah, get good drugs.<br/><br/>Less would have been more. A good editor and someone to step on the author's self indulgent ramblings would have made a just OK book fabulous. Sad, really. What will future generations say about our literary pretensions?</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R18TTMDEYRSRDQ?ASIN=0316055441 Beautiful description, great characters, improbable plot, lousy pacing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is a fine writer. The book takes place in 3 cities, Manhattan (no outer boroughs in Tartt's New York), Las Vegas, and Amsterdam. I've been in all 3 cities, and Tartt gets each of them -- Manhattan with its elegant towers and parks and multi-ethnic neighborhoods; Vegas where subdivisions fade into the desert; and Amsterdam with narrow houses, canals, and labyrinthine streets. But the description goes on for pages and pages (I imagine, since I read it on a Kindle) with nothing happening --just endless word pictures.<br/><br/>The book is as full of interesting characters as a Dickens novel, but one never sees inside any of the characters. Even Theo is a bit of a cipher. He's constantly taking drugs -- halfway through the book we learn that the pills and heroin keep his paranoia at bay. Well, it makes sense that a man caught in a terrorist attack would be paranoid, but how about showing and not telling? All that verbiage, but not a word until then about Theo's fears and how the drugs keep those fears at bay. Andy, the school friend whose family takes Theo in, has been bullied by his siblings; this we learn in retrospect -- not while its ongoing.<br/><br/>There's a lot of action in this book, be it the drawing room drama of the Barbour family or the derring-do of various underworld figures in New York, Vegas, and Amsterdam, but all of this is rather muddy. When the book revs up, it's so fast and furious that it's hard to tell what exactly is happening. Boris, Theo's Russian gangster buddy, always seems to have some kind of racket going on, and he sort of explains it, in his thickly accented English, but not clearly enough for someone like me who hasn't had to deal with art thieves or international gangs. It all has something to do with a kingpin named Sascha, and there's some guy named Horst who's a baddie with an appreciation for art, but how this all fits together is really confusing. In fact, most of the action-packed sections of the book go by in fog and smoke. Why is the Metropolitan Museum attacked? What is Boris doing behind Theo's back in Vegas? Is Theo's father just making bad bets, or does he have some other kind of racket? And who is Lucius Reeve? It's all kind of a hash.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2702YHUWPCHRG?ASIN=0316055441 Whew.... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm glad that is now over. I couldn't not finish this book. I had to put it down over and over again because it was SO depressing all the way throughout. I like a well done tragedy... In fact, I LOVE stories in which the characters learn much from life's Journey... Which is often times, messy. From these books I feel I can grow as a person. But As stated in this book, unless you recognize and realize there must be ""shadow"" in order to truly appreciate the light and joy. THIS BOOK IS THE SHADOW EXPLORED.<br/> I realize it wasn't meant to be a fluffy unrealistic epic of triumph. It was a nihilistically painful epic.... With out much hope, at all. It was well written. In so far as the quality of its literature.... 4 stars... I will remember these characters, it's fictional events and the character evolvement will remain real to me, as does all well developed characters and stories that maintain depth of character and story line ""realness"".<br/> The depth of the philosophy that embodies this work is profound.... it's a philosophy that makes me SOOOO very sorry for its beholder..... The questions asked at the end of this book are, indeed, important questions, but, I strongly disagree with this characters conclusion. This work did it's desired job, most likely, as evidenced by me getting fired up about its content. I just CANNOT read books of this nature to often.... They tempt me, and I believe everyone, to fall into complacency with what they believe is to hard to change about oneself. On the other hand... It is indeed healthily to have different views explored.... To understand how someone comes to a way of thinking is good spiritual exercise!!!!!<br/> IF YOUVE READ THIS BOOK AND ARE LEFT WITH A HEAVY DULLNESS that's hard to shake off..... TALK TO SOMEONE who can help you out of the funk, help you achieve a healthy balance of thinking. . Or, write out your feelings about it. ( as I write this, that ""nihilistic"" cloud is lifting).<br/> That being said, ,, My life's experience wasn't filled with this level of trauma.... My life's ""teachers"" have time and again turned me to the assurity of an eternity, to the assurance that YOU CAN INDEED change what you do not like about a characteristic you have developed. .... And SHOWN me that it's a DIFFICULT, TO THE CORE, FIGHT. In fact, I know these ""to the core battles"", are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY in the discovery of your TRUE SELF. None of the characters had the benefit of this nature of instruction or viewpoints. ( other than one who passed away). Thus an exploration of deep darkness of the spirit.<br/><br/> I believe that if you act AGAINST your true nature.... You invite and live with the constant stress and misery described by this character. In fact that type of misery and stress can be a helpful indicator that shows US... WE need to continue to seek... To journey..... In our perceptions, our minds, hearts and spirits. It is a worthwhile and LIFETIME process.<br/> To surrender to what you know is destruction .... Just because you always find yourself ""there"", is well, truthfully, part of human nature, but also is DEFEATIST in attitude. Let those of us who find ourselves in this pattern..... Seek out... Seek OUT of it.... It's worth the struggle. Seek realistic positive teachers, even if they don't know what you seek. Make those repetitive daily thought changes.... It takes TIME but it DOES WORK.<br/><br/>A DEEP SENSE OF LASTING PEACE IS POSSIBLE ON THIS EARTH.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R332XSWV8OHF4F?ASIN=0316055441 Not Worth The Time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Starts off so strong and really pulls you in. That's actually a problem because the rest of the book doesn't live up to its beginning. Instead it goes on for pages and MANY pages of repetitive phrases and repetitive scenes that go no where, yet we stick with it believing we'll be rewarded with the same skillful storytelling that Ms. Tartt displayed at the opening. No such luck. The story contains many ""mysteries"" that at first are interesting alluring but they are never resolved with any kind or realism or satisfaction. By the end, I think the author went into ""super wrap up mode,"" quickly resolving all the long-unanswered main plot themes with slap dab, cartoonish twists that are beyond disappointing. I could rant on with a LONG list of examples why so much of the plot doesn't make sense, the story is poorly conceived and doesn't even follow ""truth in time,"" and why the entire book is simply poorly developed and written, bla, bla, bla...but it's really not worth more time than just saying bla, bla, bla. I think other reviews go into these details if you need them. But to me that's just wasting more reading time on this novel.<br/><br/>Sadly, the most interesting characters are seen the least in the book, and the most seen characters are the least formed out. There's just too much muck to wade thru to get out the few worth while nugget. I was quite annoyed after spending many hours of my interest, and faith for better writing ahead, to this bloated bobble head. How it sold so many copies is a bigger mystery mastered by the author than the flimsy ones in the book. I would have given one star, but for the fact that the beginning is really that good, and that the author took the time to write so much...meh...</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2S6PTBDNJVOTU?ASIN=0316055441 Great book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is most likely going to be my favorite book this year. The story grabbed me right away and held me until the end. I actually didn't want it to end - it could have been twice as long and I would have been happy to hang in there for the ride. Theo Decker's story is wonderfully Dickensian, with great characters that almost leap off the page and shake your hand. My favorite characters were Hobie, the furniture store owner who takes Theo in and teaches him his trade, and Boris, Theo's friend and partner-in-crime in Las Vegas. I think I'd give the book 5 stars on Boris alone - especially the way the author suggests his Russian dialect with it being annoying to read, as dialect often is in less capable hands. I think The Goldfinch has emotional and literary depth that is rare today and I hope more readers are able to discover and enjoy it. Highly recommended.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YHSXFEUVE7S8?ASIN=0316055441 Immerse yourself in a rollicking literary ride "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this sprawling, wordy, image- and detail-rich immersion of a story about 13 year old Theodore Decker, whose life goes into a tailspin after he is a victim of terrorist bombing in a New York museum, killing his mother and leaving him essentially to his own devices for the next several years. As he bounces from place to place, he obsesses over a huge secret, falls in love, falls in love some more, falls into drugs, falls into the antique furniture world, and wrestles bitterly with anger, loss and guilt while trying to find some beauty and redemption in the world.<br/><br/>This is one of those big books that is at once literary, a mystery-thriller, a coming-of-age, a picaresque journey, and a meaning-of-life story. The ending felt a bit obvious as the narrator sums up what he learned, though it it written so beautifully that it felt right.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JUBQHBKA26IG?ASIN=0316055441 If you are a casual reader, don't waste your precious time on this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to give this one no stars but the system would not allow it. After reading the wonderful reviews of this book I was excited to read it. It started out great. The writer quickly captured my interest, but once the story morphed from Theo's life in New York City into the weird and otherworldly existence in Las Vegas I struggled to remain focused. I like a book to tell me a story. I don't want to have to figure out the metaphors. In the end I struggled to complete it and was glad when it ended. I would not recommend this book to the casual reader who reads for pleasure.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JISMXX601XNA?ASIN=0316055441 Great book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An exceptional book. Don't be fooled by the slow start-it's needed to set up the characters who are rich and complex whilst flawed in their own ways.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2UXYRJD6LLBIE?ASIN=0316055441 maybe the first 100 pages were a great read. Great development of characters and vision "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I started this book with high expectations. The first section...maybe the first 100 pages were a great read. Great development of characters and vision, and really felt the emotions. But...what a disappoitment. The middle 400 pages were filled with drug use details on and on and on and on...I was skimming during pages 300 - 500/600....I got the point!!! I didn't need to hear again and again about the drug use. Totally over explained. I was bored. I couldn't believe how many good things I'd heard about it, so I finished the book. The last 100 pages - thank goodness. But I def would NOT recommend this read. I read her other book THE SECRET HISTORY, which I thought was great....so this was definitely a disappointment. Have told my bookgroup and we are changing books. One other of our members read it already and felt the same!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OVV5XY5R8KG6?ASIN=0316055441 dislike "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I feel the author spent way too much time describing art, furniture restoration and the effects of drugs. She ends up trying to be a philosopher. There was only one surprise in the novel that deserves mention but I will not go into that out of respect to others who may wish to read this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R24O102PELNXJC?ASIN=0316055441 Truly an unforgettable book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Wow, having just finished the book I am in awe. Gorgeously written, characters developed so well you feel you actually know them, relationships between the characters incredibly real and a great plot as well. I hated for it to end! Great fiction, I truly appreciate the talent of the author.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2TTPWAUQP5451?ASIN=0316055441 Great book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the suspense lasted nearly the whole book. I found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BNEY3BU1243B?ASIN=0316055441 well written novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">interesting story but mostly very well written and difficult to put down. Keeps changing course and therefore maintains a high level of interest</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHLISN63ORZFA?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Unnecessarily drawn out. Unlikable characters. Wish there was more detail surrounding the painting itself and the story of the paintings journey.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKFM8AGOF5C9L?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully Written is the Understatement "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is one of the best books I have ever read. It is tragically beautiful in its story, and like poetry in its descriptions.<br/><br/>Having lost our only child 12 years ago, I found the grief descriptions deeply moving and 100% accurate. In fact, I found myself highlighting the grief sections more than others. Tartt is either ""walking the grief journey"" alongside the rest of us, or really did her homework. As a grief specialist and the founder of the nonprofit organization [...] I have and will continue to recommend this book to all of my clients, friends, and those who are grieving. In fact, I purchased several Kindle versions and gave them as Christmas presents and plan to read sections of the books in my grief groups.<br/><br/>One thing that occurs to me after reading a book of this caliber is that it is very difficult to go ""back"" to reading something else that is not meant to be of this quality (can you say ""murder mysteries?"" which I do love for fun reading), so that is what led me to the book that followed The Goldfinch: The Orphan Master's Son. To those reading this, do yourselves a favor and read The Orphan Master's Son soon! The author won the Pullitzer for Orphan Master, and you will see why when you read it.<br/><br/>Books such as The Goldfinch and The Orphan Master's Son don't come around very often, but when they do, I am SO thankful.<br/><br/>Susan Whitmore, BSBM, CGS<br/>Founder & President, griefHaven<br/>Grief Specialist</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2J54VWNBPDYAP?ASIN=0316055441 Pulitzer prize winner. Really? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">In looking for books to read I kept seeing The Goldfinch at the top of every reading list--for weeks and weeks--so I finally broke down and purchased the 700+ page book. Big mistake. Ms. Tartt could have cut about 150 pages from her book and made it a much more enjoyable read. There were entirely too many pages of 'inner reflections' by the storyteller which added nothing to the plot. Once I realized how much of the story was actually just 'filler', I was able to skim the many pages of unnecessary verbiage and (mostly) enjoy the storyline. I really wouldn't recommend this book to anyone--the plot wasn't that gripping, because the author made us spend too much time between scenes that mattered by filling pages with unnecessary words (maybe just so she could say she wrote a 700+ page book).</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KFTWKO522LT5?ASIN=0316055441 someone hire an editor "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt constructs beautifully written sentences. But this book had far too many of them. There weren't just paragraphs that served no purpose but entire pages. I had been given to understand that this book was like a modern version of a Victorian mystery, layers upon layers of intricate detail where even there'd hearings have meaning. Instead this is more like Brett Eaton Ellis meets Hunter S Thompson and they rob an art gallery in a drug fuelled haze. The characters were flat bits of cardboard with stereotypes hung on them. Far too many characters who add nothing to the story making passing entrances and exits for no purpose. On and on and on for 775 pages. An absolute waste of my limited reading time. Though there were a few paragraphs of striking beauty that redeemed it.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1UGVUPLK1LUYW?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful writing! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There's a reason this novel has stayed on the NYT's best seller list for so long. Ms. Tartt is a gifted writer and a wonderful storyteller.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R7IKGJB857Z4P?ASIN=0316055441 Great New York story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am about 58% of the way through it and am having trouble putting it down...Can't remember the last time I was this engaged with a novel.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R332GW5FVG5CIS?ASIN=0316055441 775 Perfect Pages "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing is exquisite and the story-mystery sublime. I could not put this book down. So few books make me really happy, this one did.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13FATMEI16AI4?ASIN=0316055441 Takes you away "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Goldfinch was captivating! Tart's descriptive writing had me right there with her characters and scenes. Couldn't put it down! Great read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R28Z3Q6R3VYT1G?ASIN=0316055441 Make sure your seat cushion is ample and soft - it's going to be a LOONNNG read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book has gotten so much attention that it almost has to disappoint. How over the top can the reviews be and remain credible? No doubt about Tartt's skill as a writer, and her ability to weave a tale with many twists and turns (see ""The Little Friend""). This book is no exception. The story is compelling, the characters well-developed, but honestly I want to ask WHERE were the editors? The book is just too L-O-N-G. Too, too, too LONG. Thirty percent of this book could have and should have been cut, and we'd have had the same quality story with far fewer bumps of cocaine. I mean, we get it already. Still, this is not a book to ignore. She will win awards that she deserves, along with the prize for the needlessly overly longest book of the year.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2DY4QCPPA6G60?ASIN=0316055441 Life is short, but this book is long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Having a degree in Art History always draws me into stories about art and artists, so I grabbed The Goldfinch off the shelf in anticipation of the seven hundred plus pages of pleasure to come. I'm sorry to say I have to agree with the other readers who felt it was in dire need of editing. It's not that Ms. Tartt's writing isn't excellent, but her narrative is so protracted and detailed that she loses the emotional impact for her characters. I'm a patient reader, but this book was a trial. Halfway through I no longer cared and I was skim reading through the last third of the book to come to an end point that could have been conveyed on the back jacket of a paperback self help book.<br/><br/>Dear Ms. Tartt's editors: Just say nooooo.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RUPHJOYVAYJ0V?ASIN=0316055441 Where was the EDITOR? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There are some books you just don't want to end. You just want to read, read, read. This is NOT one of those books! This book could lose probably 300+ pages out the massive 775 pages presented to us. There are some very enjoyable parts of this book - everything up until Ls Vegas, for example, and the part when they FINALLY get to Amsterdam. In between the plot moves at the speed of glacier with one drug scene after another - BORING! I just don't understand how anyone thinks this is a 5 star book!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R286VCUOR7MCJF?ASIN=0316055441 too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch was interesting but way too long. I would advise my friends to read it but be sure to allow plenty of time for reading</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2LGPPOE0BNM2G?ASIN=0316055441 engrossing read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was initially not planning on reading this book until someone gave it to me. I had read both of her previous novels, The Secret History and The Little Friend and very much enjoyed the first but not the latter. The Goldfinch, however, is a return to her much better work. It is creative, humorous, thought provoking and well written. As with her other books, the reader requires some leaps of faith in how life unfolds for the characters, but it is well worth the time and, while it is a lengthy novel, it is fast paced. I plan on visiting The Frick to view the inspiration for the book's title; the connection between what happened to the painter and what happened to the main character is a clever jumping off point for the novel.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R14CZ2HIX65VX8?ASIN=0316055441 Truth is beauty, and beauty truth "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a long (but wonderful) story of loss, love, friendship and coming of age. The protagonist is Theo Decker, and the book follows him from age 12 into his 20's. I don't write spoiler reviews, so I will not describe the plot of this masterpiece other than to say that the art world figures prominently, so much so that a painting might be considered a second protagonist of sorts. I bought this book for 2 friends before I was even halfway through it -- it is that good.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RI0ZA3EY1NVNX?ASIN=0316055441 Disturbing, epic journey "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">That a tiny, valuable piece of art could be the catalyst for the journey of an orphaned boy is incredible. This novel takes the reader to settings in New York, Las Vegas, the drug world, the world of crime, and the dark world of loss of love. The reader is sucked into the vortex of a life that is as blown up as the Art Museum, as twisted as the delinquent father who leads a son to drinking and drugs and the strange connection to an eccentric antique dealer who provides some semblance of safety for this young, damaged boy. At times, the reader wishes for some normalcy in his life, for the painting to be returned to the Museum, and for healing. At every twist and turn, there is another layer of angst placed in the way of the young man. This novel is full of rich characterization, engaging the reader in a spiraling story always permeated by the painting of a small bird.<br/>Pat O'Neill<br/>Hartville, Ohio</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1CLA1NDFM1RB4?ASIN=0316055441 Great Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could not stop thinking about the characters in this book. Tarte's descriptions of environments, people, and scenes are amazingly vivid and at the same time the story is so enthralling that I couldn't stop reading. One of my favorite books!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2W4LUREVDSQCK?ASIN=0316055441 Is this novel for you? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Do you sometimes find that even when a novel is highly acclaimed and has wowed thousands if not millions of readers, that it just didn't grab you personally? Me too. So rather than explain why I gave it five stars, which I couldn't do if I wanted to, I thought I'd attempt a 'you'd probably like this novel if' approach. BTW, with the 'send a sample' option for Kindle, I know you can often decide that for yourself fairly quickly, but I didn't think that was the case with this novel. So here goes-<br/><br/>You'd probably like this novel if:<br/><br/>You usually prefer a first person narrative style, where you experience and feel what's happening through the protagonist's point of view.<br/><br/>The main characters are openly flawed, dubious in motive, but for the most part likable.(sort of Elmore Leanord style)<br/><br/>The plot line itself keeps you page-turning, and often on the edge of your seat, but more so because you're invested in the characters than in the plot itself.<br/><br/>You'd rather focus on a a few key players than try to keep track of a lengthy cast of characters.<br/><br/>You've read so many novels that you're pretty savvy as to what will probably happen next and how it'll end. This novel winds up alluding you on both counts.<br/><br/>I hope this helps. It's a lengthy read, so I thought I'd try and give a heads up in advance.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2224NIACXLEZG?ASIN=0316055441 Not quite what it promised to be.... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Started so well, great expectations, but went on far too long! Initially I could not put it down, but eventually it felt as if it would never end - disappointing</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17NVWZUR75JNJ?ASIN=0316055441 For thinkers "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It has been many years since I've read a book that I've enjoyed so much. There were a couple of parts that I was tempted to skim, but they are necessary to the book. The book kept my attention and I found that I was making excuses to stop doing other things, to go back to this book. The characters are interesting and very much alive. I think I read the last chapter three times.<br/><br/>If you don't think about your life and aren't interested in how to examine it, don't bother. I think almost all of us can identify with parts of these people. We've known them or have been them at various times in our lives. I hope this self examination has made me a more whole human being, but how can I know?</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20FX7KU8R7AT4?ASIN=0316055441 Good story. Lacked satisfactory ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Good story well written , too philosophical at the end. A bit ""draggy"" at the end. Would have liked a real ending.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1GH3VVAUHI72C?ASIN=0316055441 Book of the year. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Best book I've read all year. This is the ""Catcher in the Rye"" for the Millenial generation ( and I'm a baby-boomer)</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2X2WDV13O47D5?ASIN=0316055441 Art, takes many forms "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Brilliant book. Not for the faint hearted. So much is packed into this one volume; yet I am grateful it is complete in one.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2SUUSOH78NM7Y?ASIN=0316055441 A must read !! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing is beautiful ! Story engaging and keeps you on edge - a must read !!<br/>This author does not disappoint you!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17IEL1ABMR25Y?ASIN=0316055441 Another great book by Donna Tartt! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I love Donna Tartt!! I have read all of her books, and this one was long, but still kept my attention. I'm still a fan.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1GFUKLP6G62TV?ASIN=0316055441 Deserving of the Pulitzer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">13-year-old Theo loses his mother when the Metropolitan Museum is bombed. After a fateful connection with an elderly dying man, Theo steals a priceless painting. In numbed shock he stays with a friend's rich family on Park Avenue until his father and girlfriend show up to drag him to Las Vegas. Here Theo meets the worldly reckless Boris who will change his life. Some of my favorite vivid scenes are the two teenagers high and crazy in a swimming pool or under a colorful desert sky. The death of each of Theo's parents deepens his sorrowful and cynical awareness, while the jubilantly derelict Boris saves him from despair. The stolen classical painting of the title is transcendent for Theo: a connection to his lost mother and to the girl (his unrequited love) who also suffered from the bombing. There is so much amazing detail, from the off-kilter privileged Barbours to the kindly furniture restorer Hobie who offers Theo a second chance to the multilingual frenetic Boris. From a dusty antiques basement in the Village to a terrifying bloody showdown in freezing cold Amsterdam, what really impressed was the equal detail given to Theo's inner life. The voice is right on as he grows up to be a young man: savvy, unstable, drug-addicted, yet visionary, philosophical.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2PJTZIH7ZN8M2?ASIN=0316055441 bittersweet "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very dark, deep, and moving. Made my last few novel reads seem like comic books; unrequited love, Russian hero-villain, NYC socialites, international art theft, extreme tragedy, and terrorism-- this book has it all!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R5IB6MX3OB6B4?ASIN=0316055441 Whew "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could not put this book down. I found myself mad at the characters, protective of the characters and disgusted and disappointed with them. I loved the voice of Boris. I hated Boris yet laughed with him. I knew it was trouble with a twist when Boris was involved.<br/>My mind can't comprehend how Donna Tartt pulled this book from her mind. It is excellent and unlike anything I've ever read before.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R310OAV3KYVJMP?ASIN=0316055441 It's Long But It's Worth It "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt's writing is superb. The Goldfinch turns a piece of art into a talisman that carries more than one life through troubled times. I believe that art is redemptive but Tartt demonstrates this as fact in The Goldfinch. Theo Decker's life has been both tragic and unplanned while also riddled with fortunate turns of fate. This is what makes the story compelling. For instance, at the beginning of the story he survives an explosion in the Meteopolitan Museum of Art. His mother is killed and he ends up walking out of the museum carrying a valuable masterpiece by Fabritius. And if this isn't bad enough for you an alcohol and gambling addicted father shows up to stake a claim on Theo, hauling him off to Las Vegas and essentially abandoning him in a failed housing development where ""even Dominoes won't deliver."" At least half of my reading time was spent on the edge of my seat and the other half hoping for a break to get this kid/young man out of the hot water he kept pitching into head first. And along comes Boris Pavlikovsky, Theo's best friend and one of the most endearing hoodlums you'll ever meet. Like I said, the book is long but it's one of the best stories I've read. PERIOD!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FFGH8HN7COQ6?ASIN=0316055441 Engrossing and sublime, a full course meal "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An amazing read on many levels. So well written, deep beautiful flawed truths. Gives you a lot to think about.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1S9WP69RSGK26?ASIN=0316055441 It's all about the fiddly bits. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm not sure if it's masochism, but I always read the one star reviews of a well-loved book first.<br/><br/>The primary complaint I've read about this book is that it was either ""too long"" or had ""too many words."" These complaints are along the lines of the quote from ""Amadeus""—""It had too many notes."" To which Wolfgang replies ""Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?""<br/><br/>I would contend that as the art Ms. Tartt so eloquently speaks of (and by extension, has created), this book has ""just enough"" words. I have a tough time with novels in general, finding I've invested too much time in characters I feel have nothing to tell me by the book's end. Quite the opposite here. People complaining about the overly ""philosophical"" ending? Did you miss the previous 700 pages?! Considering the nature of the character, the nature of the story, the nature of life and love and art, is ""too long"" a valid criticism? For those with short attention spans, or who have no interest in the three aforementioned subjects, yes, please pass on this one.<br/><br/>For the rest of you: read this. I plowed through this book in just over a week, and at no point felt I was wasting my time. In fact, like any good story, it builds speed and momentum in the second half. The Vegas interlude? Completely necessary, and, I would add, the emotional core of the book. Everything that comes after is completely dependent on Theo's nihilism, dread, and Boris' joie de vivre. A thoughtful treatise on ethical pragmatism, if there ever was one.<br/><br/>Outside of that, being an artist myself, I was A). disappointed that ""The Goldfinch"" actually exists; and B). disappointed in the painting. And not because it's a wonderful painting, which it is, but because as this book explains it, and the whole of art so eloquently it left me reeling. It's as beautiful as your favorite painting, and as important as the one that will become your next.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R34RY4S8G8A4QK?ASIN=0316055441 Even better than expected, a fantastic read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A fantastic read, took a little while to get fully engaged but after that couldn't put it down. The twists and turns were fantastic, didn't see them coming. Characters were well developed and interesting.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3L4ALKV9M9SXY?ASIN=0316055441 The best book I've read all year! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is as talented as a writer as Fabrituis is a painter. She has produced a masterful work of art.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UPMVDANGS0EN?ASIN=0316055441 well-written & impossible to put down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Wonderful vivid character development, excellent plot; hard to put down. Absolutely loved this book. Caused me to download an older book of hers, this is so well done. Love the art history references too.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FOTFSP2QT8BH?ASIN=0316055441 Brilliant writing!-a journey "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">5stars and a great reference for living!-love the end with all the poetic philosophy so harshly learned through the life-journey that this book takes the reader along for...inspiring and a truly great read</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NCP8KSDPNK00?ASIN=0316055441 Hated the ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I liked this book right up until the moment it became a sermon about why it's okay for certain people to be drug addicts. The main character was messed up for a lot of good reasons I suppose, but the way the author gave him the huge free pass to remain a junkie was just disappointing. It's okay to let a character wallow in his self destructive, bad behavior up until the end, but don't justify it with some weird ""what is truth"" soliloquy as if the character has reached a plateau of cosmic understanding the rest of us can only hope to attain. It was a stupid ending to a relatively good story and I felt completely cheated. I went along for that ride assuming we were going to resolve a little mystery and get on with our lives. Tacking on that ending took me from relatively satisfied with the outcome to just irritated. The characters and the action didn't justify the sudden turn from a well written action story to a deeper glimpse into the soul of a tortured young man. The questioned that needed to be answered was answered, the long winded explanation of how he intended to proceed with his life from that point offered nothing worthwhile.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CCJG47OXJ633?ASIN=0316055441 Cant believe a woman wrote this. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A very well thought out story with turns at every corner, keeping me as a reader, on her toes. Beautiful.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKJHJGN7YK7GR?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the book very compulsive shocking reading in the first half . Twelve year old Theo and his mother are in a bomb blas in an art gallery and he gradually realizes over a period of hours and days that his mother is dead and not coming back.<br/>This trauma led to his dysfunctional growing up in various situations where he was basically left to his own devices living with adults who were preoccupied with their own lives.<br/>I found the book quite upsetting and wondered where Donna Tartt got the psychological understanding from.I did learn some new things about art which was interesting.<br/>I</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RD5H9PFAJTUYA?ASIN=0316055441 A masterpiece and a compelling read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's long enough for three books, but It's hard to put down. It's a fascinating, dark, modern day Dickensian tale, but not sentimental at all, for those who may think Dickens was a sentimentalist. I'd like to offer more helpful modern authors as reference points, but it's hard to do. Even from the beginning, long before I got to the end, where one might see the Salinger connection a bit, I was thinking ""Dickens with a dash of J.D. Salinger."" That's not right, though. This work is wholly original. It's a masterpiece that uses a painting masterpiece as a focal point. It's long, but every word is a gem.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1S8W4IUCDQ3IZ?ASIN=0316055441 in Defense of Art "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This novel reminds me of the Churchill quote about fighting for works of art during the War. You know the one. A beautiful character development and an astonishing soul's offering. Definitely recommend.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2A4MSQ3QNO9UL?ASIN=0316055441 Don't bother "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A big disappointment. A coming of age story told through a drug and alcoholic haze. Not even one character to care about. It was a struggle to read the entire book. Don't understand all the hype.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NJRUM0NP97Q8?ASIN=0316055441 I hated it early on "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can honestly say that this is the very first book that I simply could not finish! I hated it early on! I know that the reviews are tremendous and that this book was first on the best seller list for a very long time, but I have spoken to my friends who have read this book, and none of them liked it! It blows my mind that it has been on the best selling list for so long when I know that people close to me hate it as much as I did! Reading it became laborious to me; I was determined to finish the book because I never leave a book unfinished...this will be my first unfinished reading!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NQA6E95U7EM0?ASIN=0316055441 Worst novel ever "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I would give it a minus one! I was the worst novel I have read in decades!<br/>Do not waste your time!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27GWLGV393B9H?ASIN=0316055441 The soul is an artist "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I would give this title 4.5 stars.<br/><br/>I truly love the story, the internal longing to understand the world, and the quest to represent that longing in the form of art. It reminded me of Eli Sylvan in that book THIS SIDE OF A WILDERNESS; both characters seemed lost and alienated, but find themselves through a journey of introspection. Delves into the topics that my favorite novelist, Hermann Hesse, explores. I didn't expect this book to move me so much. Unfortunately it was a loan from a friend, but I don't want to give it up - this is a title I want to keep on my shelf...</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2VONS8M5PSCVL?ASIN=0316055441 Good Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book opened a new window for me on the art world, tragic loss and the different ways people deal.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3SHX4MG4IKAUD?ASIN=0316055441 Really, really good until the last few pages "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this story the entire time I was reading it, right up til the last few pages. Tartt does a great job of completely drawing us into her creation: the characters were palpable, as was the sense of NYC and suburban Las Vegas. A very original storyline, with excellent character development and plot narrative. However, I was let down by what seemed to be the author's 'after-school-special' moral judgments that felt shoe-horned into the final few pages. The first 99% of the book could've been written by Don Draper; the remaining 1% felt like it was written by Judy Blume.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R5LZHQ8B1OJF9?ASIN=0316055441 Loses momentum at the end "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a very good read. The central character was developed nicely as the story progressed, although that progression was bleak at the best of times. It was hard to feel any kind of sympathy for him.<br/><br/>I was disappointed with the closing chapters. The majority of the book is very much plot-driven, especially the climactic scenes in Europe, but then the closing chapters grind almost to a halt with lots of pseudo-philosophical ruminations on the meaning of life. Various plot strands are deliberately left dangling, such that the ending felt unsatisfying to me.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R10R6H63HG7T33?ASIN=0316055441 Well meaning but long winded "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The start, opening hundred pages or so, was excellent - gripping, very poignant, uniquely plotted. Then the meandering started and the plot became overblown and turgid. Donna Tartt writes really well, no overused cliches or basic literary construction from her, but after the brilliant and unforgettable ""The Secret History"", she seems to have gotten weighed down in her writing, and I found ""The Goldfinch"" got lost in itself and could have done with some serious editing. I really wanted to love this, but in reality, it was a struggle - a pity.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2D4T2478CXVYC?ASIN=0316055441 So long winded and pointless "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book could honestly be half the length it is. Pages after pages of ""I hate myself"" and ""The world is so twisted let's get high"", the author repeats himself over and over just saying the same thing in a different way. I spent the first 300 pages thinking,""Where are you going with this?"" The only reason I gave three stars was because of superb writing (NOT storytelling) and the middle of the book pulled me in for a while before completely boring me for the last 150 pages. Different strokes for different folks, but this didn't do it for me at all.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BLRNFVN0QI6T?ASIN=0316055441 needed cutting "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">""The Goldfinch"" was repetitious and overly long. I would have enjoyed the language of the novel so much more if there hadn't been so much listing of drugs taken, vodka drunk and boyish reactions to the substances. And then we learn the point was art appreciation. I'll never trust the Pulitzer Prize committee or reviewers again.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3AM2C37KL61UY?ASIN=0316055441 A marathon. Phew. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A couple days of reading a chapter or so at a clip and one 12 hour stretch -- done. Had to finish it. The story was great, the philosophizing became tiresome but overall it was entertaining. Loved the characters -- painted beautifully -- but again, felt like we were beating a dead horse at times. Found myself right there on the streets, in the rooms, smelling the filth and watching the films they watched. Brilliant. Glad I can cross it off the list and won't reread, but happy to have entered the dysfunctional yet relatable world for the week.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PZZ0B88LPBJC?ASIN=0316055441 It's wonderful to read a long novel again... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">So many novels are 200-300 pages and tend to lack development of their main character. That is not a problem in""The Goldfinch""by Donna Tartt which is nearly 800 pages with a main character who has a chance to grow over a period of 14 years. And Theo Decker goes from a tragic young boy orphaned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to a 27-year old man who survives a rough life and emerges a full human being. Do you remember Tom Jones or Holden Caurfield? They are Theo's book comrades and his story is enthralling and beautifully told.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ENG3S0O0GGRO?ASIN=0316055441 Meh. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although epic in some ways, I was frustrated at her utter lack of grasping how a 12 year old boy might perceive things; she wrote the child, then teenager, then man, as a middle-aged woman, through the eyes of a college-educated middle-aged woman. Still, the story kept me reading, right through. She also wrote many characters as though they were British. Having lived in England for many years (over 7), I can tell a britishism from an americanism. It was just bizarre and jarred me right out of my suspension of disbelief a number of times.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2FGJ2R7BR7O7V?ASIN=0316055441 A Treasure of Suspense, Sorrow and Wit. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Everyone I know is reading this book. It was so enthralling I could not put it down. The complexity and richness<br/>of the characters and the backdrop of New York and Las Vegas was so beautifully woven into this very Dickensian<br/>story. Her character of Theo who fit in both worlds of wealth and prominence and the seedy underground drug and crime scene was fascinating. The major characters spoke with wisdom, wit and profound insight. She (Tartt) did all of her research and brought forth this timeless novel. Wonderful.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PYAEB5BVN28U?ASIN=0316055441 Mixed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first 300 or so pages were great. I was riveted and anxious to read more. Then it rambled on seemingly inconsistently for about 75 pages. Finally a plot twist presented itself and I was again riveted,....briefly. But found myself just skimming each page for the remainder of the story,in an attempt to ascertain some resolution. I had truly grown tired of the giant spaces between any sort of change in the story line. The best part of the book is that it's beautifully written. I guess you just need patience to read it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KVK38R5XUO0J?ASIN=0316055441 Dreck "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing is so crashingly poor that I gave up without even reaching page 50. How can drama be so utterly drained? There is no selection of detail, so everything in a scene becomes a blur of meaningless trivia -- even the parts that should have been anything but trivial. The scenes go on forever; it feels more like a teenage girl's diary than a novel. Meanwhile, the protagonist is supposed to be a boy but he is unmistakably a girl from page one; there is nothing whatever boyish or masculine about the character. Amazing.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1R2EKWEY0FB6V?ASIN=0316055441 You don't just read this book - you have an experience that will effect you long after the final page "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There are only a hand full of books that have stayed with me long after I have read it - I call them WOW books because after you read the last page and close the book for the last time you sit for a moment sad that its over and the only word that conveys your feelings is - WOW! The masterpiece is not the painting of the Goldfinch but rather the masterpiece of the characters and settings painted by the words of Donna Tartt. Be forewarned this book is not for everyone this is literary fiction so if you are looking for a fast paced shoot'em up who dunnit this book is not for you. However if you want to experience a story that is so well written you feel emotionally part of the hero and scenery so vividly written you can actually feel you are there then buy this book. I was so engrossed in the story I felt that Theo Decker was a part of me I felt his heartaches and feelings of desperation. If the purpose of writing is to evoke emotion then this book deserves a Pulitzer.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3TMZ9AIEMMVA7?ASIN=0316055441 The importance of good editing. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really wanted to like this book. It was such a compelling plot, but sorely in need of editing. There were cliff hanging segments in the story which were painfully obscured by a compulsive avalanche of words, words, words--distractions of every imaginable size and shape. It was as though the author was afraid to miss one tiny observation or researched detail and in giving the same emphasis to everything lost the momentum and impact of the story.. The last chapter seemed like an exercise in not letting go...</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BK6XV4ZYHX5D?ASIN=0316055441 Really really really hated this "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">""Dickensian,"" the reviewers said.<br/><br/>Well, I think Dickens got paid by the word, and even so he would have cut this mess by 50 percent. I made it about three quarters of the way through and decided that it was aging me, killing me.<br/><br/>""Are there no editors?"" Scrooge might cry out.....</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RWYE66J1TJDV7?ASIN=0316055441 Masterful Writing...... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Once I started reading ""The Goldfinch"" I was ""hooked""! This is a fascinating story --however, it is also a VERY ""dark"" story - the interraction between the two main characters, spanning many, many years and experiences, is ""frenetic"" and so gripping that I found myself ""drained"" and had to literally put the book down to ""rest"", but at the same time, drawn back to it time and time again, trying to figure out what would happen next!<br/>Donna Tartt's talent is incredible -</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RINHXUTL9MTIL?ASIN=0316055441 """The loneliness that separates every living creature from every other living creature. Sorrow inseparable from joy""," "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt has managed to do something rather wonderful and the mechanism is mysterious. I had been definitely absorbed in the book, in a satisfying page turning sort of way; then there came a point when I fell inside the spell of the book - its world becoming real and textured.<br/><br/>At one and the same time I was eager to be making the continuing journey of narrative , and yet - I wanted to stay exactly where I was and savour the moment, the reality of where the characters were NOW - she had somehow stopped time for me and I was reading in a very present way, inside the world<br/><br/>Tartt managed exactly this trick with her first book The Secret History, creating something special and magical. Her second long awaited book, The Little Friend, was a huge damp squib, for this reader, her sharp intelligence and precision somehow soft: it irritated me, I disliked it.<br/><br/>But here she is again, and this one is fabulous. Set across America, primarily in New York, but also in the wide-open spaces of Nevada, in the hinterland of Las Vegas, the book opens in Amsterdam, the central character a man somehow on the run, hyped up, holed up, hiding in a hotel room, sweating, edgy, on the edge of panic. The trajectory of the book is to start him on his journey to reach that anxious opening, and then go beyond<br/><br/>The book is like a large 5 act play - and in some ways reminds me, in its structure, of Shakespeare's last plays, the ones that move beyond tragedy to redemption and understanding - Winter's Tale, The Tempest etc. We have a journey for the central character of the dreadful, lacking - not so much self-awareness as the discipline to manage his character flaws, a certain feckless, dark, damaged nature - and the journey is really to a better accommodation with self. Not the Hollywood journey, the, `make it all better tie the bows and open the box of chocolates journey, but the more bitter, more mature journey of better understanding, and ability to live within the flawed self, and within a flawed world.<br/><br/>I am surprised at all the references to Dickens, how like Dickens this was - for me, this connection was not there at all - where I saw Tartt inhabiting some nineteenth century place it was the Russians - and particularly Dostoeivsky.<br/><br/>Theodore Decker inhabits a dark, despairing nihilistic universe, which may not take him into such wrongdoing as Raskolnikov, but he does have extremely flexible attitudes to right and wrong - that is, not so much to how wrongdoing damages him, merely that he is not quite able to avoid making poor choices. He combines despair with a fervid appreciation of the value of art and beauty, and transcendence. Some very complex, layered depth of character.<br/><br/>Though there is of course a story, as we know from the start, connected with the mysterious Dutch painting of a goldfinch, this is not primarily the story of the painting - there is indeed a strong narrative, a very strong sense of time and place, but what Tartt is doing is exploring the complexity of character and also of ethics.<br/><br/>Her writing is beautiful, measured and potent. I particularly appreciated the change landscapes and times imposed on her language in the different sections, moving from a beautiful evocation of wintery Amsterdam, to the vibrant nature of New York (separated by a passage of time, two `acts' here) and the weird, frenetic Las Vegas excess and waste setting, before returning to the start, and travelling beyond, now we understand Theo's journey<br/><br/>And, running like a lest-we-forget throughout, the reminder of the potent Goldfinch painting, which is both a real object, and a deeply charged, talismanic, symbolic item.<br/><br/>Here is an extract, with a flavour of her writing - gorgeous, evocative - and deadly<br/><br/>""Sometimes, in the evenings, a damp, gritty wind blew in the windows from Park Avenue, just as the rush hour traffic was thinning and the city was emptying for the night; it was rainy, trees leafing out, spring deepening into summer; and the forlorn cries of horns on the street, the dank smell of the wet pavement had an electricity about it, a sense of crowds and static, lonely secretaries and fat guys with bags of carry-out, everywhere the ungainly sadness of creatures pushing and struggling to live""<br/><br/>That paragraph, started, for me, to play, strongly, Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, and just as I was comfortably in the blue melancholy, Tartt, as so often, delivered a harsh punch to the gut. She shows you beauty, and immediately nestles you up against the flip side of rot, despair, decay.<br/><br/>So, having stunned and grabbed this reader with that first book, this magical third has been waiting 20 years to grab me again with its mix of dark and light. Hope It doesn't take her another 20 to produce something this fine!<br/><br/>And I am properly envious of anyone about to start reading this; enjoy the catch of Tartt's carefully crafted spiders' web novel, hover round the edges as long as you can, I'm sure she will stickily, skilfully wind you in and tie you up tight ere long.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2C7C52V5G20J6?ASIN=0316055441 A fantastic read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">From the moment I picked up this book, to the moment I put it down, I was completely engrossed.<br/>It is a book of our time…..describing through the pivotal characters our world today. At the same time, it brings to the fore the importance and relevance of art…….and how a work of art which has tapped into intangible elements lives on through its beauty, mystery, and of course monetary value.<br/>The Goldfinch takes the reader on a poignant, amusing, tragic, and often dark journey, never ceasing to surprise.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OKXGBOYZVNHX?ASIN=0316055441 What a read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If you don't like descriptive writing, or philosophical discourse, I would say this book isn't for you. BUT... If you DO, I highly recommend this book. I am not one to tell you the story, and it's a doozy of a story, but the inner life of Theo and appreciation of Art and Furniture Making is a major part of this story. I would say alcohol and drug use is present in equal measure. It is well worth the time investment to read. Although I just finished reading it, I don't think I will ever forget Theo and Boris.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LPW2VU8VW1MS?ASIN=0316055441 Worthy of the Pulitzer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">You know that feeling you have when you've just finished a really good book that you've been immersed in for days? It's been a long time since I've read a book that had me so completely drawn in and that I would consider worthy of a five-star rating. The Goldfinch is that book. I lived in Theo's world for several days, unable and unwilling to extricate myself. When I finally emerged, everything seemed surreal, as if I was trying to awaken from a vivid dream. Part of me is still in the world of The Goldfinch.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3MI23UJ50UAIF?ASIN=0316055441 Like watching a train wreck in very, very slow motion. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There's no denying that this is an exquisitely written book. But from the very beginning, it's a story where the protagonist does stupid things and has excruciating things happen to him. And you just know that it's never really going to get better as his background and his basic personality result in him sabotaging every chance that comes his way, and sinking himself deeper and deeper into difficulties. It's a very long book, and while there are some moments of transcendence, there's so little happiness.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1MDIRVL74ELIW?ASIN=0316055441 "A modern ""Dickens"" tale" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really enjoyed reading this book. It has the ability to engender nearly all emotions. Parts of the book are really funny, there are some sad moments, courageous moments and exciting moments. The tale is well told and the messages Donna Tartt gets across are well made and well argued.<br/><br/>Once begun, this is a difficult book to put down - its big but it captures the attention like few books do today. If Dickens was alive today he would be writing about the subjects Donna Tartt tackles so well here.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30KCHHHRJXS59?ASIN=0316055441 The Bird Sings "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Absolutely wonderful writing. She takes years to write. The result is beautiful, albeit tedious at times, consistentcy. If you love art history you'll love the bird.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R218TYGZ5G1IY2?ASIN=0316055441 Depressing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought a Secret History was depressing but heard that this was a great book so decided to read it. I made up my mind to finish it no matter what and really trudged through the too long descriptions of every little thing. The main story was very creative and interesting but I think this author is obsessed with young people and drugs. Maybe I'm naive but come on, how can anyone take so many drugs and alcohol and survive. I know that is not the point of the story but there was just too much misery for me.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R333030G5JHKG2?ASIN=0316055441 A Work Worthy of a Dutch Master "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Don’t be put off by the heft of this book. At 771 pages, The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt is not light reading on any level.<br/><br/>It starts off with Theo Decker, age 27, holed up in a hotel room in Amsterdam, deeply troubled, and then circles back to the shocking event that kicked off his extraordinary journey. Theo’s life changed forever many years earlier, when as a 13-year-old boy, he and his mother, Audrey, are killing time before a dreaded appointment at his school for disciplinary reasons. Caught in a sudden thunderstorm, Audrey and Theo duck into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When his mother decides to go to the gift shop, Theo stays behind to look at a painting, while entranced by a young girl who is at the museum with an older man. That’s when a terrorist explosion rips through the museum. In the hazy aftermath, the old man gives Theo a ring and urges him to take a painting that had fallen to the floor, The Goldfinch, painted in 1654 by Carel Fabritius. A Dutch painter, who ironically died in a gunpowder explosion, Fabritius was Rembrandt’s pupil and Vermeer’s teacher.<br/><br/>With Theo’s dad, a failed actor, alcoholic and gambler, out of the picture, the 13-year-old boy ends up in the posh Park Avenue home of classmate, Andy Barbour. He traces the ring back to an antique shop in Greenwich Village called Hobart and Blackwell and eventually meets James “Hobie” Hobart, who explains that Weldon Blackwell was the old man who died in the terrorist bombing and the young girl was Pippa, his niece. Hobie, a gentle and thoughtful man, takes Theo under his wing and teaches him the furniture restoration trade. Theo comes to view Pippa, injured in the bombing, as his soul mate and the only person who understands his pain as he tries to cope with loss.<br/><br/>As Theo struggles to adjust to life with the well-heeled Barbours, his AWOL father shows up with his pill-popping girlfriend, Xandra. They spirit poor Theo away to a never-finished housing development on the outskirts of Las Vegas, where he befriends a similarly motherless immigrant from the Ukraine, the irrepressible Boris Pavlikovsky, the most captivating character in the book. While his dad is gambling and Xandra is off working, Theo and Boris pass the time watching TV, drinking beer and getting high. They scavenge for food and shoplift to get whatever they need.<br/><br/>The painting is sealed in a pillowcase hidden under Theo’s bed. For years, Theo battles against the natural instinct to turn in the painting, but he hangs onto it. The painting is a connection to something beautiful and a reminder of his mother and it soothes his aching heart.<br/><br/>Theo eventually finds himself back in New York City and Hobie becomes his temporary guardian. His turbulent journey to adulthood includes heavy drug use and a harrowing experience with underworld associates of Boris.<br/><br/>This is as much a book about the intersection of art and life as it is about the journey of a flawed young man. The value of an artistic work, in this case the pilfered painting, lies in its simple beauty and what Theo sees as its connection to his mother.<br/><br/>Tartt is an accomplished writer whose vivid and incisive prose infuses every page with energy. Despite the book’s length, the story never drags. Theo’s final reflections provide a superb capstone to this powerful story. Theo speaks about a middle zone between reality and where the mind strikes reality, “a rainbow’s edge where beauty comes into being, where two very different surfaces mingle and blur to provide what life does not: and this is the space where all art exists, and all magic.”<br/><br/>Theo continues the thought, “And—I would argue as well—all love...”</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R8AYNRY4GPNE7?ASIN=0316055441 One of the best stories I've ever read...... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">""The Goldfinch"" by Donna Tartt. This is an extraordinary, brilliantly written story, that I really struggled to finish because of the incredible level of detail, grief, dysfunctional individuals, criminality, self absorption, and selfishness, exhibited by the majority of the characters featured in the story. This story is not for everybody. However, to the contrary, the storyline is immersive, compelling, frustrating, challenging, mellifluously paced, masterfully scribed, with exquisite wordsmithery, it's totally captivating. There are very few authors that I've read in my life with the ability to place their readers inside the story, this story does that and you can't escape. I had to stop reading the book, and threaten myself too not return, to cast it aside and move on and try to forget the anguish I was feeling for the grief stricken, immature, roguish, substance induced, behavior of the two leading characters. But I was to involved, to engrossed to chance not knowing how this haunting story and the characters would end up, so I endured to the last page.<br/><br/>Picture yourself being written into the script you are reading, being placed in the cast of characters, feeling the insufferable moments, occasions, events, and situations, and know that you cannot intervene but can only read, absorb, observe, and agonize, about what's happening...you can't say to the characters ""Stop, please Stop""...you can't say ""Think about what you are doing to yourself, to your friends, to your loves, and to those around you...please Think."" What an amazing narrative, what an emotional reading experience!<br/><br/>Would I read it again? Maybe, but probably not. It's to intense, digs to deep into the human psyche, and is too unsettling and overwrought, but I will never forget ""The Goldfinch,"" it's truly a masterpiece from the mind of a master storyteller...simply Magnificent in so many respects!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCH54LM457ITO?ASIN=0316055441 Great start but frequently lost interest as the book progressed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really wanted to like this more than I did but that just didn't happen at the end of this long and often rambling book (don't even get me started on that last chapter). I love long books, so long as they're long for a valid reason. This was not one of them. There were a lot of sections that could've been pared down without losing the feel or meaning of the book. In fact, cutting down on the extra fluff would've made the remaining sections and sentences clearer and more meaningful.<br/><br/>The premise was great and the beginning had me hooked, but then somewhere along the line Tartt just lost me. I don't need to like or identify with characters in a book, but I have to find at least one of them compelling enough to read. I never quite got there with Theo. One of the reasons I love to read is so that I can immerse myself in a new world with interesting new characters. But with this book I couldn't wait to be done with it and shake off Theo and his self destructive path filled with terrible decisions. I suppose that's also a compliment to Tartt that she was able to capture Theo's spiraling downfall so well, but instead of feeling intrigued and engrossed, I trudged along, wanting to just finish it to find out what happens and be done.<br/><br/>My last criticism is with the first person narrative and philosophical ramblings throughout the book. First person narrative is fine when done right, but there were times when I felt like I was reading a philosophical essay by Tartt instead of a novel. And the philosophical arguments were not very well done or compelling anyways. That last chapter was just out of control.<br/><br/>There were parts of this book that I enjoyed reading, but there were other parts that I could barely get through and had to skim. And for a book of this length, just a slip of interest can derail the reading.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1STMBZMCJFTLE?ASIN=0316055441 One of the best books I've read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I chose this rating because Donna Tartt totally captivated me with her writing and I simply loved the book! The plot was as addictive as the drugs consumed - the characters - all so real you felt everything they were going through. I found myself googling images, searching for back ground information, believing in it all. This book makes you think about what you yourself believe in and where your limits would go. And what innocence is and knowledge and chance and the big wild open world out there...</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R34EGGWFUVC334?ASIN=0316055441 cant put down this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book takes you on journey of the life of this boy. Wants you start to read it you cant stop. It took me 2 days to read because I could not put the book down.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1X7NNH1C6A8AT?ASIN=0316055441 Didn't like it one bit "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought the Goldfinch was overwrought, overdone, overworked and overcooked. There were only two characters with which I could empathize: Pippa and Hobie. There was nothing noble or redeeming about any of the other characters in the book. There were too many words for such an unsatifying read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Z6MNV0PN0VU5?ASIN=0316055441 Hard to put down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this while traveling recently, and read it even when I was exhausted from a day of sightseeing. The writing is excellent, and I was riveted by the main character Theo. The story of Theo's unimaginable trauma and hardship kept me engaged until the very end. Although I didn't care for some of the plot twists at the end and what I thought was unnecessary violence, I still loved this book. It made me think about how childhood trauma never really leaves you, and secrets can destroy your life.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1EA6JYV5DYZCG?ASIN=0316055441 This is reviewed well???? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was one of the most boring stories I have read in a good long while. It draaaaaaagged... it rarely got the the point and when it did FINALLY have an interesting plot twist it draaaaaaaaagged on again. Good grief... where was the editing??? Probably hanging out with the story... M.I.A.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2UY28LBJ4KD9D?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed, especially since Amazon said it was the #1 ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was at least 350 pages too long. Way too many pages on one thing...too descriptive. Disappointed, especially since Amazon said it was the #1 book of 2013.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1P6OJLPJ4QAHZ?ASIN=0316055441 Strange book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What started out as a WONDERFUL novel slowly disintegrated to a bunch of rambling. It's like her editor died for the last 1/3 of the book. Very, very strange.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3U34Y8J19BVIX?ASIN=0316055441 Amazing and long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's just amazing. And loooooong. But if you like to read, you won't mind. It is gripping enough to be a good beach read, but complex enough that's it's not really in that beach-reading category. Other reviewers will analyze the plot and characters, but suffice it to say, the people in the book are so real, they are like people you know, or good friends you wish you know, and you really wish would get on the wagon. Tartt's portrayal of a kid going through high school, her depiction of overly bright people who can fail to ""reach their potential"", her vision of Las Vegas as well as the city ... just amazing. It's a modern day Catcher in the Rye - what Holden would do if pharmaceuticals were within reach, and if he were burdened by a secret possession of a work of art so beautiful, it changes all who encounter it. btw this is the first book I've ever reviewed, or even wanted to bother with reviewing. i'm only doing it to counter those people who didn't appreciate it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RI9WZ3WHNOR1C?ASIN=0316055441 Don't waste your time! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If this book had been written in 300 pages or less it might have held my interest. Bad things happen to good and bad people but to listen to someone feel sorry for themselves except the last 10 pages was tiring. I also did not care about all the drugs and their side effects. Rather than pointing out dangers of doing different drugs the author seemed to glorify. By the time the ""Goldfinch"" was found I really didn't care any more. I would not recommend this book to anyone.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BU4MCCX7K939?ASIN=0316055441 I admit, I just abandoned this novel ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read a review of this book and had to have it. What a mistake! I was reading it at the same time a friend of mine was reading her copy. We both gave up. I lost it when page after page was dedicated to describing furniture legs. Let's put it this way, after the initial shock (bang, boom, similar to a 9-11 disaster), it was all downhill, BORING BORING BORING. I could care less for any of the characters and just felt very disappointed in this piece of , what? literature? nope.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2M5FAPGFBPPQJ?ASIN=0316055441 Redundant "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Should have been edited to half it's size. The author repeats herself constantly. She is a good writer, but I cannot imagine how the people at Creative chose this as the best of the year. Donna should read a little Hemmingway to learn how to be intriguing and concise at the same time.<br/><br/>I loved the plot, but it could have been so much better. It was overdone to the point of boring and I would never have finished it if Creative hadn't voted it best book. I do not agree</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23TTMYJ7MDHY9?ASIN=0316055441 Well written, longish, all about people and living with their flaws "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I do not think this is quite the classic that some presented it as being. It did more or less break up into multiple stages of the main character's life, but I thought all those stages were absolutely necessary to explain who he was and who he became. It left me thoughtful about life at the end but not to the degree Great Expectations did at the time it was written It is not suited for anyone who wants mostly action. It is about people. Perhaps more like the Kite Runner.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23POYLFWSV3Z8?ASIN=0316055441 A Beautiful Novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">""Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity. 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.""<br/><br/>I somehow have not read The Secret History yet, but after reading this wonderful (and long) novel, I'll definitely be picking it up. Like most, I was a bit intimidated by The Goldfinch's length originally, and I put off starting it for a couple of days. But as soon as I began to read, I was drawn into Theo's singular story, and his both clear-eyed and not way of narrating. Only 12 pages in, I was already hooked. That's the power of a great writer for you.<br/><br/>There are so many heartbreaking events in this novel, random twists and turns of fate. After all, in the very first few pages, it's just sheer chance that Theo's mother gets sick in the cab, they have to get out, it starts to rain, a businessman gets the last taxi, and they decide to take shelter in the museum. That short section was so beautifully written, especially for one who knows what's going to happen. The sequence afterward the accident was brilliant too, brilliant and dream-like. Really, the entire book is composed of stunning language and beautiful, disturbing snapshots. Characters, places, and events were beautifully described and portrayed. Donna Tartt's writing style is a bit dense and descriptive, but it didn't feel overwritten; it felt amazingly perceptive and smart. Tartt also builds dread amazingly well, in the aftermath of what happens in the museum and later on. There's great foreshadowing in The Goldfinch.<br/><br/>The Goldfinch has been called Dickensian many times, and that's fairly accurate. The writing is not very similar to Dickens (although there is a lot of description), but the overarching story could be, with strange and cruel twists of fate and fortune, and some very unique, twisted characters. What happens to Theo after the museum is quite improbable: he is abandoned by his father and ends up living with his old school friend on Park Avenue, while meanwhile serving as a sort of apprentice to someone who died in the museum right in front of Theo's eyes. And that's the whole similarity to Dickens. The Goldfinch also has a lot of Gothic elements to it.<br/><br/>The central symbol and motif of the whole novel is, of course, the small painting of a captive goldfinch that Theo dazedly steals from the museum. As the story unfolds, it becomes to him a talisman of his lost mother, something tangible to remember her by. After all, it was one of the paintings she loved the most, and as the days go by it becomes harder and harder for Theo to think of a way to return it. The irony is, that it turns out for many years he didn't actually have this painting that became an object of dread for him. I'm being vague on purpose of course.<br/><br/>There were some great descriptions of the city and of other places too, and I really enjoyed reading about Theo's relationship with many of the other people in the novel, particularly Hobie, the friend of the old man who died, and Boris, who he meets in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas section was kind of the most depressing, especially since I can related to the whole New York longing thing (sort of). Boris, however, was a character both humorous and sad at the same time, and he was quite irresistible. I didn't really like their whole relationship though, and it was awful to see Theo turning away from his old life and using drugs and all of that.<br/><br/>The Goldfinch is so, so enthralling and I absolutely loved both the plot and the writing. I would highly recommend this excellent, smart, literary novel, and I'm very glad that I read it. Even though it's long, it's still definitely worth the time spent on it. There are a lot more things I could say about the book, but the problem is they've already been said by other professional reviewers: here and here. Go check out those reviews; they're amazingly well crafted, although not as well crafted as this marvelous book.<br/><br/>I received a review copy of this book from Little, Brown; thanks so much! It just came out today; go check it out.<br/><br/>[...]</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3O5JKJZGHNPBO?ASIN=0316055441 Cant stop thinking about it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am not a professional critic or literature major, so no eloquent review here. What I will say is that this novel consumed me for a couple of weeks. I knew the characters. I lived their lives and their struggles. I was frustrated by their mistakes and overjoyed by their happiness. The Goldfinch is that kind of novel.<br/>Donna Tartt puts words together so precisely and cleverly. So many times, I found myself reading passages over and over again in awe of her craft.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R31OIV9ELXHIBR?ASIN=0316055441 Accomplished "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It has taken months for me to read this book because it is mostly boring with too many random details. The main character is victim of his own inability to make a decent decision for himself which is a very small theme for such a long book. Many of the smaller plot lines are never concluded, including some that are developed throughout the story and very closely with the main story line. The only reason I finished reading at all was simply because I paid for it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27KWT0OR803ZL?ASIN=0316055441 Waste of 5 days "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this novel solely because of the reviews and I was misled by the preview. The book was too long, shallow in its international stereotypes and art description and unnecessarily elaborate and long-winded in describing mediocre events and scenery. It was as if the writer pulled the text from a thesaurus for a story that just had to be this long. At some times, it was excruciatingly painful to read, and despite that I repeated reading the last part in disbelief in case I happened to have missed the ""wisdom"". The conclusion to me sounded like an uneducated drunk trying to be intellectual and philosophical. Very depressing, hardly any likable characters, nothing to quote or learn. The worst part is that I waited for it to get better but it felt like a soap apera that just gets less interesting with time, and at the end I realized I burnt 5 days of my life. Now I sound like Theo, I know!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RY7OOX077D2S?ASIN=0316055441 Glad to be finished with it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to stick hot pokers in my eyes by the end. Glad to be finished with it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3M92F9WFJJNLR?ASIN=0316055441 Skip this one despite the reiews "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Found it difficult to identify with any of the characters and found the book to be a depressing read even though the ending was somewhat positive.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19ODHUJM44UAY?ASIN=0316055441 The character of Boris was a waste. Hobie was the only remotely likeable charcter "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Couldn't finish it. TOO long,too much repition, completely unrealistic. No one could consume the amount of drugs and alcohol these people did and still be alive at the end if the day. The character of Boris was a waste. Hobie was the only remotely likeable charcter. Read the last few chapters so I could be a part of the book club discussion, and the ending was lame. WE ALL agreed, even the two English Lit. teachers. Back to the drawing board on this one.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R32G2MSUTMRWNO?ASIN=0316055441 A fabulous Book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If you want to have a super read, read the Goldfinch by Donna Tart! Although its long, it is so well written you will barely notice it.The story starts out when Theo is thirteen, and loses his mother in a domestic bomb attack. It rhen evolves into a whole bunch of adventures as to what happens to him and where he goes, all tied up with the painting of ""the Goldfinch,"" which Theo takes from the scene of the bombing. I could not put this book down!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1D95M2QY5POZ2?ASIN=0316055441 love this brilliant book.! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tarrt is a fabulous writer Her first book was one of my favorite books and this one is even more wonderful.<br/>Theo is such a wonderful character, one cannot help but love him with all his tragic self loathing , anxieties and brilliant observations. I also loved Boris !<br/>The descriptions of life at the end of the book is eloquent and so true<br/>I recommended this book to everyone !! and especially to my school ( work in HS) book club.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27EPZF8PSSWAR?ASIN=0316055441 boring "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just kept slogging through this huge book continuing to hope it would make sense. I really didn't like the author's way of writing sentences within sentences that rambled on and on. I cannot understand how this book could be number 1 on the best seller list.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NFTDQIZK0AEG?ASIN=0316055441 Who edited this book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">While the author is an eloquent writer, I must blame the editor for not doing the job they were hired to do. There are pages and pages of passages that could have easily been edited out without affecting the story and character development. The story is a tragic tale of a young boy severely affected by a traumatic event and his journey to adulthood carrying the heavy burden of the loss of his mother and the life he once knew in New York City. What could have been a well written book turned into a lengthy novel that wastes the reader's time with excessive rehashing of small incidents and experiences that could have adequately been described in a sentence or two. Sometimes the editor has to make the difficult decision to eliminate what is not germane and allow the beauty of the remaining writing to shine.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMHC3WHHJATAP?ASIN=0316055441 Tedious rambling but good story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Honestly? I good story... but too much rambling on and on when the author is trying to describe a situation or a scene... it gets sooo tedious. I actually found myself skipping page upon page of information that just was not necessary to understand where the character was or what he was feeling etc... The book could have been about 1/3 shorter had the author been a bit more concise. Overall a good story but could not wait to finally be done.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NCWQHW6G42F7?ASIN=0316055441 I could have edited this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book reminded me of how I feel about a lot of movies that I have seen lately, they could cut out 30 minutes and the essence of the film would be better served. I am not an editor but right from beginning, as I read the museum passage I knew this was going to be a drawn out read. I appreciate Ms. Tart's writing style, which carries the reader along easily, but then she repeats her thoughts over and over. My desire to learn the outcome of the Goldfinch pushed me to finish the book. I could care less about Theo, over 700 pages and I am still not sure what motivates this character. The dysfunctional Las Vegas period could have been written in 75 pages. I won't go as far to say I shouldn't have read it as there were moments that I was engaged, but 300 less pages would have made it a good read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2U3TWWF1RGKI1?ASIN=0316055441 This a purely personal opinion - the book has been recognised gobally as a masterpiece. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is a new author for me and I'm afraid I was lured into buying the book for all the wrong reasons! The number of pages! Not a good reason for purchasing a book. I'd heard it reviewed by a respected reviewer but I'm afraid I simply could not finish it. I persevered for 3 weeks through long winded, convoluted pages of a tragic and desperate 13 year old hero whose life disintegrates after the death of his mother into something almost unbelievable. I abandoned it this afternoon - something I do very infrequently.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R22BZ3RTHN05EH?ASIN=0316055441 Best book I've read this year "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Combines intellect, action and philosophy. It is a Great book. You can have fun choosing a Russian accented actor to voice in your head.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2VYD9FCMORGOO?ASIN=0316055441 did I just learn the true meaning of life? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was a difficult read. Don't misunderstand. It's beautifully written. Almost like poetry at times. Descriptive. But the heartbreaking misery encountered by the narrator forces you to take breaks and walk away from it. You have to take a rest and catch your breath. But in the end, it will all have been worth it. This is a fictional Masterpiece. Every bit as much a work of art as the painting it draws it's name from.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R5MO1DT4N4CV1?ASIN=0316055441 Good Book; Bad Ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">While the book kept my attention with interesting plot lines and good character development, I felt that it fell apart in the last 150 pages. It seemed as though the author was unable to come up with an ending that would have been consistent with the complexity of the book and opted for a long philosophical treatise on the painting and on life. It seemed grafted onto the book and left the reader feeling disappointed and unsatisfied.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CJVFVE9ZHZ7Q?ASIN=0316055441 Don't Miss This Great Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is the best read I have had in ages! Beautifully written, compelling, surprising and utterly believable. Move over, Holden Caufield.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R34KJLC46MW1DD?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written, but unfulfilling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a remarkable book in scale and beautiful prose. The story of Theo Decker is heartbreaking, fascinating and sad. Ultimately, the only beauty in his life comes from an object, the painting The Goldfinch. Even that is something Theo cannot enjoy without stress or guilt. I wanted Theo to end up in a better place, but it doesn't happen. Great writing, deserves its ""best of"" status, but ultimately sort of a downer.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1JZBJN5IFGQ0A?ASIN=0316055441 A good story, funny at times, but somewhat lacking "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story was engaging enough straight from the start, It went on through some excessively disgusting details of drug abuse and with it, came my dislike of Boris. Theo was a nice enough guy and towards the end of the book, it's clear that he's gonna have a well deserved happy ending after all and finds a reason to carry on living... well with some million dollars in my bank account, who wouldn't find life a bit more bearable?</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R18K8ZE0TMSL3Z?ASIN=0316055441 Awesome read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What an INCREDIBLE book. It's a mix between Great Expectations, The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankwiler, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It's a beautiful narrative that is simultaneously compelling, a rare combination. Definitely read!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RT05PR81AYJYK?ASIN=0316055441 Uneven and disappointing. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book gets off to a great start driven by an extraordinary premise. About a third of the way through the arc shifts and the book loses it's way. It becomes a tiresome replay of the usual substance abuse scenario. The climax is a further shift into a boring action thriller. The themes opened up in the early pages are abandoned and the early expectations are left unfulfilled. Very disappointing. Very over appreciated.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RWVXCVQ70I717?ASIN=0316055441 It's Like Cilantro "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">You either love this book and think it is the most amazing piece of prose ever written in the last 50 years.....or.....you hate it. I worked so hard to get to the halfway point, and then I realized that nothing had really happened. I tried. I really tried. I am so glad this was not selected for my book club. It would have been the end of us. This is truly awful. I have no idea how on earth this won the Pulitzer.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3A62I7GX0LFIY?ASIN=0316055441 painful, dark, rich and uplifting "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch was a very painful gut-wrenching read at times. The prose is so rich that I felt connected at a visceral level to Theo. the best way to describe this book is that you are taken on a journey, a very scary one at times, that is unpredictable, rewarding ,crushing, frustrating and exhilarating. I'm left with a lot of self-reflection. This book will stay with me for a long time. Why not 5 stars? I'm not sure.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2LYXY32POCMRA?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointing, dull and long, with some minor moments of brilliance. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">My first and last Tart novel. Though there are some beautiful descriptions they are often of minor elements that are never tied back to the story. There are so many terrific ways this story could have turned or characters could have been linked. Instead it is a dull read with an ending that fails to capitalize on any of the details that were previously provided. Instead, some hand-waving ensues with the hope that previous details will go ignored by the reader.<br/><br/>Though the descriptions suggest skill and talent this book is a disappointment. Like watching somebody paint a wall white with the smallest of paint brushes. If you are on the fence regarding reading this book, I suggest you read any other available book first. A truly regretful read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3REKI76KFNUW?ASIN=0316055441 Loved it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Though at times the plot takes a few sharp turns, the characters and the underlying voice of the author make this a wonderful read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2FGVIU9E3VQ14?ASIN=0316055441 I loved this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read a lot and don't do book reviews, usually. This book is different. This author writes in such a way that you are ""hooked"". Some books can be a struggle to ""get into"". This book hooked me from the first page. I had a hard time putting it down. When I had to put it down, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I would say that is a really good book. It is long - but I finished it within a week.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R25F22IKSPWOGA?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">When I started this book I loved it for the first couple of chapters. But when it got so heavy into the abuse of drugs,etc., I felt too much time was spent describing the trips, etc The book could have been shortened considerably although it was important to follow the boys life, it became so depressing I wanted it to hurry up and end. I also think the ending was a bit dramatic and didn't quite follow. Oh well!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKU37RGPRC6D5?ASIN=0316055441 What was this book about? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Worst Book I have ever read as it took every bit of energy to finish as I stayed with it to hopefully read an amazing ending...sorry to burst your bubble, it didn't have any amazing anything. This book has so many unnecessary boring tangents, characters that do not meld together and overall I have no idea what the true premise of this book is about....a stolen painting written in over 750 pages? Really? Read the Thomas Crowne Affair if you want intrigue and mystery in the art world as this book has so many pages of nonsense, ( a child sneaks a dog across the coast in a bus?) excess sentences, drugs violence, death and random names to get to the fact (I assume) that a painting was stolen? I am still overly confused what this book was about.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RYEIIJ5DWWUXV?ASIN=0316055441 A remarkable, sparkling book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt writes wonderful books, but The Goldfinch is truly remarkable. As a person who lived in New York City for more than 20 years, I was drawn in by the story, most of which takes place in the City, and by the evolution of her main character, Theodore Decker. The book is also full of references to art, both real and not. I honestly could not put the book down. I will be rereading this book and soon!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RBYN86KGXR4VV?ASIN=0316055441 I must have missed something "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I don't get it. All my friends loved this book, it came highly recommended. I couldn't get into it. I didn't stop reading it because I kept thinking it would get better but it never did and now I'm 85% of the way through so I want to finish. I never connected with any of the characters and I found the writing so hard to follow in many places. The transition to new chapters was not logical or consistent.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R99LBVZKSF1VY?ASIN=0316055441 "Better than ""The Secret History""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read ""the Secret History years ago, and still remember how much I liked that book. It was a slow drop from the surface into an unexpected and strange world.<br/><br/>""The Goldfinch"" has that same sort of structure, but worlds revealed are fascinating, yet all possible. The characters are exquisitely drawn with great depth. The plot speeds along; at times you just can't read fast enough.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R12J987K6XADQF?ASIN=0316055441 excellent, though very long. Definitely work the effort. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could not put this book down and for a 760 page book, that is making a major commitment. A great story and a strong ending.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3ER29QKBJ8V47?ASIN=0316055441 "my vote for ""book of the year""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Captivating! Compelling! Can you not put down a book with over 700 pages? Well, this was one of those rare finds. A must read!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R154KL3JEPGVBK?ASIN=0316055441 Good Story Drags On, Becomes Philosophical "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A compelling coming of age story woven with threads of disaster, neglect, drug use, and unconventional friendships, this story becomes weighted down with heavy philosophical overtones and I couldn't put it down soon enough. The writing is beautiful, lyrical, extraordinary, but the plodding plot line and unfulfilling characterizations drain the pleasure and, in the end, I could not recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3398P5BWT5HT3?ASIN=0316055441 A journey of self-destruction and redemption. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story slowly reeled me to a number of very different worlds and introduced me to many vividly-drawn characters. The plot is brilliantly constructed and Tartt forces her readers to confront their inner prejudices, beliefs regarding right and wrong, and the complexity of life itself.<br/>I found the novel too long, and the story became somewhat repetitious and pedantic in the final chapters.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R80Q4M6NZ5I1I?ASIN=0316055441 Book of the Year "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a long, incredibly involving read, telling us the story of Theo Decker, whose life takes twists and turns reminiscent of a Charles Dickens novel. Along the way, the author exposes the reader to meditations on art, beauty, history, life and loss, in a way that seeps into your consciousness in a masterful way. It took ten years for Donna Tartt to write this, and the time was well spent. She has aimed high by writing such a book, and she has triumphed. It's such a huge task to tell someone how great this is; you just have to read it for yourself. I don't think a better novel has been publshed this year, and I hope The Goldfinch gets the recognition it deserves. Truly a superb, sublime read.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3HEUKLXH5CLZD?ASIN=0316055441 An incredibly profound look at life. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a richly nuanced read for those who love brilliant description, soul searching characters, the world of art and superb writing. A caution to the reader: once you begin this book you will not be satisfied until you finish it! It is a brilliant novel, filled with poignant scenes and profound reflections about life. This is one of the best novels that I have read in a long time.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2VH3AOTSO24EC?ASIN=0316055441 Entirely Engaging "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch lives up to the hype. You are absolutely transported to another world. At times oit was hard to read because it is so absolutely gut wrenching but Ms. Tartt's narrative won't let you put it down. You simply MUST find out what is to happen to these characters. Her insights, woven throughout, on the moral dilemma and gray area of the human condition are beautifully insightful.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3GWKR8U0C9AGK?ASIN=0316055441 The Best Novel of the 21st Century (So Far) "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story in The Goldfinch is haunting and unforgettable, as many have noted. What amazed me was the dexterity and wizardry of Donna Tartt. The Goldfinch is a novel that will and should be studied for decades to come as a shining example of a brilliant, creative writer firmly in control over 800 dense and compelling pages. POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! The very first sentence of the novel foreshadows the central event to come: Theo's dream of his mother. It is only then that he is relieved of the guilt and pain that had made him suicidal. So much of what we gradually come to know of Theo's pain does not come from his mouth -- he is, in this regard, an unreliable narrator. Theo himself speaks rarely of his pain, and when he does he minimizes it. But only when we learn (from Boris, from Pippa, and from his dream) the truth about Theo do we come to realize how deeply he is haunted and hurting.<br/><br/>Donna Tartt reveals this central truth with astonishingly deft mastery. The novel left me with a deeply profound admiration for what she has created in The Goldfinch, and the sublime nature of her literary skills. The Goldfinch is, truly, the most unforgettable novel I have ever read, in my 50 years of reading and studying fiction.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R22K1H7DNX3R3R?ASIN=0316055441 New classic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">She should get a pulitizer for this one! It is one of my new all time favorites! At times hard to read, but it has been a long<br/>time since a book has stayed with me like this one. Beautiful writing style, multi-faceted characters, among them the<br/>settings which contribute so much. I recommend it to any adult with eclectic reading tastes who has respect for good literature.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHNKH9II825QW?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The author overwhelms us with details from swathes of life one seldom knows much about--the personal effects of terrorism, the world of art dealing, the under-belly of Las Vegas, serious addiction issues with vivid descriptions of use...she might have used an editor with a more disciplined pen, but it is a book definitely worth devoting the time it takes to get through 800 pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2PILD8PFZX3N?ASIN=0316055441 Glorious Goldfinch! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can't think of anything bad to say about this book. That said, it is too long. But- there's not one sentence I would want to be eliminated. I wish the author would write a sequel but I know she won't. There's nothing left to be said. But- I would like to know the next chapter in the lives of all the people in the book. This book ranks in the top of all books I've ever read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R315X1BHGMSSV0?ASIN=0316055441 An Good Read and a White Knuckle Ride "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a compulsive read without sacrificing good writing or character development. Start to finish, you are engrossed in a well-woven story that is a plausible snapshot of our world. The Dickensian characters are alive on the page, all with distinctive voices. It's wonderful storytelling and, above all, a valentine to great art and its ability to stir the soul.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3E2GMDM9LPY6L?ASIN=0316055441 Zero stars. Pretentious and unending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wish to echo all the other scathing reviews of this burnable book. After suffering through many aimless pages describing two drunk teenage boys going from one empty house to another, I threw in the towel. What an insufferable intellectual show-off! It's true that no editing could save this thing, but it could have made it less painful for many dedicated lovers of fiction.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1XO71SEF3XZ8P?ASIN=0316055441 the book stayed with me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is one of the heartfelt, beautifully descriptive books I've read in a very long time. The reader feels like they personally knows the charactors and can hear and see them. The theme of the book is well thought out, adding mystery, sorrow, thrill and happiness to the mix. Donna Tartt is among the elite writers who can implant a story in your brain, forever.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R33XJYH0H7CUEZ?ASIN=0316055441 Aht, dahling. Aht. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's good.<br/>It's long.<br/>It's about a painting you have to like.<br/>It deals with drugs, requited and unrequited love, crime, antiques, one Russian, misguided youth, low life, high life and rich people.<br/>What's not to love. And you only have to take one book on vacation, unless you are a really, really fast reader.<br/>Why only four stars? It does not float.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PBTBYHE4M6IZ?ASIN=0316055441 Well-written "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought this book was so worthwhile reading. It was very long, but it was so beautifully written that I looked forward to reading on and on. To me it was an extraordinary book, deep, interesting and intelligent and one that I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to read something of substance. it has been quite some time since I found a book to fit that criteria.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LOBNU8VSFWU2?ASIN=0316055441 Endless "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I should know better than to read a book that's on the ""Best Seller"" list. This one goes on…and on…and on…and…<br/>Some sections of it are interesting, many are lengthy descriptions of teenage debauchery. And in the end, I didn't give a flying feather what happened to him. It got BOR-ING. It ends with some home-made philosophy of life. Wish I'd skipped it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3VDUDSR2V89XK?ASIN=0316055441 Plot twists unpredictable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very engaging from the beginning - but even more so about one-third of the way through. The lesson I took was that ""all is well that ends well""(my own thoughts, I'm not quoting the author). Also..I appreciated the lesson that we should not get bogged down in guilt..often good comes from bad. The last few pages were my favorite - thoughts to ponder there.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3KU0LI5NX7T14?ASIN=0316055441 Outstanding and intricate, with a magnificdent summary "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An astounding novel. Superb writing is at the top of the list, rapidly followed by amazing plot. Donna Tartt writes with clarity and insight, creates characters that are so easy to picture and understand I felt they were sitting in the next chair. It took a long time to read, but it was worth every minute. The Goldfinch deserves its Pulitzer. And a lot more.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RQN1W7M5AQOSJ?ASIN=0316055441 magic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Captivating and beautiful. One of the best books I've read in a very long time. I wish it wouldn't have ended.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFFID3H147HMH?ASIN=0316055441 This is a masterpiece of story telling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The language alone is worth the read. The book is brilliant. I went out and bought her other two books. I would recommend you read this on a Kindle because the book is heavy! 900 pages. Or wait till it comes out in soft cover. It's a brute to haul around....but every word is worth it. It hangs around in your brain for days. This will become a classic.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R38H7W7HVR5206?ASIN=0316055441 Mesmerising "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Once you get caught in the grips of this novel there is no putting it down. Loved it. Will recommend to all.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NOX3ZRRDB8GA?ASIN=0316055441 Too much. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The author needs a new editor. The novel is way too wordy and overly descriptive; her attempt at ethnic speech in a main character is not only poorly done, but uneven; and vast sections are either long and boring or run by too quickly. The novel's plot line is a good one, but poorly executed. I frankly do not understand how this novel is/was so popular!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MYU1KQL502X3?ASIN=0316055441 WOW "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I couldn't put it down, so many different people in the story, all of them very interesting, antique dealer, drug dealers, blue bloods, and the star of the book, a druggie by the time he was thirteen, also, I am an artist and originally from New York, visiting the met many, many times, so that part of the story was very interesting and exciting and scary.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RIEPURN516NDQ?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch review - started strong and then limped along "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Loved the first 300-400 pages. The problem - the book is close to 800 pages and the last half dragged on and on. Not crazy about the ending, but was thankful it did in fact end. Clearly Donna Tartt is a talented writer and I would expect her future novels to be worth checking out. A little more focus in the second half and a better ending could have made The Goldfinch a masterpiece.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UTS4N71U7OA?ASIN=0316055441 would not chose this for a friend "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">disappointed in this book. much, much too wordy and long winded descriptions in most cases could have just been skipped. I read the first 1/3 of the book then skipped to the end. MAYBE I will go back and read the other sometime in the future. do not understand why this is a best seller</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3TCSIC3CFFN48?ASIN=0316055441 How many times does opportunity have to knock before the character finally makes a sound choice? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Time after time this character, who experiences a terrible tragedy as a 13 year old, repeatedly makes poor choices--even into his adulthood--knowing full well that his decisions are bad. Opportunities abound for ""doing the right thing"" in ALL aspects of his life, yet Theo is stuck in the mind of a 13 year old boy. I'm 3/4 of the way through this book and all I want to do is shake him and say, ""GROW UP!--Stop looking for an easy way out, stop screwing people who obviously care and love you."" It's like watching the same train wreck over and over and expecting a different result. I'm hoping there is some decent resolution to this horrific story. Realizing that not all lives have positive outcome, this character's death wish is sickening.<br/><br/>1/31/2014 -- It's a few days later and I'm still bored and wishing the book to end.<br/><br/>While the book does have some remarkable moments, those moments of brilliance are overshadowed by the many verbose descriptors and unneccesary ""tidbits"" of information.<br/><br/>I believe Ms. Tartt feels she is a master artist of the written word--maybe she should have taken a hint from the masters--too many brushstrokes may ruin a painting.<br/><br/>2/1/2014 -- Very dissatisfied with this novel. As though this character is doing something nobel in the scheme of humanity... ? Well, you at least received some royalties from me, Ms. Tartt, you won't be getting any more from me. You're not my type of author.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RE1OS483HY035?ASIN=0316055441 A good book which could have used some editing. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought the plot was good, but the book was WAY too long and repetitive for my taste. I have read both of Ms. Tartt's previous books, so I was expecting better writing than this from her. Others will disagree I am certain.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RSWBY4EXJU7CX?ASIN=0316055441 Good enough, but not great "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Goldfinch was certainly a compelling novel, but I was disappointed. Theo, the main character, wasted his life, both literally and figuratively and though I felt sorry for his situation, I did not feel sorry for him. Though I could not put the book down, as I had to know how it would end, I was really glad when it finally ended. It wore me out!</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3D1R70KGZM1DM?ASIN=0316055441 who picks these pulitzers! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was chosen for our book club so I faithfully slogged through it. How this book got to be so popular I'll never know. It is too long and too ridiculous and too amateurish to have gotten a good review. Makes me wonder who chooses the pulitzer and what in the world they could have been thinking. What a waste of good time and money. A</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Q3372LZBX7YJ?ASIN=0316055441 Complex, dense "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Not really a ""coming of age"" story. Much more violent and sick than that.<br/>Not a comedy. Too much tragedy and too many mistakes in the two main characters lives.<br/>Very difficult to return to as you kept hoping for enlightenment on someone's part.<br/>It continued to tumble into deeper and deeper depression and poor decisions.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2I9KHQT2D7C87?ASIN=0316055441 Just awful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Not sure what book the 5 star reviewers read. It couldn't have been this one. Depressing is an understatement. Long winded sentences ran 2 Kindle screens without punctuation ... ramblings of a teenage boy who encounters pretty much the worst life can hand you. Nothing redeeming or of value. I kept thinking ""ok that was pretty awful what happened to him but now his life will get better and the story will improve."" Nope. Just continues downhill. Don't waste your money or your time. There are plenty of good reads out there. This isn't one of them.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3KTFABM1IR9YN?ASIN=0316055441 She desperately needs a good editor. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">i cannot fathom why this book won a prize. The author is severely afflicted with logorrhoea.<br/>She desperately needs a good editor..l can't think how l got through the miasma of verbiage.<br/>l just kept hoping it would get sorted out or calm down and stop all the tangent chasing.<br/>l do wish l knew just what the judges were thinking.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20WUWUTI9MCR9?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch--Goldmine "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is one of the best books of the 21st century. It took Donna Tartt 10 years to write it, and it shows. It is a finely crafted<br/>story with multiple layers. My only criticism would be that the Las Vegas section is a bit long and could be cut. But I feel as if I should reread it because it is so dense with plot and meaning.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R380OYB2S8T6PN?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written, emotional journey "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Recently abandoned by his father, who moved out of the family home in Manhattan, Theo Decker, 13, and his beautiful mother are making it on their own in New York. After Theo gets in a little trouble at school, he and his mother have an appointment at school to discuss his issues. With some time to spare before the appointment, the two stop off at the MET for a Dutch art exhibit. Theo is not at an age where he appreciates fine art, but he does notice a pretty red-headed girl about his age and an elderly man who catches his attention. He is curious about the girl and the mysterious older man she is with. So when his mom suggests they visit the gift shop, Theo declines to stay close to the young girl, and in an instant, his life is forever changed.<br/><br/>After an explosion and the rubble which resulted,Theo is unable to get to the gift shop or locate his mother. He does find the now dying older man (Welty) who gives Theo a ring and tells him to take it to a place called, Hobart and Blackwell and to ""ring the green bell"", when he arrives. Welty also tells him to take the small painting which had fallen to the ground after the explosion. The artwork is a priceless 17th century, one of a kind painting which depicts a little yellow pet finch that is chained at the ankle, ""The Goldfinch."".<br/><br/>Dazed in the aftermath, Theo now sees his life defined as ""Before Mom and After Mom"". He is haunted by what has happened; he blames himself for his mother's death. Child protective services intervenes and Theo's journey to adulthood takes a most unconventional course. From living with a wealthy school friend on Park Avenue, to being dragged off to Las Vegas by his loser, gambler father and his girlfriend Xandra, Theo's life is in chaos. The only comfort for him is, The Goldfinch painting, which he clings to like a security blanket.<br/><br/>Theo has kept the painting hidden since the tragedy, for it reminds him of his mother. But, what can a young man do with a priceless piece of art like The Goldfinch? For a number of years, he keeps it safe, and gazes at it occasionally in private, until years later when, a seedy friend from Theo's teen years in Las Vegas resurfaces in New York and has a plan.<br/><br/>In The Goldfinch, the reader is transported on a spellbinding journey into the lives of The Barbours, the wealthy, Park Avenue family that took young Theo in. Hobie, the antique dealer and former business partner of the elderly man who died in the explosion, who gives Theo a place to live and work when he returns to NYC. There is also unpredictable Boris, who Theo befriends in Las Vegas after Theo's loser dad and girlfriend take him from NYC to live with them. Both boys are left to fend for themselves, and except for the occasional left overs that Xandra brings home, their consumption seems to consist primarily of food they can steal or alcohol and drugs.<br/><br/>Told from the first person looking back, The Goldfinch follows Theo from the ages of 13 to 27. From New York to Las Vegas, back to New York and even on an international journey to Amsterdam. The author creates a memorable cast of characters and imagery. The characters are so well drawn, the writing is fabulous and both colorful and suspenseful. For me, it novel was, at times, an emotional journey. My heart went out to Theo, even when he made some poor choices along the way. I loved the way the novel drew me into the world of art, and although it can't be considered a happy story, it is a story that, for me, had a very satisfying conclusion. So far it is probably one of the very best books I've read in 2013, even though it was well over 700 pages -- I never felt bored.<br/><br/>Be sure to read this one.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R150LZHEWXWM2M?ASIN=0316055441 spectacular "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Two decades ago when I was fresh from college her first book spoke to me, and now a half my life time later her new work does the same and for entirely different reasons. Do our artists age with us or do we know art as a result of our age then? I hope to re-read this one in twenty years and find the answer. Though it may already be there.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1L5H9JQGQ2BJW?ASIN=0316055441 Not good ! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Way to wordy! Dragged on & on. I was frustrated by the book and the ending was anti climatic. Not good.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PK4BLTEU0MQB?ASIN=0316055441 Once in a decade... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wait and I wait for that book that leaves me in awe and talking to everyone about the experience...and this is it! The main characters are both beautiful and disgusting, the tone and atmosphere, both warm and dark. The ending...so obvious once you get there it brings laughter and a sweet release of anxiety. A once in a decade read!!!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJZI4PN8X5VP9?ASIN=0316055441 Those Goldfinch by Donna Tartt "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was an amazing book with intrigue and great character development. As the plot carried me from chapter to chapter, the author kept the trade deeply involved with the main characters. I have rarely been so involved in the family dynamics of the characters as they grappled with life, death, and life's meaning so deeply. A great read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1M5MLINVW5FY8?ASIN=0316055441 Worth purchasing and reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Remarkable book. It still stays with me many weeks after finishing it. The book is troubling, interesting, sometimes gut-wrenching--but even the most flawed characters have redeeming values that kept me reading and hoping for their success. My husband read the book after I did--on my recommendation--and he, too, found it to be compelling.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R34FWIYA2MV1DM?ASIN=0316055441 Beauty buried "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If ever a novel needed an editor, this is it. Brilliance is overshadowed, sinking beneath the weight of too many words. Vivid characters are muted, by too many words. Such a shame that Tartt didn't take her cue from the painting itself, and concentrate on the fascinating central story. I would love to read a 350 page version of this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RAITEUQ0L97UU?ASIN=0316055441 Seldom give up on a book.... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book had supposedly received good reviews and was on the recommended book lists. That said, I thought it would never end. And, indeed, I gave up on it right near the very end because by that point I really didn't care how it ended. The main character is so self-absorbed that it was impossible by the end of the book to even care what happened to him. The book was plodding and endless with no redeeming value and no point. Hated it. Don't think I have ever said that about a book before. So, if you want an ""endless"" summer book, this may be the one for you. Buyer beware!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RSRR9LC6ZD3ZQ?ASIN=0316055441 Highly overrated! Horrible! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is just a mess, starting with the author's misinterpretation of the famous painting, ""The Anatomy Lesson."" Halfway into the book, after the author had managed to kill off so many of people, I found myself skimming, just to see where the story could possibly be going. Long wordy chapter on character's drug withdrawal. Long wordy chapter on details of character's flu. This book is just a big downer. Unbelievable relationships. The last chapter makes you think the author is on a drug trip herself, full of her depressing philosophies on life. Don't waste your money!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R11P3F2OM5YFDH?ASIN=0316055441 not that great "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am surprised this book won anything! It just went on and on and just got way too wordy and complicated in it's description of events. I found myself flipping through pages just to end it all. It could have been a great story but I think the author got carried away and made it far too ridiculous to believe even if it was fiction!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R9STFPTD543OS?ASIN=0316055441 good ideas, good characters, lost in the jumble "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An engaging plot and characters lost in a stodgie, self indulgent writing style. Needs a good editor to keep it moving and avoid the retelling of events by characters. Some sections were laborious, Some loose end introduced either were killed quickly or never resolved. The book seemed as purposeless as the characters at times.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2VRP4RMQJRBQI?ASIN=0316055441 too cerebral for me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ms Tartt is an amazing writer, it is clear.<br/>However, I couldn't wait to finish this book and found it agonizing read. The story line is interesting and most of the characters fit in well but the writer made the main character, Theo, pathetic.<br/>Too much time and too many words spent explaining emotions, especially of Theo.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3E3Y5O6QT0K4Q?ASIN=0316055441 Perfect book for me to read right now! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">5 Stars because it is so well written. And many feelings portrayed by the characters are how I feel too. So I can cozy up inside myself, and cool out after work and be soothed. Yet, also many incidents are nothing I have ever been involved in, the story is told so well that I can understand and weave into my own life experiences.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19ZEYP1S9VXHP?ASIN=0316055441 Amazing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The best book I have read in years. Prepare to stay up late, you will want to read straight through</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1H9XR7B1UCBGF?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story has many levels and sub plots which are beautifully written and joined seamlessly to the main story. My attention was captured from the first page and involved me with this unfortunate young man and his journey to manhood. I have no hesitation recommending this book as a particularly interesting and arresting read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2C2D8PWBMCOHJ?ASIN=0316055441 What a disappointment! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Bloated and gratuitous descriptions that didn't add insight to the characters, move the story or create any texture. Unsympathetic characters, most of whom I didn't care much about - and, to the extent I did care, I couldn't wrap my mind around them. A depressing, nihilistic world view. The ""feel good"" (and rather preachy) turn at the end did nothing to remove the taste of the preceding 700+ pages. In short, every time I thought it would get good, it didn't. That said, it is otherwise well-written and the ""plot"" would make a good 200 page story.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGMRRUXSWWIOD?ASIN=0316055441 "A ""Cannot Put Down"" Read" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The descriptions are through and there's always some mystery to keep you reading until you know the answer. The story is so real it lingered in my mind all day and into the nights until I finished it. If you love reading, the Goldfinch is a must read.<br/><br/>The final chapter is very philosophical and thought provoking.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3TF3Q6C905122?ASIN=0316055441 THE GOLDFINCH "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING. I AM TOO OLD TO READ ABOUT DRUGGY LOST KIDS. VERY SLOW IN THE MIDDLE.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RSOXJ1LL4TM5B?ASIN=0316055441 Fantastic Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was our book club selection and everyone loved reading it with the author's descriptive writing where she filled all your senses so that you could see, taste and feel what she was describing. This is a long book, 775 pages, but a real page turner that I could not put down and lost a lot of sleep until I finished it!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FFMUME9DHT2N?ASIN=0316055441 "An appreciation of ""The Goldfinch""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book is mesmerizing. Here's something I wrote recently for the St. Louis Beacon's ""Popcorn"" feature in which staffers present writings or ideas that have popped up in the previous week to engage or amuse or infuriate them:<br/><br/>'The Goldfinch'<br/>In the writer Donna Tartt’s transportive new novel “The Goldfinch,” Audrey Decker, walking on the narrow edge of the precipice of doom, provides her 13-year-old son, Theodore, a lesson on 17th century Dutch painting that is at once historically informed and divinatory. This passage from her lesson concerns “nature morte,” the “still life.”<br/><br/>The boy asks:<br/><br/>“How long did it take him to paint that?”<br/><br/>My mother, who’d been standing a bit too close, stepped back to regard the painting – oblivious to the gum-chewing security guard whose attention she attracted, who was staring fixedly at her back.<br/><br/>“Well, the Dutch invented the microscope,” she said. “They were jewelers, grinders of lenses. They want it all as detailed as possible because even the tiniest things mean something. Whenever you see flies or insects in a still life – a wilted petal, a black spot on the apple — the [painter is giving you a secret message, He’s telling you that living things don’t last — it’s all temporary. Death in life. That’s why they are called natures mortes. Maybe you don’t see it at first with all the beauty and bloom, the little speck of rot. But if you look closer -- there it is.”<br/><br/>-- Robert W. Duffy, associate editor</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFMN41TL1P17X?ASIN=0316055441 Good book, lots to talk about! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did enjoy the book but REALLY, how many bad decisions can one person make in life? Like a tumbling castle of blocks, one bad decision leads to another and there was really no need except that I'm sure it made a significantly more interesting book. I never quit rooting for Theo and I guess that does say something!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R171EU5X8GVPLV?ASIN=0316055441 A. Young man's struggle "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The details. Immerse you in Theo' s struggle to recover from the tragic loss of his mother and the responsibility placed upon him. It is a very believable account of how a young man would think and act without a parent to guide him. It is clear that Ms Tartt did a great deal of research to prepare for this story.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3S4VCE0WE6OC?ASIN=0316055441 The New, Modern Coming of Age Story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Growing up, I was obsessed with _Catcher In the Rye_ because it was my first encounter of an author using stream of consciousness to drive the narrative. Tartt has beautifully honed her author's craft to create such a beautiful coming of age novel.<br/>I am already looking forward to reading it again, and again.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1G1LOQB0WO1FM?ASIN=0316055441 Magnificent "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Reading is an experience, often in the fast paced world today, that experience is formulated, the writing conformed to patterns of interest. Not this author, she blows you away with sensual, observational, and exemplary detail. She leaves me feeling, she found me reeling, and like Conan Doyle, provides healing.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1U1N6JYR02JZ3?ASIN=0316055441 I also felt that the editor of the book went missing now and then regarding the dialogue and the book might have been just as go "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the plot to be quite engaging with many twists, turns and suspense. The main characters were well developed and dialogue flowed. However, I also felt that the editor of the book went missing now and then regarding the dialogue and the book might have been just as good minus a couple of hundred pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3170UH3EM67GK?ASIN=0316055441 Surprise "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I felt this book dragged at times but as I continued reading and got toward the end I understood why there was so much in it. I thought this book was very well written and it gave the reader so much to think about. I will never forget this book and it brought out a lot of emotions in me. So glad I read it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTB2S52B8G239?ASIN=0316055441 did it work or not? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to love this book, and sometimes I did. But just as often, despite the wonderful writing, I hated it. And then, as I approached the end too much didn't end; I found myself considering how each potential relationship was simply a vehicle for the inevitable explanation of life view. In the end, meh.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JD9OM6NUB48W?ASIN=0316055441 What storytelling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An epic, entertaining and completely absorbing story. The extent to which one identifies and empathises with characters who are often cheats and criminals, testifies to an author capable of writing amazingly strong and real characters. This is some of the best storytelling I have read since Charles Dickens.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHXE2I4K1X4LU?ASIN=0316055441 moments of brilliance among the cliches and tedium "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Brilliant beginning, agonizingly repetitive middle, and exceedingly pedantic and self-serving end. I'm embarrassed that I gave this book as a gift to others based upon all the positive reviews...and during the holidays, no less, the least appropriate gift for that time of year. Reading this was an ordeal.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2X186M59NE383?ASIN=0316055441 Just plain amazing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">So much going on! The friendship and love between Boris and Theo was my favorite part, along with the relationship between Theo and Hobie. Just a really long and winding journey that makes you ache for Theo. At times I wanted to hug him, at other times I wanted to slap him. This might be my new favorite!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NIR8J66H3Y4F?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is the most boring, uninteresting, and verbose audiobook I have had misfortune to purchase. Perhaps it something happens closer to the end, but its so slow I can't get to it. I am on the 12th cd and am waiting for a story to develop. I will endeavor to finish, only because I paid for it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RNK8GNZMF84FJ?ASIN=0316055441 Five stars "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">From the beginning, I was engaged by the plot and the protagonist who was by turns admirable and despicable. Tartt's use of the stolen painting was ingenious. I immediately looked for another book by the same author but did not enjoy ""The Secret History"" as much as I had ""The Goldfinch.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RDSC3CROMPNSQ?ASIN=0316055441 An excellant read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book will stand out as one of the best examples of wordmanship I've encountered in my more than 40 years of compulsive reading. In spite of the richness of the tapestry and the many layers of the story woven into it, it still manages to move fast and keep you spellbound with characters that are unusual and events happening against a background which constantly changes - exposing mankind in a way which allows you to associate with the story on an intesnely personal level. I cannot recommend it strongly enough</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KIFY7A1A7NBI?ASIN=0316055441 Depressing book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is an exquisitely written book, well worth reading, but I found it so depressing I had to put it down from time to time. It's kind of an adult ""A Series of Unfortunate Events"". The ending is very philosophical and beautiful. I think this is a book people will be reading for generations.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2Y91441RKRRR4?ASIN=0316055441 The book that wouldn't die. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can not criticize the prose or the fact that it managed to keep me involved to the end of this very long novel. But I must say I started looking for a conclusion about midway through and reading to the end was torturous . I was relieved to be done. I wanted to party. It was like a monkey off my back.<br/>Some of the descriptions were laborious and unnecessary. This novel was depressing and not in a good way. It was like sitting bedside a dying man on a respirator , waiting and waiting for his last breath .</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3IXP91BXLULL8?ASIN=0316055441 The marvelous reviews made me want to read this novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As I read I just couldn't wait for those reviews to come true. Never happened. I finished reading still waiting for the wonderfulness to come through. OK is the best I can feel about the main character and his attempt to lead a fulfilling life. Probably just me as it continues to be a best seller.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ABDSBWXF8H00?ASIN=0316055441 In the Wings "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book came recommended highly, by a woman who happened to sit next to me, as we are seated when we buy tickets, at City Winery in New York. We were attending the musical event to raise money and consciousness for the terrible tragedy that upset Nepal. This event was called Everest. An avid reader, I confess to not hearing before about this book. It's a huge tome of a book. The skeleton Story has been reviewed here, by many. A major event, a bomb that devastates in a famous Art Museum, is the proximal event that becomes a haunting Story that is about art theft, adventure, mystery, drugs, shady characters, loss, abandonment, love and more. I found after a while that the drug scene and the violence, that is also part of the story, and the betrayals, very hard psychologically to get through. But that is me. I would say the last few chapters, the existential analysis by Theo Decker of his Story, is worth the read as in the question we all ponder which is, What IF, as in the patterns of a life going down the years, how it fits together, and what to make of meaning in the<br/>deepest sense of Story, of God, the Universe, how we are moved. His story moves out of the details and into the cosmic realm of a meditation on life, as it is lived, what we surrender, in every way, in passing through. This is the poetry within a book. Many books become a heavy read, and then there are passages that lift the reader right out of the action into the realm of hard questions, the coeur of heart, and heart ship. What is hardship, friendship, and love. This book does this kind of sore and soar. And so what's in the wings, a meditation on Art of all kinds, being within Heart, it surpasses, in being about The Mystery itself.<br/><br/>And I have detailed in so many ways, how I was caught short, totally astounded, by how the contents of this book mirrored what I was writing and thinking at the time. But that is in my on - line FB Diary, and I can say, truth IS stranger than fiction or could it be, a merger, the real world with the reel world?</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2WYG7BRKJZVVB?ASIN=0316055441 A Problem of Character "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ms. Tartt’s new novel has much going for it. First of all, it has some heft to it. There’s something said for a novelist willing to dig into a story and suss out its depths. Ms. Tartt’s descriptions, particularly of antique art and furniture as well as locales around NYC, provide a texture too often missing in shorter works, not to mention the time she spends delving into the personality of her main character, Theo. In general, she has created an experience well worth having.<br/><br/>In longer novels, too, it is easier to be forgiving of weaknesses in plot and character. Unfortunately, Ms. Tartt is in need of quite a bit of forgiveness. Plot holes fall within the scope of suspending disbelief until near the end, when we end up in a parking garage in Amsterdam. Of course, near the end is probably the worst spot to place your most unbelievable scene, as it sticks in the memory.<br/><br/>The biggest problem, however, is the personality of our main character. Clearly, Theo undergoes a severe trauma at the beginning of the novel which follows him throughout his life. Still, it can be difficult to sustain interest in a character that develops very little over the course of his life. One can understand his descent into drugs and crime as a teenagers cast out on his own, but as he grows older and nothing really changes for him, it becomes more difficult to sympathize with him. After 500 pages of drug-addled poor decision-making, things get a bit boring, relying on secondary characters and surprises—a couple real poppers—to keep the interest going.<br/><br/>Granted, there are some great supporting players here. Boris, Theo’s friend in exile, is the unforgettable, charming id of the book. Hobie is a great, gentle, imperfect father figure. Pippa is the girl on a pedestal. Even the wealthy Barbours, who help Theo in a distracted way near the beginning of the book, becoming quite interesting, especially when Theo encounters them again later in the novel. But they cannot quite counter the weakness in Theo as our guide.<br/><br/>Still, there are pleasures to be had throughout the book. The first half is spectacular, really capturing the despair of a teenage boy in crisis. The second half is tougher going, but is by no means a disaster. Ms. Tartt deserves credit for producing another quality novel.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/ROSR4928OWC8U?ASIN=0316055441 Great book; lackluster ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">First, I do want to say that this book is a bit long and very heavy. There were times I had to put the book down and read a bit from something lighter. That being said, Donna Tartt sucked me in from the very first lines of the book. I was captivated immediately. The book actually starts with Theo as an adult recounting his life. It doesn't become clear until the end of the book why he is doing this. (Don't worry, no spoilers for those of you who haven't read it yet!) The description of the explosion and its aftermath at the beginning of the book was everything it needed to be: suspenseful, emotional, painful. There were a few things that happened in the beginning that the author doesn't really explain until later.<br/><br/>I don't know if anyone else is bothered by this, but sometimes I feel like some male authors just cannot write for women and vice versa. I know I'm not a man, but I do feel like she wrote for men (and especially a 13 year old boy) and she perfectly described the emotions of a young boy grieving for his mother. He refused to talk to anyone really and it took him a long time to accept the reality of his mom's death. I was incredibly moved by the descriptions of this boy's emotions and how they evolved over time. His grief as a boy turned into anger and shame as a man. Theo's best friend, Boris is someone that I am still not sure whether I loved or hated. It was probably a combination of the two. He was a really funny character and he made no apologies for who he was, which is what Theo needed I think.<br/><br/>Here are a few issues I did have with the book. As I mentioned, the book was very long. I felt like it was too long. Because it was a story that spanned decades, there were times when the events were very dry. There were a lot of events that didn't necessarily need to be there. There were some parts that were harder to put down than others. Also, the ending was a bit anticlimactic for me. It felt like everything that happened at the end was something out of a TV movie and that it was done merely so Tartt could wrap everything in a neat little bow. Maybe it's just me, but I don't always need everything neat and tidy at the end of the book. This is one that could have used an ending with a little mess.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGGIFGGFG9X7V?ASIN=0316055441 Not your average plane-read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">For quite a while now I have been reading Mystery and Suspense stuff on my Kindle; worth about 350 pages in paper-and-ink, and lasting maybe 2-3 nights before lights out. Quick and easy. It took one paragraph in “Goldfinch” for me to realize I was in for the long haul: the prose is as fine champagne is to 7-Up. This is not an airport costume novel. And for the record, the painting, “The Goldfinch”, is quite real. It is by Carel Fabritius, a pupil of Rembrandt and teacher of Vermeer, and is priceless. It hangs in the Mauritshuis, The Hague.<br/><br/>The novel is, oddly, a sort of Tom Sawyer-Huck Finn tale, set very much in the present. Tom is Theo Decker, recently deserted by his father and left completely bereft at 13 by a terrorist bomb explosion which kills his mother at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. All of this is harrowingly described by Ms. Tartt: not only Theo’s escape from the wreckage, alone and badly concussed, but the awful dawning that, after he makes his way back home, his mother is not there; in fact, she will never be there again. Also, in the aftermath of the blast, he innocently comes into possession of “The Goldfinch”, on loan to the Museum and buried in the debris. When he reaches his room, he dazedly pulls it from his book bag, wraps it carefully, and puts the bundle on his closet shelf. Henceforth, it will go wherever he goes.<br/><br/>Huck appears in the person of one Boris Pavlikovsky. Theo meets him in Las Vegas almost a year later, where his father, who has resurfaced as a professional gambler, has taken him. Boris is a fellow student at Theo’s new school, and like Huck is very much a free spirit. He introduces Theo to a world of sex and drugs completely new to him. Ms. Tartt’s descriptions of the sand and wind and blinding light of the Nevada desert, by the way, are spot-on. Theo is soon in deep addiction, and he and Boris become almost feral in their escapades. (Be calm; except for one early, unsatisfactory fumble, they are completely asexual with one another.) Several months pass in a stoned haze, but then Theo’s father falls heavily into debt to another gambler, who uses baseball bats as collection instruments. Ms. Tartt again shows her virtuosity by conveying the screaming terror of a doomed man. Mr. Decker gets blind drunk, speeds into the desert and collides with a truck. Theo leaves Vegas that night, with Boris in tears. The bundle goes with him, back to New York.<br/><br/>Here the story slows, as Theo, now all of 15, actually begins to live a normal life. He is taken in by Hobie, a man he met after the explosion. Hobie is an antique furniture restorer/dealer, who trains Theo as his assistant. Now almost drug-free, he finishes his education and, a better businessman than Hobie, gradually becomes his partner in an increasingly prosperous enterprise. Unfortunately, he has inherited some of his father’s taste for risk-taking, and without Hobie’s knowledge has begun selling some heavily restored pieces as originals. Eventually, a customer, a shadowy socialite named Lucius Reeve, sees some serious over-work, and begins making blackmail threats. The business, which is after all based on trust, faces ruin. Further, and far more disturbing, Reeve seems to be aware of some connection between Theo and the Goldfinch.<br/><br/>Theo, now under heavy stress, begins renewing his drug connections, and soon Boris, who has become a successful international dealer, reappears. He is still the Happy Warrior, and when he hears Theo’s troubles, jumps in to help. He of course knows all about the Goldfinch from their days in Las Vegas, and Theo is thunderstruck when Boris tells him that he, Boris, stole it long ago. The precious bundle only contains an old Nevada schoolbook. Boris has since used the painting as collateral in a series of high-interest loan scams which have made him rich, and is ironically grateful to Theo. Where is it now? Somewhere in Europe, Boris thinks, in his network, but if Theo insists, he can get it back.<br/><br/>Getting it back involves much thumping behind the scenes, and I cannot go further without spoiling things. Buy the book. You will be richly rewarded; by the writing, the character development, and by a delicious twist in the tale itself. In the final pages, Ms. Tartt includes some ruminations on good and evil, and the role of art in bridging the mysterious gap between the everyday world we know and one we are only dimly aware of. These are by nature rather obscure and may not be to everyone’s taste, but they are, like the rest of the book, intelligent and provocative.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RD88DHCTWUVMN?ASIN=0316055441 Brilliant Psychological Portrait of a Troubled Person That Loses its Way in the Final Section "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After all the praise heaped upon Donna Tartt's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, it's difficult to know quite what else to say. Constructed in picaresque form, the action shifting from New York, to Las Vegas, back to New York and Amsterdam, THE GOLDFINCH traces the life of Theodore Decker from gawky teenager to twentysomething salesperson in Hobie's furniture-restorer cum antiques shop. Author Tartt has some trenchant comments to make on the vagaries of the antique trade, especially on the ways in which supposedly ""rare"" pieces of furniture, fixtures and fittings turn out to be not quite what they seem.<br/><br/>At a deeper level, however, THE GOLDFINCH has a lot more to do with the idea of being in the contemporary world. Following his mother's violent death, Theodore is engaged in a search for identity - something he believes will not only guarantee him a place in society but will make him feel good about himself. Despite the ministrations of several people - social workers, psychologists, friends, and the like - he cannot seem to achieve anything. The only source of stability he discovers is through the Old Master painting ""The Goldfinch"" which he has purloined from the New York art gallery where his mother was killed. In the picture of the bird chained by foot to the perch, he finds some sense of permanence; the fact that it has survived for so long in such a pristine state gives him inspiration. However there is an obvious irony behind this: the sight of the chained bird suggests that the painting itself offers nothing more than a form of imaginative imprisonment, not far removed from the physical imprisonment Theodore feels when he stays at the Barbours' household, headed by a socialite and matriarch whose entire life seems to revolve around surface appearance.<br/><br/>When the action shifts to Las Vegas, Theodore thinks he has discovered some form of liberation, as he leads a hedonistic lifestyle with new acquaintance Boris. Tartt's contrast of the desert landscape with the wintry built-up world of New York is masterly; the desert not only suggests freedom but loneliness as well. This is precisely what Theodore feels; the only source of stability for him is the stolen painting, which he keeps in plastic bags bound up with duct tape. As the novel unfolds, however, we understand that even this source of security no longer exists: Theodore is like a ship without a rudder, always looking for something (or someone) to rely upon or trust.<br/><br/>When the action returns to New York, Theodore appears to have made something of his life, as he secures a job in Hobie's antiques firm and makes a good living selling antique furniture to well-to-do customers. Unfortunately by doing this he has committed himself once again to a world of surfaces; the ""truth"" underlying them is willfully ignored. The only way out Theodore can find is by taking drugs, or contracting a loveless marriage with the Barbour family's daughter, but neither of these solutions provides any satisfaction.<br/><br/>So far so good: at this point, about four-fifths of the way through the novel, Tartt has woven a compelling narrative which not only encourages readers to want to find out more, both in terms of plot and psychological analysis, but provides a vivid representation of how people have to fight to survive, both financially and psychologically in contemporary America. Once the action shifts to Amsterdam, as Theodore and Boris go off on an adventure to recover ""The Goldfinch"" painting, the tone of the novel changes; it becomes more of a conventional thriller with familiar Russian baddies and scenes taking place in bars or dimly-lit small back rooms. Tartt seems less interested in examining Theodore's state of mind and more concerned with telling a good story. Although the novel possesses an intriguing coda as Theodore starts to take stock of his life, we feel that it has been tacked on to the narrative, as it does not emerge organically from the preceding action in Amsterdam.<br/><br/>THE GOLDFINCH is an undoubtedly compelling read, but we do feel that it could have been transformed into something much better if Tartt had ditched the Amsterdam sequences and re-situated the action in environments she understands more instinctively, such as New York and Las Vegas.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/ROYP8MQYT14QV?ASIN=0316055441 Dreaming about The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After more than a week of what felt like reading, eating, sleeping, and dreaming about it, here are my thoughts on Donna Tartt’s acclaimed masterpiece, The Goldfinch.<br/> For the first 500 pages of the novel, I was more than anything, frustrated with the pacing. The story itself was interesting. I enjoyed learning about the antique trade. The characters were also compelling. I grew to love the affable and sweet Hobie, the irrepressible Boris, the Luna-Lovegood-like Pippa. But my goodness! If something could be said in 10 words, in The Goldfinch, it took a page.<br/> The strange thing about this is that, as in the way of some other long, but good, books I have read, the fact that The Goldfinch was so long meant that I spent more time with the characters than I do when reading shorter books. So, about 500 pages in, I started to realize that I was growing attached to the narrator, Theo, his best friend Boris, and to the wonderful little dog Popchick. I began to realize that I would miss them when the book was over.<br/> It was at about this point in the novel that the pace suddenly increased from about 5 miles an hour to 150. All of a sudden, The Goldfinch became a hard-to-put-down thriller, reminiscent of a movie like The Italian Job. I found myself saying out loud, “no, don’t do that!” to the characters, in much the same way viewers caution girls not to wander off alone in a horror movie.<br/> And then, it stopped. I hesitate to say that the story ended, because as we leave Theo, he lives in a kind of exalted, dream-like limbo. The final chunk of the novel consists of Theo talking to us about what his life has meant, the epiphany that he has come to, and what he “urgently” wants to tell us.<br/> Ahh, the Pulitzer-Prize winning conclusion. I have very mixed thoughts on the epiphany that Theo/Tartt shares with the reader. On the one hand, I felt a little like I was being lectured to, in what I would guess would be something like Ayn Rand style. Also, the switch from plot-driven story to theorizing about the meaning of life seemed abrupt and not particularly subtly written. As well as this, some of the things Theo was saying were actually ambiguously written, or I just didn’t get.<br/> Which may, I am absolutely willing to admit, only reflect on my own lack of insight.<br/> However.<br/> There were some ideas that Theo shared which did strongly affect me. Which shook me. Which made me uncomfortable, and made me tread new ground in the possibilities I saw in the world. For literally less than a second, I experienced a glimpse of how it would feel to live my life in a completely different way. And then, as conscious restrictions took over, the threat/fear? of this revolutionary vision vanished behind the sealed door of my habitual safe patterns.<br/> I don’t know if I will be able to sense that new way of being again. I think the door opened because I didn’t see it coming. I plan to reread the ending of The Goldfinch, and over time, I will know more, perhaps, of what I feel about the novel.<br/> Right now, I’m not really sure. It might have had some brilliant, affecting insights. At the same time, something in Theo’s assertions was unutterably bleak. Even as he exorted us not to despair, his epiphany left me feeling horribly sad.<br/> Perhaps, for this reader, only time will tell.<br/>The Goldfinch left me thinking, rather than shutting down my thoughts. I’m not sure I agree with what Donna Tartt has to say, I’m not sure if The Goldfinch will ultimately make me a happier, or a sadder, person. I don’t even know if it will stay with me, or fade, much like spiritual experiences of great love that seem impossible to recapture in the mundaneness of everyday life.<br/> But the fact that I am even comparing reading The Goldfinch to a spiritual experience speaks for itself, and may be, in the end, why The Goldfinch was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2X8F3R611V90T?ASIN=0316055441 Struck me at my core - ready for the big screen "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the best novels I've read in a long time, a very long time. Many late nights, some until 3am, were invested in The Goldfinch. It's a sweeping story, so big, so broad. While it definitely gets verbose at some parts (some might suggest unnecessarily), even a bit pretentious (as if Tartt is flexing, perhaps unnecessarily) at others, those opinions are largely superseded by the richness and detail of the story. What really impressed me was Tartt's uncanny first-person descriptions of certain nefarious and ""immoral"" behaviors and activities that the main character undertakes, some of which I can relate to all too well, only furthering my surprise at the authenticity of the writing, as if Tartt herself has personal experience with these activities (or was it mere research). Also exciting is that the first person view is at once totally honest and yet not quite so honest, as the character is eventually revealed to have been hiding parts of himself from the reader.<br/><br/>The almost metaphysical and existential undertow of the story is very powerful, to some it might be too stark, too nihilistic or absurdist. For me it was immensely relatable, to the point where there is awesome beauty in the starkness and gloomy metaphysics of it all. While the first 96% of the book only received one or two highlights from me, I highlighted numerous sentences in the final 4% - sentences that struck me at my core.<br/><br/>The Goldfinch will undoubtedly be translated to the big screen. I just hope that whomever screen-writes it, whomever is cast for the role of Theo (aka Potter!), of Boris, of Hobie, of Mrs. Barbour, of Pippa and other critical characters, and most especially whomever ends up directing it does it all justice. I don't know why but I keep coming back to Terry Gilliam or Ang Lee - yes, two very different directors but both directors could do amazing things with this story in ways only they can in my opinion.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RBF5K4KNZO7QJ?ASIN=0316055441 Mixed Reaction "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have mixed feelings and thoughts about The Goldfinch. There were times when I couldn't put it down. There were also times it bored me nearly to death. This is a story, woven around a lost object d'art, about love and friendship through suffering and hard times. That part I liked. Love between Theo Decker and Mrs. Barbour, who took him in when she was well-to-do and his mother had just been killed in an explosion and whom he befriended near the end of her life. Love between Theo and Hobie, a master craftsman who provided him career opportunities but whose loyalty he betrayed and spent years making amends--not so much because Hobie demanded it but because it was the right thing to do. Love between Theo and Pippa, the girl, who was also in the explosion that killed his mother (and nearly killed Theo) but whom he didn't marry though she'd never been far from his thoughts. And most of all love between Theo and Boris, whose heart I also loved but had a hard time figuring out and at times accepting. I also liked the development of Theo's character, which was anything but one dimensional. The author's herky-jerky style at times contributed to the suspense and at times got tiring. Here's a sample from the very end of the book and which may be its main point: ""I feel I have something very serious and urgent to say to you, my non-existent reader, and I feel I should say it as urgently as if I were standing in the room with you. That life--whatever else it is--is short. That fate is cruel but maybe not random. That Nature (meaning Death) always wins but that doesn't meant we have to bow and grovel to it. That may be even if we're not always so glad to be here, it's our task to immerse ourselves anyway: wade straight through it, right through the cesspool, while keeping eyes and hearts open. And in the midst of our dying, as we rise from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic, it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn't touch."" .I'm not sure I like this. I get the part about ""it is a glory and a privilege to love what Death doesn't touch"", and I understand that for many people life is a cesspool, but I don't believe ""we rise from the organic and sink back ignominiously into the organic.""</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1H977R5HWASCX?ASIN=0316055441 thousands of reviews and no one wants to comment on the protagonist's alternative view point on drug use? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">4:1 based on review stars is the ratio that says this one is worth your time, the prose is pretty great, even though the book is long and slow at the end. (Jesus just put to it rest already!)<br/>I want to talk about the drug use which was a theme woven throughout the book. I think this book is poignant on so many levels, and for me, I've laid matters of faith, the meaning of life, good and bad, God and Spirit, souls and the afterlife, the value and influence of art in our lives etc. to rest. So, those issues in the book are less striking to me personally. What does strike me as very insightful is the stream of consciousness writing from the perspective of the protagonist, Theo, with regard to his drug use...that was illuminating to me! Perhaps is was the 15 years I spent as an nurse working in county hospitals, encountering so many addicts, but I really enjoyed seeing things from the perspective of the drug user. (I also enjoyed the movie ""Limitless"" (2011) for the same reason.) I mean, this book showed what it's like to have PTSD from childhood and survive with it using our current system, or lack thereof. Lots of kids (and adults) suffer from PTSD due to accidents, emotional or sexual trauma, crime,or the odd bombing event (which is far too common in other parts of the world). How does one cope with the anxiety, troubled sleep and other symptoms of PTSD? It's a huge problem and one which traditional therapy sessions does not completely or even adequately solve. Did he once get a massage, or explore meditation, get his meridians balanced with bowen work or accupuncture? No, but he did seem to know all about the pills, and his rationale for taking them was understandable. I mean, we know it as self-medication, right? But it was also the prose she used about the drug use, weaving in about the throbbing in his neck when he was high on cocaine, along with the other symptoms he had while using drugs it made me wonder how she knew, from interviews or personal experience?<br/>Anyway, as a parent of middle school kids, the perspective on the drug use was enormously helpful to me. I mean, I'd rather be able to articulate for my kids an understanding of why people may choose to use various illegal drugs rather than just tell my kids that drugs are bad, stay away.<br/>Don't get me wrong, I hated the drug use section in some ways, it was hard for me to read, I kept thinking, ""No! Theo is a good kid, why is he doing this to himself?!"" Yet, I also thought ok, there is a compassionate way to look at drug use. I mean how many times do we ever meet a person with drug problems and also know and understand their whole life story? You don't, yet in this book your get to explore what things made it possible for this gifted kid to become a full blown addict. I just wanted to explore one of the less commonly discussed themes of this book. To me, it was the most important, actionable, and revolutionary theme of the book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3MVHT9VIX6E5V?ASIN=0316055441 A love/hate read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A book club selection, this book was one of my first kindle purchases, a good decision since the book is so long. Reviews that reveal too much of a story's plot frustrate me, so I'm glad I read the book before I read reviews.<br/><br/>The first pages of The Goldfinch drew me in so completely that I read for hours. Donna Tartt is a masterful writer. Her knowledge of languages, art and artists, cultures of varous countries and cities is impressive, as is her descriptive passages of her characters' drug use.<br/><br/>The bombing of the art museum stunned me. Although Dekker told us in the first pages that his mother had died in the horrendous explosion, I kept hoping with him that she might have survived. But therein lies the story. His journey from that moment, through all the changes, relocations, drug usage that should have killed him, all the while trying to protect that tiny piece of art, kept me up nights, reading just a bit more, then a bit more.<br/><br/>As satisfying as the story is, I sometimes grew weary of pages-long paragraphs. I kept thinking that I needed to breathe, to catch my breath somewhere. For me, it would have been easier to read if they had been broken down to half a page or so. Nit-picking, perhaps, for I was compelled to keep reading.<br/><br/>Two-thirds of the way through, I began to skip over the long drug-use descriptions and Dekker's pining for the red-haired girl. I wanted to ""get on with it,"" to discover what was going to happen to the ""Goldfinch,"" who would get it and how.<br/><br/>The revelation was both maddening and hilarious, one of those classic ""duh"" moments, as well as one of the most satisfying. I kept thinking, ""Why didn't they just do that in the first place!"" Ah, but youth is not that smart or clever. Ms. Tarrt is. The ending, itself, deserves a five star; but the passageway there gets a four star from me.<br/><br/>I will read more of Donna Tarrt's works. She is a skilled, memorable writer.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R234I1WBH4S1R5?ASIN=0316055441 Hard to Believe it Won Pulitzer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Well, I’m glad that’s over. At least 500 pages of this book were extremely depressing, and it went on and on, page after depressing page. The remainder of the book was often sloppy and improbable. I would give a pass to a self-published author with the kind of mistakes found in Goldfinch; but this author had the help of a staff of editors, and there’s simply no excuse for it. For example, the one use of Spanish in the entire novel was wrong. Obviously, the editors depended on Google translator instead of asking a Spanish-speaking person how to say french fries. The ubiquity of cell phones amongst middle-school kids 14 years ago struck me as wrong. A 14-year-old referring knowingly to a fertility drug. The comment that Boris was most comfortable speaking in English followed by him speaking in broken English for the rest of the novel, and Theo teaching him U.S. idiomatic expressions, made no sense. The way the characters talked, on and on, philosophically, in the end when they weren’t even on cocaine (frankly), was weird. Even the end went on for ten pages too long, and the reader is supposed to take seriously the pages of a character’s grand philosophical reflections on life when he’s just off of a serious, long-term bender with no treatment or period of sobriety whatsoever? I found myself wondering why anyone would enable this screwed-up kid by listening to him talk for so long. Send him to rehab first, for God’s sake. Having said all that, Boris was a fabulous and memorable character (although his final scene was ridiculous); some of the other characters were great; the writing was very good; and I stuck with the story because the author did make me want to know how it would turn out. (And, for all that, I will give the novel four stars.) However, at some point I did wonder whether the Pulitzer Prize is fixed like World Cup soccer. I find it hard to believe that this was rated the best book of the year. </span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2SUIJFSG7M0HM?ASIN=0316055441 A little long but well worth reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I picked this up recently and was surprised by how long it was. Despite the length, I must say that for me it was a real page turner. My favorite characters were Hobie, Boris and Theo in that order. Of the women in Theo's life, Pippa was my favorite and I was not exactly thrilled with the author's choice for how that relationship worked out. I was not thrilled by a number of choices Donna Tartt made in this book but I enjoyed it all the same. One of the areas I wasn't that happy about was the way she allowed Theo to dabble in drugs without many consequences. Another area was the way she seemed to equate the impression of a thing with the reality of the thing. There is such a thing as truth and it isn't in the eye of the beholder.<br/><br/>It turns out this book is about a real painting, though none of this stuff actually happened to it (thank goodness!). The painting was recently in New York. I guess I missed that opportunity to see it but I'll see it one day.<br/><br/>So why 4 stars instead of 5? I think it's the length of the book and the lack of momentum in a few spots. I felt things should flow one way but Donna took them another way.<br/><br/>This next paragraph is a bit of a spoiler...<br/><br/>Sometimes when I really like a book but I'm not all that happy about how things worked out, I'm tempted to write my own epilogue. If Donna hadn't had Boris call the art cops, I would have added it in my version. I saw this coming and I would rather have Boris burst in on Theo sooner. I didn't enjoy seeing Theo suffer so much in Amsterdam, whether it was his Damascus or not. If I wrote my own epilogue for this book that whole Kitsey thing would be called off and Theo would go find Pippa. Now. Also I'd have most people with Hobie's reproductions refusing to sell them back and have them worth even more because Hobie is an artist in his own right. Kind of like that guy a few years back who was ""selling"" 100 dollar bill ""art work"" that resembled money but was obviously hand drawn.<br/><br/>Ok you can open your eyes now.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1K8BXK9S6X1Q4?ASIN=0316055441 Well drawn charaters "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If I were to compare the style of this story I would say it falls between Charles Dickens' Bleak House and J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Although I was picturing ""Rizo"" from Urban Cowboy as I'm reading the book, which is told in first person by Theo Decker as an older man, relaying his childhood trauma of being in the Metropolitan museum when it was blown up, living with an odd, rich family, and his subsequent disturbing life.<br/><br/>Like with any Charles Dickens book I was hooked by page 75. After my initial shock wore off that the Metropolitan Museum of Art was bombed (This is not much of a spoiler since this has been much talked about since the book came out.) I was intrigued by the boy's plight. His anguish and reaction in this section of the novel was truly well-written. Bravo.<br/><br/>However, by page 413 I did begin to wonder why the bombing wasn't made more out of in the book. Even though we are in the viewpoint of a character wrapped up in his own worries, I think there should be more of a deal made of the Met's bombing in the news (in the book). By page 500 we do see some news about the painting, so that helped in grounding this to reality a little better. The painting, The Goldfinch, seems to have been forgotten for large portions of the book. It's hard to care about it when it isn't mentioned for fifty pages at a time. It became more central to the story line towards the end of the book.<br/><br/>The author is a talented writer. I loved the sharp descriptions of each of the characters and even some of the very minor characters. I did have a difficult time liking Theo, the main character. The author may have been going for realistic but we don't necessarily love watching the depressing twists and repetitive turns of real life. At the end of the book Theo says that he wrote what he did because he was trying to figure things out through writing them down, but came to the conclusion that life is what it is. It wasn't a satisfactory ending. Would I recommend it? There are too many other fine stories available to spend so much time on this one.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2U3CZHL5FFUKC?ASIN=0316055441 This book confounded me! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first chapters of this book are like nothing I have ever read. The panic, the loss, the sudden binding of two strangers, one in death and one in following instructions of the soon to be dead, the enormous importance of a tiny priceless work of art..it all just blew your heart up.<br/><br/>The opening chapters soon truncate out into the lives and aftermath of the tragic bombing of the NYC Museum of art.<br/>Theo, a 13 yr old boy, loses his Mother in the bombing. He has nowhere to go since his Father left long ago. Theo's luck changes when a very wealthy Park Avenue family allows him to stay with them.<br/><br/>Theo's real spiritual connection happens when he meets Hobie, an art restoration expert.<br/><br/>The real story of this book, however, is the progression of Theo's life through sympathetic orphan to art-shark. In the latter phase of his life, he comes full circle to inflict pain on those he should morally be the least likely to ever want to hurt. He dives so deep into the world of self pity and self righteousness that you fear he can never swim back up to the surface. The reader will learn of his ultimate sink or swim story by the end of the book.<br/><br/>This is a VERY long book. The characters and locations and nationalities are numerous and extremely interesting.<br/><br/>The real story, though, is what does an adult , jaded, ashamed Theo decide to do with a priceless image in precise detail of a tiny Goldfinch, forever portrayed with his tiny foot chained by the shortest slim length of chain to the branch on which he perches? For me, the idea of the Goldfinch and what he represented came to be more important than the cast of living characters.<br/><br/>This was a great book. The characters turned in very unexpected directions. Heroes became villians and back to heroes then back to humans,<br/><br/>This review was extremely hard for me to write because the cast was huge, actions were erratic yet had enormous consequences and no one behaved in a predictable way.<br/><br/>I don't know if this painting, ""The Goldfinch"" actually exists but for me, it does. I can see it precisely in my mind's eye. Don't worry, I'll Goggle it one of these days.<br/><br/>In short, The Goldfinch is one of the best books I have read.<br/>S OBrien, IL</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R12I3J3UJGGIDP?ASIN=0316055441 Mesmerizing and Masterful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is simply one of the best contemporary novels I have read. It is a black comedy, laced with existential musings and expert prose. Donna Tartt's previous books were very good, but this one is a masterpiece.<br/><br/>Ignore the reviews that complain about this book's length. The characters are brilliantly drawn and the story is gripping. Yes, it is long, and yes, sometimes painful to read, but the plot's roller coaster ride is worth the price of admission. Ignore the reviews that say the book promotes bad behavior. It is an unapologetically amoral story, using humor and pain in an unblinking look at horrible family dynamics and characters who watch their lives spin out of control. Can good come from bad, and bad from good? Yes -- but we all know that. Ignore the reviews that glibly classify this book as a ""coming of age story"" -- which by inference lumps it in with a lot of seriously awful contemporary fiction. Is Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man a coming of age story? Sure, I guess so, but so what?<br/><br/>Boris is one of the best characters anywhere in fiction, and Hobie and Andy are wonderful as well. The narrator, Theo, is almost transparent, like the canvas on which the story is painted, less a character in his own right than a reflection of others and a vehicle for moral ambivalence. Tartt's ear for dialog shows her perfect pitch, and Tartt's descriptions of human weakness are rare, compassionate, and amusing.<br/><br/>I finished this book about a month ago (listened to the audiobook, which was very well narrated) and have thought about it often, and wished there were something else this good to be reading right now. But no such luck. I guess I will have to wait another decade for her next one.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2I9G6ZW7RG7ZU?ASIN=0316055441 Am I Glad I Read The Book? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">(Spoiler alert!) My wife actually bought this book for herself, but I started reading it first. It took me a couple of weeks to read it, as it is 771 pages long. When I started reading her book, she said ""Don't tell me anything about it."" Early on, I was commenting to her that it was a very unusual story, and wonderful writing style. The characters were many and interesting. Then, as I read on, as the drugs began, I would tell her ""I'm not sure you'll like this book, but I do."" I found myself reading every chance I could, but at the same time, found myself getting more disturbed with the story line. Theo was becoming a very unlikable character. But I kept on reading, wanting to see how it would end. When the story moved to Amsterdam, it really became unpleasant.....violence, tension, and finally murder. The lost passport was very stressful. How would Theo ever get home? Then Boris reappears, and everything had worked out great, the painting was saved, and they were no longer in trouble. And then the last chapter, which so many reviewers commented as being so wonderful. It left me very frustrated, with no conclusions about Kitsey, Pippa, and other story lines, and most of all, seemingly no remorse or consequences for Theo for murdering someone. And the book ended. My wife came in the room and said ""Well?"" I said I just didn't know. Then she said ""Are you glad you read the book?"" I had to think about that for a bit. There were parts of the book that I found wonderful. The story was unusual. But after contemplating her question, I had to say ""No."" I spent so much time reading the book, but after finishing it, I could think of no one that I would tell to read it (especially my wife!), and the book is headed to Goodwill.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HTF5R2SC95MH?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written, wonderful audiobook "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I listened to this as an audiobook. Very beautifully performed and terrifically entertaining. This is not a book to hurry through. If you can believe it, I think it could have used a few more chapters -- I wanted more closure with a few of the characters (I won't spoil it by saying who), including Popchik!!<br/><br/>Some people were turned off by the Vegas section but thematically it is very important to the book. Be patient and stick with it. (Plus, the audio portrayal of Xandra is hilarious and perfect.)</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LON2I6PZHC8M?ASIN=0316055441 The master talent has returned for all you Secret History ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The master talent has returned for all you Secret History fans and all who thought that The Little Friend was excrement, Tartt redeems herself with this intriguing masterpiece in contemporary story telling. A page turner and a miss the characters when there gone and rejoice when reappear epic.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3D2WU8XHFXWQK?ASIN=0316055441 Editing Needed! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Too long by half. I got really bored with Boris. Bored with endless pages of Theo's thoughts. Bored with<br/>Tartt's bad repetitious habits: shaking hair off his face; running hands through his hair; interrupted ""I""….<br/>Bored with the drug and drinking scenes that went on forever.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3Q6SW1MXUC1AJ?ASIN=0316055441 HER DEATH WAS MY FAULT "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">THE GOLDFINCH<br/><br/>My sister highly recommended this book, kept telling me what a great read it is. Wow! Was she ever right!<br/><br/>I, for one, loved this book. It is action packed right from the start, full of characters that just scream REAL. It is full of adventure, family, suspense, love, good guys/bad guys -- just about everything you can think of, all rolled up into one big blast of a read.<br/><br/>No need for me to go into the bones of this book, it's been done thousands of times. I will say I loved how the book moved from one part of Theo's life to the next. I loved the advancement and maturing of Theo and all of the other characters. Ah! The characters -- from our main man, Theo, who is narrating his story, to his friend/keeper Hobie, his passion for Pippa, the affluent Barbour family, and my favorite of all characters, the wonderful Russian, Boris. Each character is full of delight and plays a huge and definite part of Theo's life.<br/><br/>From New York, to Vegas, and all around the world, this tome was a great read. At times, yes, Tartt tended to prattle on and on with some rather long and obnoxious sentences, but in the long run, I was glad for each and every word offered up, for a twisting and turning plot, for being taken by the hand and walked through the world of art, drugs, gambling, love, antiques, furniture restoration, growing up, and the world of the rich and snooty.<br/><br/>If you are looking for a book that will take you places you will never go yourself, one that you can completely immerse yourself in, and one you will think about for a long time after you have finished reading it -- this is a book you would certainly enjoy.<br/><br/>Thank you.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2UOZDQX21M4Q5?ASIN=0316055441 a work of art "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Like the painting itself this story was about secrets held at a distance, lives stolen by whim or choice.. and eventually to be set free by either grace or providence... perhaps both. Each page was an artistic rendition of even the simplest of everyday images; a lone can tumbling down a sandy street in the quiet of 2 am... the scent coming from a restaurant bringing with it an onslaught of memory.. and etc.. It was all brought very much alive in this book. It haunted me for days after I'd completed it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1STL12R7XPARY?ASIN=0316055441 Great read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is one of the best novels I have read in years. Donna Tartt is able to combine so many elements into a coming of age story/thriller that really get your attention. I really enjoyed all the (flawed) characters and the descriptions of the varied setting made you feel like you were there.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MHPRW6QMWF56?ASIN=0316055441 Book Club gave Rave Reviews "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Not only did my book club give our highest rating for content and style, but everyone I see reading this book loves it. It captivates from chapter 1 and keeps interest through the entire book. Extremely well written and includes great research. The book and subject appeals to everyone.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTZFUPCSZVOHP?ASIN=0316055441 The best nove I've read in years "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Despite its heft, this novel captured my attention completely. Donna Tartt has an extraordinary talent for describing the sensations of profound moments in life in a brilliant way. Phrase after phrase put into words feelings I had never been able to describe. This was an amazing read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1K454K0E8ZV28?ASIN=0316055441 A Masterpiece "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The journey that this book takes you on reaches far and wide on the emotional spectrum. Her characters are rich and draw you into the story. Another great book from an amazing writer. Trying to describe plot simply diminishes the complexity and wonder of taking the journey personally.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BS6NZL6H93FI?ASIN=0316055441 Don't waste your time unless you're considering suicide. If you are, then this book will help push you over the edge! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was depressing and had absolutely no redeeming value. None. By the (very very long) time it took to get to the end it was like ... if there was a next chapter were we going to be treated to graphic details of a suicide or something more morbid than that? It's been a few days since I finished trudging through the book and now I'm starting to feel angry that the author wasted my time getting me to wallow in the misery of the story. My only excuse is that I always try to finish books.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15G83HTASBYS5?ASIN=0316055441 Beyond Fabulous "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have a pounding headache from staying up two very late nights after my work days reading this book. I ""squandered it"" really . . of course I should have taken my time but I couldn't.<br/><br/>Fabulous - I will re-read (very rare) - incredible talent from Donna Tartt. I haven't read any reviews, I pre-ordered as I am always wanting Good Fiction and this is it.<br/><br/>I want to know all of these people better.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26XBVGXS0RZDE?ASIN=0316055441 THE STORY WAS VERY GOOD, BUT VERY DRAWN OUT "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story is basically about 2 young men Theodore and Boris. who both lost their mothers at a crucial time in their lives. They met at school and found they had a lot in common and they basically spent many hours getting drunk and using a lot of drugs. Another tragedy happened and Theodore moved back to NYC, where he had lived with his mother prior to her death.<br/>Theodore had been with his mother at an Art Museum in NYC, when a bomb exploded and killed his mother. Theodore had seen a young girl and her uncle in the museum and he was fascinated with them during his visit to the museum that day. The bomb killed the uncle of the young girl and the girl was badly injured. There was a painting the young girl and her uncle were looking at at the time of the explosion. Theodore was in shock by the event but not injured. He went over to see how the man and the girl were and the man gave Theodore his ring and Theo held the mans hand as he died. There was nothing Theo could do and rescuers were coming in to assist the injured. Theo suddenly decided to grab the painting the man and the girl were looking at and he ran looking for his mother, who had been in another room in the museum. When Theo couldn't find her, he went home to wait for her. She did not return.<br/><br/>I don't want to ruin the story, but I felt the story could have been told without drawing out many of the details. I felt the story could have been told just as well in less than 500 pages instead of the 775 pages. There were times as I was reading that I almost quit reading because of way too many details and hum drum moments. The story was good but too long.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2A3FJXNIKELA5?ASIN=0316055441 I'll blame myself "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I do cave and read books that have gotten hyperbolic reviews, and I do like books that have great book jacket designs, and I remember thinking what I read of ""The Little Friend"" was good (even though I never finished it because I was too busy with work.) Ultimately, though, what is on the page is on the page for the reader (who unlike the imagined audience in this novel's last chapter is reading.) There's just too much in this novel that doesn't add up; I feel like I should have been reading something better. I kept on hearing Tartt stretching to sound like a 21st century Holden Caulfield. Theo Decker isn't thrown out of Pencey Prep (although he is suspended from school) and set loose in a world that's confusing and out for itself; instead, he's put into the world by an act of terrorism. Instead of clutching to the thought of a duck in a park, he carries around a painting of a bird. Throw in a bit of ""Rule of the Bone,"" ""Pulp Fiction,"" and when completely in a tailspin turn Theo into Pip from ""Great Expectations"" and the final portrait is simply not the work of an old master. Readers are real; this one wasn't the audience for this book. Why wasn't I reading (or rereading) Alexander Hemon, E. L. Doctorow, or Marilynne Robinson; better yet, why not all of Virginia Woolf? Towards the end of the novel, the narrator says he's had time to consider ""what's completely foolish to pursue."" That was one lesson from the novel I could understand. I do know that if I'm in the Bodleian or the Morgan or the Huttington when terrorists attack, in the confusion and dusty aftermath, I'll be grabbing something other than this book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1I4OUGALLNTK4?ASIN=0316055441 One of the most engaging books I have read in years "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The author picked me up by the collar and refused to let go throughout this entire book. Sometimes when a very good book ends, I mourn the loss of new friends. However, as much as I loved this book, I wanted it to end because I wanted some resolution. I worried about Theo throughout the day, as I was reading this book. As a mother, the beginning broke my heart and set me off to root for his life to improve. Sometimes I felt a bit tormented by the author as she put him through so much. However, I grew very attached to these characters, extremely quickly, and am grateful for the 700 pages to enjoy them. Unlike some others, I was not a bit disappointed in the ending. In fact, I think it was remarkable. This book is more literature than novel, in my opinion, and worthy of an investment of time. The plot was captivating, intriguing, often unexpected, and yet believable. One thing I particularly enjoyed was learning about Theo after his growing up process, through the memories of his old friend--memories the reader had not experienced first-hand while observing their time together. I will admit that I felt anguish and pain, I worried, occasionally cheered, and always felt completely drawn in. This is not a usual read. If you're looking for pure entertainment, perhaps a lighter more cheerful novel is the choice for you. However, if you enjoy literature and enjoy being wrenched into a chaotic life that incorporates art, antiques, love, friendship, and moral nuances, you may find yourself as big a fan of Donna Tartt as I am. I bought this as an audiobook, which took a very long time to finish, but the narrator was tremendous.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1F43476A4H25I?ASIN=0316055441 Great read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found this book, from the first page, totally engaging and compelling. Truly couldn't put it down. I had read one of Donna Tartt's earlier books, which I liked but didn't have the same reaction to as I have had with The Goldfinch, I think this is the book of the year for me.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R24DE3C1E3MGHT?ASIN=0316055441 MMAY BE THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ...... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Or else perhaps it's just that long that I've read something, despite the description, that feels like Literature. I loved the characters and was captivated by the intricate plot. It wasn't afraid to deal with life's larger questions and I loved that. Hated to see it end......</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1796PYWKGQ2FH?ASIN=0316055441 Way, way, way, WAY too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Interesting story and (some) interesting characters but unbelievably long. Scenes go on and on and on. Philosophizing, too. Didn't Tartt have an editor? Some of the writing is very nice but a whole bunch of it is just self-indulgent.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VJDGSACCOAFM?ASIN=0316055441 author is riveting story teller "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">donna tartt is a master story teller. with her words one can see the characters as well as the rooms ands cities that her characters roam in. no matter how many pages long.................her book left me longing for more. kept my interest from the first page to the very last.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OR9LEP0CCTLP?ASIN=0316055441 Absolutely Worthwhile "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a long book but absolutely worth the time it takes to read. I essentially couldn't put it down and am so glad I stuck with it to the end. The author has created something totally unique but many of the themes are universal and found in other great stories. Get to it!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15J3CIV23PIRM?ASIN=0316055441 Riveting, compelling and exhilarating as a roller coaster. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Always forced to a precipice, then brought back down - this story is exhausting. The hope that all will be good is just a tease. The details of the characters, surroundings and emotions described by the author provide an instant visual translation. Thank you for the ride!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2OZGQGOE0VMBF?ASIN=0316055441 Remarkable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The most interesting look into the mind of a young-boy-to-man facing his devils that I have ever read. Donna Tartt must be one of the smartest and most intuitive people alive. Her incredible portrayal of very diverse people, experiences, and places continually blew my mind.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VNE2ZK3SMXNO?ASIN=0316055441 Too Beautiful for Words "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really liked this book. Tartt has a magical gift for description. I've heard that people don't like the last chapter. I loved the last chapter. It was like eating a rich, decadent dessert. I kept slowing myself down, rereading bits and pieces-----being sure to savor it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ARXGYQOAQ59U?ASIN=0316055441 A Difficult Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">When I downloaded it on my Kindle, I didn't know it was 800 pages. It kept me fairly well engaged for the first half, and then it just fizzled out for me. The last 25% of the book was almost painful.<br/>Would I recommend it to my Book Club or a friend? I don't think so.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R363R22VO0MVR1?ASIN=0316055441 Glad I got over my resistance "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really enjoyed this book. I had to start it four different times but once I was in it was compulsively readable. It was a book club selection and I felt a bit of trepidation because I found the Secret History to be a bit of a slog. I know there are some in the ""literary circles"" who've got their panties in a wad because they feel this isn't ""literary"" enough. I've read accusations that it's children's literature akin to Harry Potter and that it's lazy writing filled with cliches. There was one woman critic - I'm not naming names - who's decried the fact that the book is only popular because people don't know how to read anymore. While it's true that we live in a world where many people use the letters ""u"" and ""r"" as words (and not just in text messages) I have to disagree. As a reader I want to spend time with characters in a world that are interesting enough so that I suspend my disbelief and keep turning the pages to see what will happen and in this case I want to know what will happen to Theo Decker.<br/><br/>This book is total escapist fiction in the very best way.<br/><br/>My life just seems to get more and more busy and stressful and I don't want to read a book that feels like homework in my English Lit class. I want someone to draw me a world in words that is just a great time out. Although there was that one day where I read it for six hours straight and got dehydrated.<br/><br/>Other books that gave me a similar experience were Shantaram and The Brothers K - I got lost in the Goldfinch in the same way.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3GD9ED7V6YRKW?ASIN=0316055441 Fans of Dickens will LOVE this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Were you sad when you finished reading David Copperfield? Then snuggle up with The Goldfinch. I realize that ""Dickensian"" is an over-used and slightly annoying adjective, but it couldn't be more fitting in this case. The protoganist and his situation, one of his romantic attachments, the names of the characters (Lucias Reeve, for instance -- of course he's a villian!), several of the plot twists, etc, are nearly lifted from Copperfield, but all updated in a plausible and riveting fashion.<br/><br/>Immitating Dickens is a wicked-tough trick, and Tartt pulls it off. The settings and the characters are thoroughly fleshed out, believable, memorable. And the writing itself is tremendous! Also enjoyed the art history as a bonus but I won't get into the plot here since so many other reviewers have already done so.<br/><br/>I simply can't relate to the reviewers on this site who have complained about ""getting bored"" halfway through. I tore through this book months ago and haven't stopped thinking about it. While there is one section of the book that could have been trimmed in my opinion, it doesn't detract from the overall experience. The ending will not disappoint.<br/><br/>In the meantime I've recommended it to friends who are well-read, voracious readers -- and they all loved it. Having said that, if 800 pages sounds scary -- rather than meaty and potentially satisfying -- this might not be for you. But if you're wondering if it's worth the time commitment, and does it hold up? The answer is absolutely yes. The Goldfinch is a gorgeous read!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3QQ0RT99JYEI6?ASIN=0316055441 Best read in ages! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could not put this book down - read for hours at a time! Well plotted, well written (though in spots a little overdone), characters interesting and believable. The last section where the painting was recovered was a little too complicated, but I really loved it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3MIPK8QIYOVEC?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although long, I didn't want the story to end. Some of the wording is so beautiful, that I re-read phrases again and again, trying to commit them to memory. Disturbing and haunting characters add to a plot full of twists and turns. I strongly recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJMP7AZW1JHG1?ASIN=0316055441 It addresses a very tragic and sad scenario, about a young boy that looses his ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I gave this book a 5 star review, but with a ""strong footnote"". It is not for everyone. The subject of the book is serious, timely, and very well aproached. It is very wey well written, in the first person, but somewhat verbacious at times.<br/>It addresses a very tragic and sad scenario, about a young boy that looses his mother during a terrorist attack on a museum in NY, some where close to the twin tower attacks on 9/11.<br/>This young man finds solace by random, through this other victim of that attack; an older man who has a significant history behind him too!<br/>His quest for survival and existence collides with several situations involving other participants in our contemporay life in this century, where values and priorities are changinging and are often conflicting. These include his father, that left him and his mother for selfish resons; a wealthy family that tries to adopt him, because their son was friend of him, but they also had their own agenda, and that of a on older man lost in his in his own world, trying to find meaning to his own lonely life; not to mention this Young man's quest for love by some other young woman.<br/>It is a very serious book, with a strong message that made me stop for a while and ponder about what life is all about.<br/>This is a serious book, that, if it appears on screen, would place a serious challenge to the screen writer, to the casting team and most certainly, to the producer(s).<br/>I did enjoy it, in a smewhat masochistic way; but I do cautiously recommend it highly.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RQZA8UB6X8320?ASIN=0316055441 Promising but disappointing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It started off as a very promising story and then it descended into a chasm of despair and drug abuse. It was almost like the author couldn't make up her mind in which direction the story should progress. The book could have been much improved with tight editing.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13UR5B1GNS5PU?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful in all ways... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">""The Goldfinch"" by Donna Tartt is one of the best books I've read so far this year. It has moved into the number one space, moving a few others down my list.<br/><br/>I was amazed at how carefully and sensitively the author followed Theo Decker from a child through his early adulthood and how he coped with the losses he experienced in his life. The plot surrounds Theo and a painting called ""The Goldfinch"" that was painted by Dutch artist Carel Fabritius. It seems to be the only link left between Theo and his mother, because she loved the painting and it was her favorite.<br/><br/>The bird in the painting has a thin chain around its leg that it attached to the perch it sits on and so it has no freedom and is tied. As I read, I couldn't help but think that Theo and most of the characters in the book were just as tied to their lives and their choices, good or bad, as the bird was to the perch. The decisions that Theo and his friends and family made set the course for their lives and sometimes they weren't the best decisions.<br/><br/>The dialogue between characters seems very natural and character development is excellent. Having the book divided up into several sections helped me as the reader because the book is very long. If it had just been written in chapters it wouldn't have seemed as organized. At 771 pages, it's long, but I read it in a matter of days. I found it very hard to put down and the ending was a satisfying one for me.<br/><br/>I highly recommend ""The Goldfinch.""</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2I7579VET44AE?ASIN=0316055441 Tartt is no Dickens "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Thirteen year old Theo Decker and his beloved mother are visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art when a terrorist bomb explodes, killing her and most of those unfortunate enough to have been in the gallery. Theo finds himself on the debris strewn floor lying next to an elderly man who is obviously dying. As he tries to provide some comfort, the man gives him a signet ring and an address. Next to him on the floor is Fabritius’s tiny masterpiece, “The Goldfinch”, blown out of its frame but otherwise undamaged. The dying man indicates that Theo should take the painting and get out of the building while he still can. From that moment forward, the novel’s central metaphor takes hold, that being that , just as the bird is chained to its perch, Theo will be chained to the painting, his only tangible tie to his mother, for the rest of his life. What follows is the story of Theo’s coming of age.<br/><br/>The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt’s third novel, is very like her first two. Buried under a plot loaded with fantastic tribulations is an interesting situation, and Theo is a winsome protagonist. But it’s difficult to believe that this book won the Pulitzer. Heavily overwritten, its cliches, its redundancy, and its reliance on outrageous happenstance make it difficult to care what happens to poor Theo. I was willing to slog through all 700+ pages because I wanted to know the fate of the painting, and the final resolution was imaginative and surprising, but it was very tempting to skip to the ending. Good story, way overdone.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2Q5N0W4HCJAAH?ASIN=0316055441 Good story, better stories "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can be brief, which is a quality Donna Tartt should give a go in her next novel. This book would be twice as good if it was half as long; or a lot better if it was divided into focused, linked short stories. Having said that, she writes beautifully at times.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RXT1X35VVU351?ASIN=0316055441 Don't Bother "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Tedious,pointless story with the two main characters drugged and drunk throughout a story that goes nowhere. I regretted reading this slop. BestSeller? It's amazing how low the standards of the general public have plummeted to. A waste of my time and money.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1UHL0CXC72VGO?ASIN=0316055441 Loved the plot. Just wish she could have moved it right along. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm an avid reader and approached the fatness and promise of The Goldfinch with wonderful anticipation. The beginning is riveting, powerful, tragic and draws you right into the lost world of Theo Decker, orphan. The section when he lives with his Park Avenue friend and family avoided too much stereotyping. The living in Las Vegas and introduction of Theo's gambling<br/>dad, his drug-dealing girlfriend and Boris, sentimental, animal-loving, glue-sniffing. abused teenage gangster is a wonderful ride. But eventually, i found myself skipping pages. There were enough dream sequences, drug-addled trips to the playground and descriptions of the Nevada desert and sky to put anyone to sleep.<br/><br/>Back in NY, after a wonderful sequence of Theo's bus trip across the country with his dog hidden in a shopping bag, the novel picks up pace. And then, sadly, seems to die a slow, lingering death in its last few hundred pages. How, you might ask, can a writer make this modern-day Holden Caulfield cast from the same cloth as father he loathes, gangsters, stolen art, infidelity and murder so utterly overwrought and boring? Ms. Tartt managed it. The ending was so much a letdown that I was relieved to have finished. An editor should have brought this book to better life and pace in 600 pages.<br/><br/>In summary: great plot, great characters and, yes, some great writing. But I kept thinking, plowing through yet one more too-long description, that this is a writer in love with a thesaurus and herself.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ADP0I61C88V?ASIN=0316055441 Boring and repetitive story. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought it was boring and repetitive. It was tiresome to keep reading about drunkenness and drug trips. And apparently most family members loathed each other. The author has a habit of using a hundred words when a few would do. A disappointing book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15NQ307J5MXFW?ASIN=0316055441 A teenager's challenges "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A multi layered complex story about a teenager trying to find his way in the world after his Mother is killed in an explosion! How he copes with all of his challenges (not so well) produces a long and fascinating journey! I enjoyed the ride! Sarah sweet</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/ROS0LV4X5ZV1D?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch is pure gold! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was simply intriguing from start to finish , with all the elements of a true literary classic. Donna Tartt is a first class author who makes this fascinating story so real and engrossing. I couldn't put it down! The ending was perfect! Loved it!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19ZSFOSYIHC8A?ASIN=0316055441 Well-written page-turner! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch starts a little slowly, but don't give up, as a cousin of mine did prematurely: It soon grabs you and keeps you to the end. This is a beautifully written book, especially for art and antique lovers, but for everyone who loves a fine novel.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HXB1OQZNHATZ?ASIN=0316055441 OOOPS! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">OOPS!!!<br/><br/>I initially gave this book 3 stars with no review. I was disappointed by several things. The use of language was often awkward, especially the similes. Some of the plot twists were tedious and contrived. I was annoyed by the pretense that this was a private journal which no one else would read. Boris' Ukrainian word usagfe appeared and disappeared quixotically. The book was too long, though raced through it, if somewhat grumpily).<br/><br/>BUT - ""The Goldfinch was the last thing I thought last night and the first thing I thought about this morning. Its complexities haunt me. I have never read a book before where the protagonist sank to such extremes of dissolution without becoming an antihero. Theo Decker is ennobling, simultaneously embodying deep corruption with deep love and idealism. This is an astonishing achievement. I was also really moved by the exposition of the unique power of art. This was not naïve or sappy but true and risky given the amount of cynicism in our culture. I speak as a painter who knows all too well how easy it is to forget why we fell in love with art in the first place. We inevitably get hung up in its politics, its egotism and academic debates. But this is part of the wonder of this book- that deeply flawed individuals and cultures can produce sublimely beautiful possibilities for experiencing what it is like to be a human being.<br/><br/>I took off one star because of my quibbles- but DO read this book</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RLZZPM2DQHDTC?ASIN=0316055441 Hooked in the beginning and then so disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I LOVED this book from the start. And then... The book was really well written in the beginning--and up until the last quarter or so. Then what happened? I was crushed to fall out of love. I'd been enjoying reading every day. The characters were so well developed. Early in the book, the writing and plot were simple--in a perfect way. But it is almost as if the author got to a point and realized she didn't have a conclusion.(?) Or maybe she got tired of writing and someone else took over. (?)<br/>Many reviewers commented on a need for an editor and YES!! Where was the editor?! Had the writing remained as strong as it was in the beginning, this could've been one of my favorite books ever. Instead, the characters end up in Amsterdam and it's like they ended up in a completely different novel. Just when it is probably supposed to seem exciting, the plot really drags. And then... and then... the author has 3 of the main characters arbitrarily deliver lengthy monologues on their personal philosophies of life. It's really bad. Bad philosophies and just a bad writing technique--to get to the end of a lengthy novel and then have the characters ramble on to make sure the reader gets some point that maybe the book was trying to make. It just really felt like a great author ran out of ideas or maybe--for the sake of ""research"" was sampling the drugs her characters were abusing--and she just lost track of where the book was headed. So disappointing.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3COPTB5J8ZLP4?ASIN=0316055441 I knew this was Pulitzer material and am thrilled it won! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I savored this book and, despite its length, was sad to reach the final page. Having read it as soon as it was released, I recently decided to reread it, and the second time around was even better. Kudos to Donna Tartt for an amazing work of fiction.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2LW85XMB7PVQ5?ASIN=0316055441 Hated it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought this would be a good book based on all the rave reviews, but I never could get into it. It kept bouncing back and forth; there was too much rambling and what I consider ""filler"" material; way too much drugs involved; just didn't like it. I kept reading and reading thinking for sure it was going to change, and I would end up liking it, but that never happened. A complete waste of time in my opinion.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R679ET9PS4GFH?ASIN=0316055441 best fiction I've read in a long time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Terrific plot. You'll be swept up in this book. But there's more than plot. The writing is pitch perfect, and the characters are alive with complexity and nuance. Theo and Boris are characters that will live on for me. So glad I read this book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R24CYGUAX7HJV8?ASIN=0316055441 Trauma Felt and Lived With "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">trauma felt and lived with<br/><br/>beautifully written; facinating characters blending psychological vulnerability with strengths in the strangest places; life affirming path out of trauma. I am a psychologist and found it practice-changing.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3MEX5VFGVUKLL?ASIN=0316055441 An Amazing Accomplishment---worthy of a Pulitzer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt's exquisite writing style and ability to tell a story and build characters is truly unique. Just a marvelous accomplishment---the phrasing, descriptions of events, and overall use of language made this a very special reading experience.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2OXLAFOK8F4BD?ASIN=0316055441 I loved it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was blown away by this novel. Tartt does three things exceptionally well -- descriptive writing, characterization and dialog. Many writers do only one or two. You can see, feel and smell Hobie's workshop. The description of the aftermath of the explosion is brilliant.<br/>The characters are memorable, but my favorite is Boris with his many faults, some spectacular as Theo says, and his sometimes fractured English. Some nit pickers contend that Boris came to the US at the age of two and should have spoken perfectly. His father was an immigrant and he spent much of his time speaking other languages.<br/><br/>The painting and its significance for Theo as a cherished memory of his mother resonates throughout the novel. Theo is not a perfect hero, but some of his shady dealings, the sale of Hobie's reconstructions as genuine antiques, are done to help Hobie out of certain bankruptcy. Hobie is a unflinchingly honest in a world inhabited by fraud and fakes. The Barbour family is a very complicated and tragic one, but some of their members evolve for the better.<br/><br/>Random choices, events and amazing coincidences bother some people but here the comparisons to Dickens are valid. Yet, nothing is gratuitous or random in Tartt's writing. Everything fits together.<br/><br/>My only criticism is that the book is overlong -- the Las Vegas part could have been shorter, but considering how great this novel is, this is a minor quibble.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RIAFMY8MEBJ?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch Review "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch was exciting to read. It was a real page turner. The book was full of action and suspense. I enjoy books that have plots that are not predictable. The Goldfinch story would be a great movie. I especially loved the character of Boris.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2V0CDFR9A7ZRL?ASIN=0316055441 More than 5 stars............ "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">From the very first line of The Goldfinch, I was hard pressed to stop reading and attend to the mundane tasks of daily living. Donna Tartt is a MASTER novelist. Hopefully she will keep us reading many more of her books in the foreseeable future.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R322RUQNE05Y1V?ASIN=0316055441 Great read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is one of those books you can't put down and can't wait to get back to when you do. The author's descriptive style makes you literally feel you are in the scene, and Pippa, and Theo, and Hobie are as real to me as members of my own family.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2RSOYZZSTX8IU?ASIN=0316055441 Stunning! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Rarely does a book leave me astounded and in tears by the end. This book explores the power of secrets, guilt, love and fear as the main character comes of age after the violent loss of his mother. This book richly deserves it's Pulitzer Prize.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RS97ILMWCFFP5?ASIN=0316055441 great read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was like a series of mini books or stories within it, told through the eyes of the boy. It kept me captivated and wanting more. Just when you thought you had an idea where it was taking you, it goes another direction. Would recommend.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HBDTUZTSBCYE?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a book that art lovers will especially appreciate. It's full of imagery as well as being an incredible tale. The characters are clearly drawn in a story that pulls you in. Sometimes the reading gets tough but it's worth it. A must read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23O6ISL92QWCR?ASIN=0316055441 The unbearable longness of book... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Critical reviews fall into two camps and I fall into the ""hated it"" camp. The language is pretentious and excessive; the story meandering; the characters bland caricatures with no depth or redeeming qualities. The ambiguous morality and ridiculous discussion of ethics near the end of the book was unfathomable. I just do not understand why this book is sooo long. A good edit would have been welcome.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMTPGO5NEAMRM?ASIN=0316055441 DON'T GIVE THIS AS A PRESENT "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Good writing marred by monotony of drug problems and wordy self doubt and self analyzing. By the final third of the book I became bored at times. On the plus side there are interesting characters. Doesn't seem worthy of the Pulitzer though.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2TVS8BEQ7CJUG?ASIN=0316055441 Great read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It has taken me time to finish because of library books in between. I love the ties between are literature and people. This book gives you much to think about in the realm of the many eccentric personalities and how their lives entwine.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RNXU7ITMCQZ22?ASIN=0316055441 Amazing Story Telling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ms. Tartt spins such a magnificent tale here, I have decided I must take up her earlier works.<br/>Her knowledge and rich characterization make for a fascinating read, and the plot line(s) should engage even the most discerning reader.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RSJYTVW8MQMP2?ASIN=0316055441 This is an excellent read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was immediately drawn into the characters and couldn't put the book down. With that said, let me add that I probably would not have read 'The Goldfinch' had I known the main character would be put through so much pain and suffering.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2VBPDWFQAXN29?ASIN=0316055441 Overkill "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Like a movie that is longer than necessary for a satisfying experience.<br/><br/>Storyline is good and so is the character development. But it takes so long to get anywhere. It seems that the author beleives that if there is one way to demonstrate a feeling or event, then there must be twenty.<br/><br/>So, all in all, I ended up very frustrated and not inclined to recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16FHKHD4K88LF?ASIN=0316055441 Excellent read!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. It is a well-written book with colorful characters, somewhat flawed, but basic character strengths and a will to survive. I loved the book from start to end and had trouble putting it down.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CVFJNCVXWV7U?ASIN=0316055441 AN INCREDIBLE BOOK WELL DESERVING OF A PULITZER PRIZE ! ! ! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a fantastic novel ! ! I can certainly see why Donna Tartt, the author, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. This is one of the most ""different"" books that I have ever read. I usually avoid thick books like this, as you must devote such a lot of time to get thru it. But not this one! The 1654 Dutch painting by the name of ""The Goldfinch"", an oil painting by Carel Fibritius that the novel revolves around, is one of the most beautiful paintings I have always admired. First and foremost, is the writing of Tartt - it is stunning, especially in her descriptions of scenes and thoughts of Theo, the main character. Her descriptions are like poetry, where you can lose yourself in her words. There are 12 Chapters that chronicle Theo's life that involves a tremendous amount of drug usage. If you can wade through that, you can see how difficult his life was and how he struggled through it as he aged. It is difficult for me to write much about this book without giving too much away, but I could empathize most of the time with his life and the various dilemmas that he experienced. I consider myself honored that I was able to read such a book - this is not a book that just anyone can read & get anything from it. An open mind is necessary, I think. The author received other awards for this novel besides just the Pulitzer Prize, and is well deserving of all of them !!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6H09OW0542JO?ASIN=0316055441 One of my favorite books, ever. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was ""hooked"" from the first paragraph until the last. I was a reader obsessed by the story, the characters, and the<br/>writer's ability to reach into my mind and take me on a roller coaster ride that I didn't want to end.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3265HUZBAETMS?ASIN=0316055441 Donna Tartt--wonderful story- teller "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">From the very first page, I did not want this story to end! I am half way through the book-- savor it each time I pick it up ( as I did with Kite Runner). Kind of like a special box of extra- delicious chocolates-- make them last!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R14WC1LCX9SQ82?ASIN=0316055441 Engrossing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An extraordinary book, so well written. I found it a bit disconcerting in the beginning .. too dark, too narcissistic, but that was a temporary feeling. I so enjoyed the honesty and realness of the protagonists, no holds barred ...</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R7D1N2TT2EHQV?ASIN=0316055441 Skip This Very Very Boring Read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Incredibly boring! Could not even get through it! Way too descriptive, 800 pages REALLY! Seem to go on and on forever and get nowhere. Biggest reading disappointment of the year!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1TVOCKBYL5J69?ASIN=0316055441 Grossly overwritten "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Grossly overwritten. This author had WAY too much useless information, making me want to scream, ""ENOUGH ALREADY!!"" Unsympathetic characters, dropped plot lines, boring ending with her erudite philosophizing. Forget it.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16H7ZH5HU34UV?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Intriguing, capturing your imagination and compelling. I found myself in the story with Theo and Boris. holding Theo's secret close in my heart. The turns and twists of the story unfold and I just kept reading into the late hours.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2KDQTSFC675GJ?ASIN=0316055441 Exhausting "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">whew...hooray for my little life. Theo wore me out. I couldn't put it down....had to know. The philosophy laden ending compelling and could generate some lively discussion.....if I find someone. my book club didn't choose it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RPIOXS2W428UX?ASIN=0316055441 Where was the editing? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read at least 2 books a week and always finish one I've started. There were parts of the book that were well written and interesting but parts that were tedious, pedantic and a wandering stream of consciousness. Where was the editing? The ending if I can call it that was 100 plus pages of rambling......by then I was completely fed up with the whiny , poor me main character.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29O6BIUSBMZVX?ASIN=0316055441 An amazing read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This Pulitzer Prize winner did not disappoint. It is one of my all time favorites. I was immediately taken with the author's ability to ""paint"" volumes. Quite literally, I've never quite experienced the sensation of volume in the spaces depicted in this book in any other book I've read, whether it be city street, imposing museum or desert. I will be re-reading it to study just how Tartt did that. It's also a love story - that of a son for his mother - more touchingly told in word and story than I can ever recall. True, the son often sees and describes things as a woman would see and describe them, but give the author poetic license on that for the richness it brings to the novel. The main character will frustrate you with his poor judgment and choices in life. I believe Tartt exaggerates this to illustrate the ill effects on a child who is growing up without a close parent, until he connects with the nearly perfect surrogate (and one of the most likable characters in the book). Still, he falls prey to nearly every temptation available to contemporary youth. And even in this relationship, he is nearly beyond redemption due to various twists of fate, and tosses roughly about in his unique, stormy world like a ship in a hurricane. Or, like someone who experiences a bomb in a museum filled with precious but unsavable treasure.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26B0Q1I3KCBBK?ASIN=0316055441 GREAT READ "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I GOT INTO THE BOOK AFTER A FEW PAGES. IT TOOK UNEXPECTED TWISTS AND TURNS. THE HERO (THEO) WAS BELIEVABLE. THE AUTHORS DESCRIPTION OF THE LAS VEGAS LOCATION AND ACTION WAS BELIEVABLE. THE NEW YORK ACTIONS WERE ALSO BELIEVABLE.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFNBKK3ETOTP5?ASIN=0316055441 Great Story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought this was a great story. Almost like a modern day David Copperfield. It is a long book but I enjoyed being with the characters so much and the writing is just terrific that I enjoyed spending the time with this book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R10TNPUUMYG04T?ASIN=0316055441 I cannot imagine how this ridiculous crap won a pulitzer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I cannot imagine how this ridiculous crap won a pulitzer. I would rather read a cereal box! I have two masters degrees in international literature. This convinces me that either I should start writing or civilization is lost.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R32KFFFJIM3XPI?ASIN=0316055441 A Gripping Hulk of a Book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Don’t let the size and weight of Donna Tartt’s 771 page novel, The Goldfinch, put you off. My first reaction was “Oh Lord, how will I ever hold this, much less read it?” until I discovered that this novel does not need to be pried open page by page, but actually falls open to whatever page you might be reading. Unless you are a discus thrower, however, don’t try to hold and read this book, prop it up on something sturdy and let unravel itself.<br/>That said, the book’s explosive opening – the terrorist bombing of a New York City museum—sucked me into the story. Carel Fabritius’ masterpiece, The Goldfinch, survives the blast (as it did in 1654 when a gunpowder factory next to the artist’s studio, exploded, killing the artist. Also surviving is a thirteen year old boy,Theo, whose mother dies in the explosion. Theo awakens from the concussive power of the bombing buried in debris along with an old man who points to the dust-covered painting and pleads with Theo to save it. Before dying, he gives Theo a ring and babbles a name and tells him to ring the green bell. What begins as a surreal journey from devastation and loss, gathers momentum as Tartt thrusts us into future, pursuing Toby and the painting through years of suspense, terror and heartache.<br/>While I'd have liked to read The Goldfinch straight through, it’s size demanded I stop so more often than I wished. Tartt's eclectic cast of characters leap from page to life: Hobie, the gentle restorer of antique furniture under whose tutelage Toby learns the trade; Toby’s brilliant but gambling addicted father who drags him to Las Vegas where Toby befriends Boris--a Russian teen whose presence throughout much of the book drove me nuts with his unbridled euphoric, eccentric, and peripatetic personality. And then there’s the painting, both treasure and tyrant that drives the story to its violent yet satisfying conclusion.<br/>The book was at least 100 pages too long and I had more than my fill of drug and alcohol abuse running rampant throughout the book -- from Las Vegas onward. Would I read it again? Perhaps? It’s an amazing, complex, plausible, and gripping and wondrously written hulk of a novel. I wonder if you feel the same way.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ZMZJJWZZF65Z?ASIN=0316055441 Amazing ending. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I love her style of writing. The ending of The Goldfinch was awesome. I went back and read the ending again.. Immediately started another book by Donna Tartt called The Secret History. So far I am truly impressed with it too.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RAEJU7YLG5H07?ASIN=0316055441 couldn't put it down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It has been a while since I stayed up late reading . This story was very current with a post 9/11 feel. I think having lived in NYC added to the enjoyment, although that is not a requirement . A good and well written story.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1XNK4UB0B3G2R?ASIN=0316055441 Destined to Become a Classic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Tartt has produced a haunting story and character around the painting of the Goldfinch. This story stays with you even after you read other stories in between. Compelling story, charismatic character, beautifully written!!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2BUPL6D0EC8SX?ASIN=0316055441 Multiple Stars For Anything But "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Five stars are indeed needed for this tome of a novel in which the author attempts to blur the lines between genres and to include references to not only works of art but also literature (isn't that also art?). Five stars are necessary as the author uses an unreliable first-person narrator who is also male. When can we believe him? Is this the language of a ten-year-old, a teenager, an addled, addicted adult? The author does make us question.<br/> Five stars are in order for the attempt to include multiple thematic strands in the novel and to employ allusions to multiple authors and philosophies. Dickens is gloomy. Salinger is absurdist. Shakespeare keeps pace with blank verse. Dostoevsky and Camus addle us with facing the brink of the abyss. In ""Ode on a Grecian Urn"" Keats used fewer stanzas in which to convey the last half of the book. One could mention more such.<br/> Five stars are imperative for the author's finding a publisher that dispensed with a good editor and whose publicity department must have spent hours in promotion for the launch of the novel, as well as making sure the Pulitzer Committee received initial stellar copies. Finally, five stars for showing how pointless a life of drugs, alcohol, and self-destructive behavior can be.....not to mention just boring.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19TZR9NHWSL43?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch was always going to be a winner "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing, as always, is superb. The plot holds the attention, but is a little more commercial than her previous two books. However, anything is forgiven because the writing just gets better and better with each book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2U68BE5902HMD?ASIN=0316055441 A True Comment on our times... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Goldfinch is a true comment on our times, taking a snapshot of early 21st Century urban America, through the experiences of Theo and everyone he encounters. The audio recording is exceptional; the voices are perfection.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R156UQRGIPO4K6?ASIN=0316055441 If you're only reading one book this year, choose this! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is brilliant writing with incredible character development, compassion, and a good story. The understanding of loss and broken attachments is deep, offered with the hope of connection and healing, without judgment.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1GLUZJ06TZ8VF?ASIN=0316055441 Tartt is an artful storyteller if ever there was one! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As a writer and editor myself, I was in awe, envious, etc of this woman's prodigious talent. I loved the premise, I loved Theo and Pippa and Boris and Hobie. I would put Tartt at the very top rung of American novelists.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16HXL3QBB8HPB?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch movie review "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Fans of Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” will be pleased to hear that the story is now coming to the silver screen, with the film scheduled for release around Christmas of next year. “It’s a Miserable Life” will feature Theo Decker, a nihilistic drug-addicted narcissist. Self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-pitying, and just plain selfish, Theo is a master of melancholy and a defeatist at heart.<br/><br/>[WARNING MOVIE SPOILER ALERT!] At the climax of the movie Theo is shown with his back to the camera, standing in a shadowed hotel room adorned with a single drab painting of wilted flowers. He can be heard saying, “For me, and I’ll keep repeating it doggedly ‘til I die, ‘til I fall over on my ungrateful nihilistic face, and am too weak to say it: Better never born than born into this cesspool. Sinkhole of hospital beds, coffins and broken hearts. No release, no appeals, no do-overs… No way forward but age and loss, and no way out but death.” Theo is then seen dropping to his knees in a pool of his own bloody vomit, surrounded by empty vodka bottles and a scattering of oxy. With a final gasp he groans, “Does it make any sense at all to know that it ends badly for all of us? Even the happiest of us? And that we all lose everything that matters in the end?”<br/><br/>In “The Goldfinch” Tartt answers many of life’s most difficult questions:<br/>Where did we come from? Filth and desolation.<br/>What is life’s purpose? Anguish and despair.<br/>What hope is there for the future? Death and decomposition.<br/><br/>Bravo to the Amazon editors who chose “The Goldfinch” as their 2013 Book of the Year! Simply amazing!!! I can’t wait for the movie.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R386N3HBSNFENJ?ASIN=0316055441 Not what I expected "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did not like the book at all! Too much information and long dialogue on drug culture. I could never warm up to characters nor did I want to. I have read all Donna Tartt books but did not care for this subject matter.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3ND8FWBD2ESDY?ASIN=0316055441 A Communion Wafer's Space Between a Read and a Rave "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">First: I am awed by how many times I underlined a phrase that was so pithy that I could not read on for a time. I want to think that Tartt spent every minute of that 10 yrs improving this and eliminating that( Although, she didnt eliminate much!). What an accomplishment! I was enthralled with the romantic leads: Pippa, Hobie, Mom, Mrs. Barber and all their story lines peccadillos and obsessions. I can say: This is a quality read.<br/>But more than half the book was murder and mayhem, drugs and despair, loneliness and not belonging. The long passages of self hate and the attempts right to the unbitter end to show us the meaning of our existence. I have to call Bulls*** on all that drama and melodrama. Too much Too much Too much<br/>I am a slow reader. I never skip though passages. I did with this book. Too much Boris, too many drunken drug addled rambling scenes. Perhaps they replicate the EXACT feeling one gets under the influence. Those addicted will have to attest to that. I'm not a prude but I didnt enjoy the sheer quantity of depression I was asked sit through.<br/>I think I agree with those that say this belongs in YA. I think I disagree with those that say Pulitzer.<br/>All the same, there are many phrases I wont soon forget and considering passages skipped-well worth my time.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KLQNTDBFTPZY?ASIN=0316055441 A must read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a beautiful story of pain, suffering, friendship and love.<br/><br/>The author brings you into the pages brilliantly and beautifully. You become one with the characters, with their trials and tribulations.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R11VPMMAFK67CE?ASIN=0316055441 Be prepared for much vulgarity "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After reading 40% of this story, I am fed up with the vulgar language and dysfunctional behavior. I do not intend to finish this book and recommending to others in my book groups to not even consider this a choice</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RVN22WE0Y0J9P?ASIN=0316055441 If you have an artists soul you will love it. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is for the seasoned reader. I absolutely loved it. I felt I really got inside these characters. I loved the philosophy the author imparts. I read the soul of an artist.......will read it again for sure.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1XYH9XOURGGA0?ASIN=0316055441 Too Much Description!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Despite all the hoopla and advertising and high ratings this book got from more than one source I found it disappointing. It takes more than the first 2 chapters just to get into it and then having done so, you don't find it all that great. There is such an abundance of description that you have to weed thru in order to keep the plot going that it's impossible to keep up with it all so you just have to skip some of it. It is not what I'd call a page turner but it's okay enough to read. No wish for more when finished. Quite enough, thank you.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RN89JZU0V6051?ASIN=0316055441 What a surprise. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could not put down this book. I was hooked from the 2nd page. This story was unpredictable, brought you around bends that you didn't expect and had a very satisfying ending. Love it and recommend it highly.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15C8W76J9OCB7?ASIN=0316055441 Great idea for a story, too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story is wonderful and poignant, and there are many great observations on life and art. However, this is another example of a book that could have used some excellent editing. It is long and repetitious.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RJ1HY51CVO2R?ASIN=0316055441 Excellent "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Couldn't put it down. Loved the characters and became totally invested in the plot. Was devastated when I got to the end because there was no more to read. Also read her book The Secret History. You'll love it!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HI0PW35E8GKU?ASIN=0316055441 Hard to put down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I absolutely loved this book. The twists and turns made me not want to stop reading. The descriptive words utilized by the author made me feel as if I were part of the story. I would highly recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ZO475F4FIUKY?ASIN=0316055441 First 1/3 is wonderful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch caught my attention immediately during the first few pages and drew me in with the best writing I've read in a long time. This, however, is probably why the last 2/3 of the book couldn't live up to the first. I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't yet read it, but I will say that it was far too philosophical and none of it essential. The story had so many twists and turns and different facets that it seems unnecessary to weigh it down with paragraph after paragraph of elementary philosophy. Once I got to that part I couldn't wait for it to end. I kept reading, regardless, hoping for something special to emerge. My favorite part about the end of the book was when I finally read the last word, relieved of what felt like my duty to finish the book. It is long, and I didn't want to give up.<br/><br/>I wish this had been a series. Tartt could have explored each phase of the life of this interesting character in separate volumes without having to cram in a ""come to Jesus"" moment at the end, wrapped in unbelievable psychobabble. It's as if even she didn't know what to say at the end so she said everything. Perhaps a little more thought could have gone into a dignified way to end the story.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RPNEEMS0S85V6?ASIN=0316055441 My eyes, my eyes! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I think I might have permanently ruined my eyesight, so damn you and thank you, Donna tartt! This is by far the best novel I've read in 15 or 20 years. I was apprehensive and read most of the previous reviews before purchasing the kindle edition. Here's the review I was looking for: I loved secret history and couldn't get through 1/3 of little friend.<br/><br/>As to the goldfinch, there is a richness to this novel that has been lacking in any of the novels ive read in years. Oh my gosh what happened? I think the Dickensian references are apt. We think of these novels as 'classics,' but remember in their day they were considered contemporary fiction. She writes so beautifully and seemingly effortlessly, which given the time it took to produce, is obviously not the case. I can't stand it when authors employ every literary construct so self consciously. I don't want to watch actors 'act' or writers 'write,' if you know what I mean. I simply want to be drawn into a compelling storyline. I was all in from start to finish.<br/><br/>I've enjoyed the novels I've read over the last few years, the usual oprah book club stuff but I'd forgotten what it was like to really be engaged so thoroughly. However, I don't want anyone who loves to read to be put off by the length or my glowing reviews of style. This is not in any way an inaccessible novel, not at all!<br/><br/>Could not recommend more highly. Not sure if this is the proper forum, but would love any recommendations for other reads from fans of the goldfinch!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2369M7WLA1WRJ?ASIN=0316055441 Something to believe in "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">if anything, this book has changed the way I feel about life. it ran the gamut of emotions and left you wanting more.Beautiful and poignant.....I would highly recommend this book to anyone who questions life.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJ54ZOYM9D987?ASIN=0316055441 Great Book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this book. It's a page turner. I couldn't put it down. This is true literary fiction. None of the same old plot or same old story. Every chapter kept you wanting to read more to find out what happens.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3SJVKW7P8BHI8?ASIN=0316055441 Intelligent and beautiful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Theo is a very likeable though flawed character who I totally enjoyed. The story, his story was tight and beautifully written.The authors first book, ""Secret History"" was good but ""Goldfinch"" is spectacular.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2SY45B284NEW8?ASIN=0316055441 Best Sellers Can Be Deceptive "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Best Sellers<br/>Just gave up a losing battle with a Goldfinch, a sophomoric, overblown tour de force that never gets entirely off the ground, or really makes a point. It rambles, through endless corridors, arriving nowhere. Originality is difficult, no doubt about it, but quality is also a factor, and good writing, like good art, unless your knowledge, experience and instincts guide you, is virtually unattainable. Author Donna Tartt has been tagged as ""Dickensian"" but I think someone influential made the pitch and others jumped on the bandwagon, for a free ride. We might also detect shades of Ian Fleming, or Dan Brown or even Tolstoy, but their novels move and flow and in the end hold up. In all truth, regardless, this book is boring. More than Dickens and his garbage-strewn Victorianism, it would like to be ""Shantaram"" but never even grazes the surface, despite a showy writing style, which dazzles, then hits a clunker, or like its characters, who aspire to something memorable and end as very Americanized clichés. Even the art is treated in worn-out terms, not as the product of pain and inspiration, but as property, to be valued. So does the cost confirm the worth? Not even remotely.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1S9QPHY52FGFG?ASIN=0316055441 A Masterpiece! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What an amazing crazy journey with a cast of characters who are so well described, that you know them as if they are your REAL friends + family. Truly superb writing. One of the best books I have ever read!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UUHP1CT4EY4O?ASIN=0316055441 Brilliant Book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Utterly absorbing book. I wanted to cancel everything and read the book straight through. Mysterious and surprising at every turn. If you like to lose yourself in a long and marvelous book, this is for you.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RQE2G5WOHTJFP?ASIN=0316055441 Great Book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just started this book, and it's got be intrigued. It was recommended by a Language Arts Teacher in my school, and I think it's a ""keeper."" I definitely would recommend it for a ""buy.""</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20ZUSC2D0QX1Q?ASIN=0316055441 The GOldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the story compelling for the first half of the book. When the drug usage became so heavy and the story lkost focus and dragged on and on, I lost interest and by the end I just didn't care anymore.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1A6863N2VOPYR?ASIN=0316055441 The perfect novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was one of those rare books where everything just comes together. I have not had such a satisfying read since 1Q84 and The Children's Book.<br/>Ms Tartt's language is so rich that I keep repeating sentences to myself and wish I were the type who could memorise lines from books and impress people with them at parties...<br/><br/>The way the book takes off and the way we're introduced to its protagonist Theo are marvellous - we're hauled in very effectively within the first 30 pages. Throughout the first part of the book I kept wanting to grab Theo by the ear and scream to him to stop his relentless self destruction - such a brilliant young man holding so much promise cannot ruin himself like that!<br/><br/>Well, I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read it, so no more about what happens on that accord. Another main theme (or THE main theme) in this book is the inexplicable love of art and antiques that some of us have and how silly it makes you feel to realise that you have ""real feelings"" for inanimate objects!<br/><br/>I cannot imagine a single page cut from this long, long book, it is so wonderful and charming and a thriller too!<br/><br/>Read, read, read!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2B5UAKUUHTNJS?ASIN=0316055441 The goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I didn't like the book at all and especially the characters. I realize Theo had no one capable of proving<br/>The support he needed, but stealing and hiding the painting when he knew it was wrong, made me not<br/>Like him at all and only increased as the story moves forward. Drugs and violence,and all the other<br/>Unfortunate deaths, isn't what one wants to read about for recreation. Worst book ever!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R22USHHX5X43P7?ASIN=0316055441 great story, beautiful prose "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a beautifully written, compelling story of a young man's journey<br/>through life, loss, and that is as far as I've read. Book club selection is a very captivating and enjoyable read.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2LGUCED69UKEL?ASIN=0316055441 glorious! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What beautiful prose. How close can one get to oppressiveness and fears, loneliness and loyalty without experiencing them oneself? By reading and feeling this book, that's one way. Ms Tartt, thank you.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1LF2X5ZNTK112?ASIN=0316055441 I tried to like this book, but.... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I tried; I really tried to like this book since it was recommended by raving friends and received a Pulitzer. I kept thinking there must be something wrong with me because I tried it twice. For me, the long descriptions (one sentence was beyond compound/complex - it was actually almost the entire Kindle page.!!) were too long - it felt like a fire hose of words, and just got jumbled; or I had to re-read the sentence to find where it as supposed 'to go.' Plus the main character, though traumatically flawed, granted, was not 'likable' to connect me at all to what was going on in the book. Some characters were interesting but seemed to go nowhere, no substance. The ending seemed contrived, sad, and not at all realistic...I will not give away the plot, but I could never see the beauty in the book; and the 'neatness' of how it ended was a let down. Lesson learned - I do NOT have to finish any book I don't really like - no matter what the accolades or the awards. It is OK for me not to like something and waste my time to finish. Book Club be damned...life is too short, and reading is subjective and to enjoy for yourself -- this was the most important thing I got from the book!!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2QO5SV60A5WQK?ASIN=0316055441 Simply Stunning... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">We get it. ""The Goldfinch"" is not an app. That's right...you can't download it in 3.2 seconds and share it with your friends via text. Yes...it is 771 pages long. Yup...that means you have to commit, sit down and devour this book. I mention this only because I tire of hearing reviews of ""oh my gosh...this book is so long""! And what of it? It is absolutely long! Absolutely long enough to leave you superlatively engaged with the host of fantastic and perfectly developed characters. Absolutely long enough to leave you breathless until you find out exactly what happens to Theo, Boris, Pippa, Hobie and the rest of the colorful host of fiends that create this must-read of a masterpiece.<br/><br/>This ain't no Boone's Farm, folks. This is a fine first growth Bordeaux of a book. Sit down. Cherish. Read. Look back at the passages that you didn't read slowly enough in the beginning. Read the last chapter again. Savor the story and the fact that you've picked up a book that comes along once in a very great while. Don't worry...the ""Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"" is Tevo-able and will wait...<br/><br/>If only this treasure was 771 pages longer!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R12VP2RZG1IER8?ASIN=0316055441 A Keeper "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the most profound books I've read. The writing is flawless! The story is compelling. The ending is unforgettable. A book I'll re-read…which says a lot because I seldom, if ever, re-read a book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HU8N1OV3JN2Y?ASIN=0316055441 A Poor Bird Gone Wild "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the beginning of this book imaginative. As I continued into what I considered an overly-long, overly-descriptive, repetitive saga about a most unfortunate boy and his mother who died too soon, the continuing maze as the boy suffers through his life gets more and more confusing and he never seems to find the outlet. While the characters are quite complex and unusual, their psychoses and neurotic existences become a labyrinth of abject pain and misery and nothing else. The title of this book seems like an irrelevant excuse for a mystery of which there is none. The artist's picture of the poor featured bird is dragged all over hell and back for no concrete reason. It is ""Hitchcock's McGuffin"" I'm afraid.<br/><br/>Many of the characters were despicable. A Russian boy appeared in, of all places, Las Vegas, becoming the ""hero's dubious playmate"" . This book never seems to get better. It just continues on its astoundingly long agonizing journey. The locales of New York City and the Vegas desert which are normally a good dichotomy, seem to be contrived for some more colorful excess here.<br/><br/>Personally, I looked forward to the end.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Q2G16OZZ407O?ASIN=0316055441 So good! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this book. Couldn't put it down! Donna Tartt is an amazing writer. It's refreshing how she keeps to herself while writing. I don't want to wait 10 years for her next book, but it's worth it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R12TQW8BF51F05?ASIN=0316055441 boring "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Drug addicts, alcoholics, boring. Like the premise, not the execution. Author spent the last chapter trying to explain the meaning of the book and comment on the meaning of life with too many words, like the rest of the book. Even skimming over the repetitive, long winded parts, not enough real content to be worthwhile.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LT27HT3SDK5I?ASIN=0316055441 Intriguing, but... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Just too long. I was just intrigued enough to finish, but often wondered why. I really enjoyed the first 300, lost interest in the second 300, and had just enough curiosity to finish the last 175.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RYADKNN6MCNCM?ASIN=0316055441 Riveting! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was insightful, with greatly flawed but lovable characters! Found myself reading through this 700+ page book at break necking speed, unable to put in down for even a moment! Must read!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15RP97M3TFI3T?ASIN=0316055441 Powerful and Provoking "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It took me awhile to make it through this incredible book. Reading it is like reading poetry. I must admit I had never even heard of Donna Tartt, but she is a treasure. The book is amazingly written and Ms. Tartt accurately captures all of the nuances of Theo Decker as he grows from a scared 13-year old to a desperate 27-year old. His manner of speaking, his use of vocabulary, his idiomatic expressions, are all spot on. As are those of Boris, his best friend and an extremely compelling figure himself. The Barbour family, which plays such a prominent role in this book, is a flawless rendering of idle wealth in New York City. Hobie, Theo's caretaker, comes alive as equally well as the other characters.<br/><br/>I will not forget this book. There are so many lessons to be learned from it, but for me, being a musician, I found the connection between beautiful art and all things eternal to be the most fulfilling. No one who reads this book can walk away from it without some sort of lasting impression. But it is ultimately for the reader to choose which of the many truths and consequences are the most indelible.<br/><br/>An amazing masterpiece!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R8F0TME89HXR1?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The narrator's future relationship with his two love interests was left dangling and the philsophical ramblings which concluded the book seemed like filler in a book that was already too long.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1SZ9384605YSS?ASIN=0316055441 couldn't put it down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I've neglected my children, my domestic duties, my work. Theo draws you in, horrified at the immensity of his experiences, tragedies, want for real love and comfort but stoicism in its lacking.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R142X5J70O0D9J?ASIN=0316055441 "A Boy and ""his"" painting" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A simplistic description of this book is that it tells the story of a 13 year old boy living in Manhattan with his mother who comes into possession of a painting while waiting out a rain storm at a museum (the MoMA or Met). The book itself is anything but simple. There are elements of mystery which are complex and expertly woven throughout the narrative which is provided by the boy, Theodore, grown eventually into a man. There are several romantic elements and lengthy, excessively detailed and depressing descriptions of the perils of chemical and alcohol addiction.<br/>I have not read any other books by this author and based on this book I would not read any in future. There were dozens of pages of detail that I skimmed because they seemed to veer off into the author's mental maze.<br/>If I had to use one phrase to summarize the book it would be a quote: ""Because I don't care what anyone says or how often or winningly they say it: No one will ever, ever be able to persuade me that life is some awesome, rewarding treat. Because, here's the truth: life is catastrophe. The basic fact of existence--...is catastrophe.""</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2H5BSHI1RVM2T?ASIN=0316055441 slow read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book never really took off for me. I really liked an earlier book by this author, The Secret History. This book was so well reviewed, but I just couldn't say I enjoyed it. It was very slow. I had no sympathy for the main character, Theo. All of the characters were dismal. I thought I would never finish it.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2OIBF02XU06W8?ASIN=0316055441 One of the best "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is one of the best books I have ever read, and I read many, many books. I still find myself thinking back to it. I've never seen anything quite like it. There are probably not more than ten books I've read in my life that I would rate at this level (and I'm 65), but this is way up at the top of my list.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FPPN8IT7WZYM?ASIN=0316055441 Ordinary hero "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is the best book I've read in a long time, from the first page to the last. I listened to the Audible version, which was so well done, I didn't read a word in the paper version (although I have it, sitting right here).<br/><br/>The story starts with Theodore Decker, a thirteen-year-old boy, and his mother, on their way to a meeting with the principal to discuss Theo's latest transgression. On the way there, they stop in the museum. There's an explosion, and Theo's mother dies. Theo remembers seeing a pretty girl seconds before the explosion, and he spends a dying old man's last moments with him, lying in the rubble. From there to the end, Theo's life is one grand adventure full of grief, friendship, massive amounts of drugs, art theft, good and bad decisions, and fortuitous circumstances that end up leading him full circle.<br/><br/>Theo lives and learns, and imparts his lessons to the reader. It's a fabulous, all-consuming, dive-in-able story, and if I didn't have a stack of 10 books to read on my shelf right now, I'd read it again. Immediately.<br/><br/>I hope Donna Tartt is busy writing another novel...</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YPFBESXT5TMV?ASIN=0316055441 awesome read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Just what I needed. Deeper than the normal beach novels. I couldn't wait to get home and learn more about each deep, dark character. I recommend to anyone looking for their next great book!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2EQX5IGJ0TXSY?ASIN=0316055441 Outstanding! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Outstanding and worthy of it's praise. The story and character development are terrific. One of those rare books that makes you sad to finish because you will miss being there with them.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6I1LFITRPJ9D?ASIN=0316055441 Tartt is a master storyteller "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story begins with a tragic loss for young Theo and the book largely chronicles the aftermath of this event. For me, Tartt's matter of fact dealing with the tragedy evoked more of the fascinated observer than the weapy sympathizer which allowed me to focus on the story instead of my reaction to it. There are a number of intriguing aspects to this work. The Goldfinch painting may be more metaphor than theme in that the bird is shackled to the perch in much the same way Theo is shackled to the early tragedy in his life. Theo is no more capable of freeing himself than the bird is. Tartt's characterization of Boris is exquisite and provides the counterpart that best illuminates Theo. I found myself truly enjoying, rooting for, and counting on Boris' indomitable character even though he's cast as the shady Artful Dodger. Actually, all the other characters in Tartt's masterpiece, through their strengths and limitations, paint the background for Theo's life just as the beautiful yellows and umbers of The Goldfinch bring the bird to the fore. A riveting read that I couldn't put down and will not likely forget.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VPQL3DR4GZ6D?ASIN=0316055441 I am only reading to finish the book. It is so boring. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I chosed the booked because it sounded interesting but it is not.<br/>Too much swearing, bad lifestyles of so-called parents and others.<br/>I would not recommend it.<br/>It drags on from one scene to another and then another corrupting youth.<br/>My advice is not to even bother attempting to read it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3G6HTJGHCOUSB?ASIN=0316055441 starts strong. then dwindles "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Was so excessively wordy and overly detailed that t got exhausted wading through detail after unnecessary detail that I began (horrors) skipping whole pages! Editor was derelict I think.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HEAMFLV3GF1J?ASIN=0316055441 Good read... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A lesson in understanding the phycological impact one's childhood can have. He was at the point of being paranoid about the picture but couldn't give it up for what it symbolized to him.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29S4BZ7P4FFMB?ASIN=0316055441 Uneven but worthy. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Early this year when I set my reading goal I scaled back about 30% because I had some rather lengthy tomes on my ""to be read shelf"". At least 5 of them exceeding 750 pages, including this one, and I suspected I had kept myself from diving in since I knew it would take awhile. I knew from reading her previous work ""A Secret History"" that Donna can get a bit wordy in places and expected that would be the case here and I was right. And sometimes, as is often the case with ""literature"" good enough to win a Pulitzer Prize, the material does not lend itself to ""blitz"" reading since, among the plodding sections - and there are a few, as least in regards to moving the story along - there are some truly amazing descriptive portions. The story is interesting, the characters well drawn and the philosophical musings re the role of art and beauty and love in one's life well worth the time. If you are looking for a breakneck pace, skip this one as it could certainly use some trimming. But, if you want to get lost a world that few would experience with depth and dimensions, have a go!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1XTO8SBN3K7SI?ASIN=0316055441 I loved most of it but found the ending to be ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved most of it but found the ending to be a bit contrived. The story was fascinating but I could have done with a little less drug taking and boozing. The characters are memorable.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1UKDCJRKG4HFS?ASIN=0316055441 A strange thing started happening half-way through... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a big, baggy novel that isn't at all what I expected. I came into this novel expecting a rather high-brow story involving the art world and perhaps even a parallel story taking place during the time the titular painting was created (1600s). Frankly, the thought of that kind of story (which has been written a thousand times) bored me. What I got instead was a contemporary drug and alcohol-filled coming of age story, complete with a shoot out. As I was reading the first third of the novel, I felt the story dragged on quite a bit and was overlong. Donna Tartt certainly takes her time telling the story and developing the characters. But a strange thing started happening about half-way through: The story became real to me, and these characters were almost like friends and acquaintances of mine. Because the story is so long and so detailed and very much in the head of the protagonist, it really does come to life and become a part of the ""real"" world. I spent weeks reading this novel, and I'm sure I will spend many weeks more thinking about it and wondering how the characters are doing.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FT6038K07SP0?ASIN=0316055441 Should have been 200 pages shorter. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I enjoyed the basic story, but it should have been 200 pages shorter. While the ending was somewhat satisfying, the author went on and on and on. Please tell me why this won a Pulitzer.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2S1PPO664YWU9?ASIN=0316055441 Too Much Fluff "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book caught my interest after reading the first chapter but is filled with too much fluff. It is a very slow read. I struggled to finish it. Good plot but alot of unneeded details.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2QX7SC8SWHQ46?ASIN=0316055441 Excellent read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Would recommend to anyone, really lovely book, fantastic character development, and despite it's somewhat imposing length I found myself so unable to put it down that I flew through it.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1XF67B9W01EP?ASIN=0316055441 Too Dark "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did not enjoy the constant drug-taking and cheating. I hated Boris!! I thought the author failed to tie up the loose ends, just went all philosophical at the end and left it hanging.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3P3QD15YO3806?ASIN=0316055441 Absorbing, shocking, tender "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Though Goldfinch tended to be overly long, wrung-out to the nth-degree of what it's like to be high on drugs and how easily one can turn criminal, the characters are like people you've known: which you wish had never been allowed in your life, yet wish they were still there. One review er thought it was really four books bundled togther, which may be true for authors who don't want to stick their neck out and take each scene and event to a full working out. But: I loved it. Loved it. What heart! the author's characters surprised you over and over again. But the society woman who took him in after the disaster could be one of the rare people on earth: keeping up appearances, doing charity balls, being 'correct' while all the while her own world was close to falling apart and helpless to do anything about it. And yet, she does one huge 'donor pledge': she takes in the boy who survives (if you could call it that) the bombing and the death of his mother. The Goldinch is full of human-ness, of loss, of betrayal, of utter meaness: Life in the Dark Lane; Small glitters of awesome light.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3SWVB9U3IOJDA?ASIN=0316055441 Painful; beautiful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Amazing. Just finished it last night and it was like the white whale, too big to really see in totality or take in from one read. Moby Dick is one of the novels it reminded me of; also Faust. A quick scan of the reviews finds everyone using the term ""Dickensian"" ... I remember thinking it was distinctly anti-Dickensian but in hindsight I can see some comparison in the themes and brilliant evocation of characters. But, seriously, Dickens should be so good. Another book it reminded me of is The Goldbug Variations - the pathos of helplessly responding to beauty in all its forms, even when it's stippled into horribly ugly experiences - the twilit sky in Las Vegas; the tapestry in the drug den; the cheating girlfriend ""adorably"" asking for help reaching down wine glasses. Maybe Sartre has a place here too, the ache of being moved by what is beautiful inside a life that is meaningless and painful: the masterpiece in the blasted museum, the gorgeous bird chained and unable to fly. And worse, to embody that same paradox within oneself, the power and sympathy and heart of one of God's angels trapped in a human existence in which pain so often generates not art but cruelty and destruction and desperate self-interest.<br/><br/>It's that big. And that good.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R25QZ6WWBBHKJT?ASIN=0316055441 well done "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">tour d force<br/>excellent characters and dialogue<br/>Theo (the hero) think of Theological/Hero<br/>and Boris (think of Bullwinkle Moose/.Natasha cartoons)<br/>are unforgettable.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2XOOSTS5GX48M?ASIN=0316055441 Liked, but mostly disliked "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to like this book. I truly did. But it was such a long, sordid shaggy dog story. I found it difficult to stay engaged with the story, so it took forever to even get through the book. And eventually, I felt it just went off the rails into an entirely different kind of book in the end. The ""deep thoughts"" section seemingly came out of nowhere (the pushed timeframe at the end seemed absurd...as if the author didn't know how to resolve the protagonist's relationships...so let's just skip ahead and wax poetically about life, love and all other philosophical ideas for an inordinately long time.)<br/>What I did enjoy was the author's powerful descriptions of people and places. As a native New Yorker, I kept nodding in agreement...""yes, this is exactly what Hobie's apartment and neighborhood would look like."" ""Yes, I know people just like Mrs. Barbour and Kitsey."" ""Oh yes, the doorman would act just that way."" There wasn't a moment of disbelief in her clever setting of scenes and characters. If the author had applied those skills to a less rambling, more believable story, I'd be sold.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1B0GXBVORF3EC?ASIN=0316055441 I understand why this book won The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After reading some of the other reviews, I just had to write my own. I find it very hard to understand how someone couldn't like or feel sympathy for Theo. Obviously, they have never had anything gut wrenching (and that's an understatement) happen to them in their lives. He was 13 years old when this happened. How could you not have sympathy for a 13 year old orphan, regardless of how many drugs he did? I just don't get that? The drugs was almost inevitable, when you find out he's going to Las Vegas, of all places, to live with his alcoholic, runaway Father. And the people who didn't like the drugs part - well, all I can say is it's very well written. I remember thinking to myself, either Ms. Tartt has had the experiences, or she did some awesome research. I'll leave it at that. Yes, sometimes, I too, wished for the book to move along, but it was only because I wanted so badly to know what happened to Theo, while at the same time, I did not want the book to end. I also loved the character Boris. He reminded me, in a way, of a whirling dervish, say Shams of Tabriz on drugs. Bravo!!!!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JH8TRWQR1H0H?ASIN=0316055441 Hated it. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writer took an interesting concept and in my humble opinion, ruined it by ruminating over and over and over and over about<br/>the same detail.<br/>Donna Tartt killed her novel.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHUH8YD42BC4J?ASIN=0316055441 Too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really liked the first half of the book, but the second half dragged. The author could have cut half to a third of the story out and made a more engaging book in my humble opinion.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RC0PSGG3JEM6?ASIN=0316055441 Tedious reading, didn't hold my interest "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read it through the characters childhood, but when I got to his adulthood, it just became tedious. I very rarely don't finish a book, but this one held no interest for me to finish.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3A88AL0B7YG0F?ASIN=0316055441 Not worth the investment of time to read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Rated #1? Reminds me in some respects of a Wally Lamb book, and although I may be in the minority on that face as well, I do not mean that as a compliment. There are some parts of the book where I was very drawn in, but for the most part, it dragged me to a depressing end. Thanks for nothing.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3O5LEQ7OOP2GN?ASIN=0316055441 The most powerful, touching, thrilling, page-turning, adrenaline pumping book I have read in some time. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Theo Decker is only 13 when he loses his mother in a tragic terrorist attack on a museum. The book could have become mired in this incident, but it does not. It tracks Theo, who finds himself alone in the world after the tragedy and who, in many ways, remains that way for the rest of his life. He floats between existences with the wealthy family of a friend in Manhatten to time with his no-count father and his loser girlfriend in Las Vegas. Theo makes a friend for life in Vegas in the Ukrainian immigrant Boris, and he finally finds a home with antiques-restorer Hoby back in New York City.<br/><br/>Still, the explosion at the museum guides his life from that moment forward. A chance encounter with a beautiful girl, the dying moments of an elderly man, and a small painting Theo takes from the museum all impact his life from that moment on. He suffers, battles addiction, and falls to the depths of shady antiques dealing and the underworld of stolen art. Still, Theo perseveres and shines from time to time.<br/><br/>You will not soon forget these characters or this story.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KY94ZHNK1USP?ASIN=0316055441 Book of the Year "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was the best book I've read this year (2013). I'm considering buying it in paper form instead of just having it digitally, and I've recommended it to all of my reading friends.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTZTBQYRESZJE?ASIN=0316055441 Painful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Dreary, improbable, dull, meaningless, jumbled story that does not end. The author had no vision for the novel. She just rambled on, and on and on. So sorry to have wasted my time reading it. I kept hoping for something to happen but it just kept getting worse. A total waste of time and money.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R31U4ZE6T7YWGF?ASIN=0316055441 Tedious and ANNOYING! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was terribly disappointed with this very long, drawn out boring tale.The time line was also a little confusing at certain points and didn't make any sense.The story far fetched as well. Although the characters start out being very engaging, all the painful details dis attach you from them as you go along. It was physically impossible to tolerate the over emphasis of every innuendo Tartt focused on in the story. It should not take 50 pages to explain the details of a chair that Theo casually glances upon while walking through a furniture shop. This painful novel unfortunately carries on that way throughout the whole book. Detailed me to death. 800 pages of uneventful tedious information and does not constitute a ""Great Piece of Work"" because of its size. There is an abundant amount of gibberish and unnecessary detail page after page. If your able to hang on to the end you will find yourself begging for the torture to stop, and a loud screaming in your head saying ""WHO CARES, JUST GET IT OVER WITH""! The most agitating book I have ever read in my LIFE!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2YRUD2DX6VMDQ?ASIN=0316055441 "God-Awful ""Plot""! Cardboard Characters that Vomit!! Ghastly Interminable Sermon At the End!" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I so wanted to love this book. I so, so, so did NOT. The Pulitzer Prize committee needs to have its book review license revoked because they have done all of us (with the notable exceptions of Ms. Tartt and whoever published this crap) an enormous disservice. So much of this book is senseless drivel. Some people call it ""beautiful writing"". I like beautiful writing. George Eliot, for example, has pages of beautiful writing in her books. Marcel Proust can carry on for paragraphs about goddamned COOKIES and carry it off beautifully, for Pete's sake. But this woman just is screaming for some very stern editor to get out his or her sharp red pencil and start crossing out. If you read the verbosity carefully, you'll find that whole sentences, whole paragraphs don't make a hill of beans worth of sense.<br/><br/>And then the characters. Oh, God. The characters. Not a single real person inhabits this book. They're all caricatures. Every one. Pulitzer Prize? What the heck? Did you READ this piece of trash, or did you just read the press release? Did money change hands? Did someone bribe you?<br/><br/>Every other chapter, there's some wild atttempt to make the implausible plot somewhat plausible. Then there are vague references to Dickens that some think make this Dickensian. It's not. Not in the least, unless you do a headcount of all the parents that die. Everybody's an orphan! What are the chances? Cue up ""Oliver!""<br/><br/>So Stephen King wrote a blurb for the dust jacket. Let me tell you a little industry secret: The blurbs are written before the books are even finished. Blurbs mean nothing. Never buy a book based on what some other author wrote on the back. I guess you can't rely on a Pulitzer Prize as a recommendation either. Hopefully, this is just an off-year for the Pulitzer Committee, sort of like when ""Babe""--that children's movie about a pig--won the Academy Award. At least Babe didn't go on a fifty page diatribe at the end about the significance of itself. Yuck.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13OGFJ432LQGH?ASIN=0316055441 Some books are read and easily forgotten. This is not one of them. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Some books are read and easily forgotten. This one will stick with me for a long time. The characters are powerful, the writing is impressive, and Theo's fall through life is heart-wrenching. It all starts with a single, random, destructive event that will shape Theo's entire life.<br/><br/> ""It happened in New York, April 10th, fourteen years ago. (Even my hand balks at the date; I had to push to write it down, just to keep the pen moving on the paper. It used to be a perfectly ordinary day but now it sticks up on the calendar like a rusty nail.)""<br/><br/>I talk in some detail about the plot points here. If you don't want to be spoiled at all, just get it and start reading, it's a great book.<br/><br/>The explosion and Theo's escape is brilliantly written. Tartt captures Theo's confusion, disorientation and desperation with great realism. Theo's interaction with Welty, and witness of his death had me entranced. Tartt managed to evoke deep empathy and connection with this man, essentially a stranger, by sharing the intensely personal final moments of his life.<br/><br/>And so begins Theo's fall. It seems to be arrested fairly quickly as the Barbours step in, but soon takes a turn for the worse as his father appears on the scene. The sequence of callous actions taken by Theo's father to sell his dead wife's possessions, Theo's failure to fight to keep his new and beautiful friendship with Hobie, and Mrs. Barbour's seeming failure to raise objections to Larry Decker's obvious unsuitability as a parent make for a chilling and depressing turn in the story.<br/><br/>Theo moves into Larry and Xandra's huge empty house in a failed Vegas housing development, befriends misfit Boris, and begins his drug habit.<br/><br/> ""It seemed like the kind of room where a call girl or a stewardess would be murdered on television.""<br/><br/>I found this incredibly hard to read, there's something deeply disturbing about witnessing a promising young life slide inexorably towards disaster. There reached a point when 14 year old Theo was having a thanksgiving dinner of stolen potato chips and vodka, getting drunk and watching the Macy's Thankgiving Parade with Boris, that I began to despair of there being any good news or a chance for Theo to turn his life around. Theo and Boris' drug experimentation felt rather Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on a number of occasions.<br/><br/> """"Of course,"" said Boris, looking less and less like a person every moment, and more like some degraded piece of silver nitrate stock from the 1920s, light shining behind him from some hidden source.""<br/><br/>Eventually there's another big change that at least gets him out of Vegas, but his life begins to be ruled by the stolen painting, particularly his fear of discovery and jail-time for the theft. He's so afraid of Hobie discovering the painting that he only leaves the house in his company and spends most of his time indoors scarcely leaving his room. Any hope I had that getting out of Vegas would set him back on the right track is soon crushed.<br/><br/>His trauma over the death of his mother, and years of mistreatment and neglect by his father have left him isolated and unable to relate to his peers, even when he does get back to something like normal schooling:<br/><br/> ""They lived at home with their parents; they worried about things like grade curves and Itailian Abroad and summer internships at the UN; the freaked out if you lit a cigarette in front of them; they were earnest, well-meaning, undamaged, clueless.""<br/><br/>For a large part of the novel I found myself floundering around, desperately hoping for the hint of a happy resolution: that Theo and Pippa will be able to make a relationship out of two broken pieces, that Theo could make it as a legitimate antiques dealer. While this deep emotional connection is the sign of a great novel, it was also intensely depressing and made for some difficult reading.<br/><br/>When Theo takes his international trip I felt like the person watching the horror movie yelling out ""Don't go in there! Turn around!"", it was so obviously a terrible idea. Having said that, I thought the ending was decent, there's some resolution, but not too happy as to be out of character with the rest of the novel.<br/><br/>My main regret is that the details of art forgery and the international art-crime underground weren't explored more, perhaps through Boris' point of view. The glimpses we got from Theo were fascinating:<br/><br/> ""Short of black light or lab analysis, much of Hobie's fudging wasn't visible to the naked eye; and though he had a lot of serious collectors coming in, he also had plenty of people who would never know, for instance, that no such thing as a Queen Anne cheval glass was ever made.""<br/><br/>A very impressive novel. 4.5 stars.<br/><br/>Read more of my reviews at g-readinglist.blogspot.com<br/><br/>Edit: added a spoiler warning.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2E3295VISJWNH?ASIN=0316055441 Great Book---Amazon needs to be better with packaging it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I bought this book for my Kindle, I was traveling, and wanted a good read for the plane. It's been a long time since I read a book that was so well written, so wonderful...it's such a cliché, but I honestly have trouble putting it down. Buy the book, it is a real treasure! I love this book so much, I decided I wanted the actual ""book"" to finish up with when I got home...and I ordered it while I was away. The weather at my home address ended up being a mess and we were delayed a day in getting back. I was a little worried when I got the email that it had been delivered, knowing what it was like at my house, rain, snow and ice, but I comforted myself with the fact that Amazon packages books in plastic, underneath the box it arrives in, so I didn't worry. Much to my dismay, this wasn't the case. My book was wet, and warped, and not packaged in plastic...snow and water had seeped in through the corrugated box. I spoke to a lovely representative, and they sent another book to me the next day, which was wonderful. I opened the box right after it arrived today, and couldn't believe that it was again, not wrapped in plastic, it was just inside the box, unprotected. I couldn't believe it. Thankfully, I retrieved it before more moisture seeped in. This will sound silly...I love that I can have books on my Kindle, and not have to lug them around while traveling...but I still love physical ""books""...I truly hope Amazon hasn't become disrespectful of them. I'm not a weirdo, I'm not a freak...I'm just the kind of person who still has some beloved actual paper and binding books in my house from my childhood. I read these to my own children when they were little, and they have some of their own that I hope they will do the same with. There's something important in keeping that alive, too. I'm really hoping that this experience was a fluke. I've been an Amazon customer from the beginning, for people who love to read that live in places that don't have great bookstores (chain or independent) within driving distance, it has been a godsend for a long time.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30CN75IJ7DJWP?ASIN=0316055441 Complex, Subtly Compelling, Long and Thoughtful - Worth the Time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch” is a richly textured story of beauty in the midst of overwhelming trauma. Underlying the story like a literary desktop background is Carel Fabritius’s 1654 painting of the same title that carries the main character, Theo, through a life story that begins in horrific tragedy and careens from struggle to struggle while holding out a sustaining hope that somehow Theo will overcome his great loss.<br/><br/>Tartt is a gifted writer who captures the essence of her characters in a true to life way that brings to mind Salinger’s Franny and Zooey (which is actually mentioned in the novel). Goldfinch is a long story, some 775 pages, but Theo’s unvarnished perspective and drive to reach outside his world of tragedy to the realm of artistic perfection as embodied in the painting keeps the reader clinging to the hope that Theo will overcome.<br/><br/>Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important plank at the story’s base. Those who struggle with this awful malady will closely identify with Theo. One of the more compelling aspects of the story is the undercurrent of the constant, muted inner turmoil mingled with artistic beauty, a struggle Tartt masterfully conveys.<br/><br/>The story begins with an explosion at a New York art museum where Theo and his mother have stopped to kill time before a meeting at school that Theo is dreading. Theo survives the blast, but his mother dies and Theo’s life is thrust into chaos.<br/>Before the explosion Theo’s mother points out the first painting she ever really loved, The Goldfinch. While she fondly describes her fascination with the picture and tells Theo the story behind it, Theo’s attention is simultaneously drawn to a girl around his age and an old man accompanying her. The girl has a sparkle that fascinates him as much as the artwork his mother is describing. The old man is equally enchanting and Theo is drawn to them as much as the Goldfinch. It turns out the 1654 painting was created the last year of the artist’s life. The artist died that year in an explosion from a gunpowder factory, but the painting survived.<br/><br/>As Theo and his mother head toward the museum gift shop, she decides to take one last look at another favorite painting and tells Theo to meet her in the shop. As mom heads off, Theo takes the moment to introduce himself to the sparkling girl and the mystical old man. He never gets the chance as an explosion rips through the museum. Theo’s next conscious image is rubble and chaos. The old man is there dying. He tells Theo to take the Goldfinch painting with him along with a ring with a message to “ring the green bell” at an address in New York.<br/><br/>Theo somehow manages to wend his way through the destruction and carnage and extricate himself from the museum. Separated from his mother he heads home, the agreed emergency rendezvous place. He learns of his mother’s death from strangers. Theo’s life from this point becomes a patchwork of survival and providence undercut by the constant drumming that any moment his life could crash and burn while he protects and clings to The Goldfinch.<br/><br/>The story spans approximately 12 years where Theo continually battles with drugs and alcohol to quiet the traumatic rumble of his past that continually keeps him on the edge as if a pending disaster waits around every corner. The constant drug use is troubling, so much so I wanted to put the book down a few times. But Tartt deftly keeps flickers of hope alive despite Theo’s inexorable binges.<br/><br/>Despite the trauma of Theo’s existence, Tartt skillfully weaves beauty among the chaos that enfolds him. Enter Hobie, the antique restorer. Hobie is the proprietor at the New York address given to Theo by the dying old man at the museum. Hobie rises above the other fascinating, but very flawed characters as an oasis of peace and protection and the best hope for Theo’s personal restoration. Hobie also provides connection with the sparkling girl from the museum who remains at the center of Theo’s soul through the story.<br/><br/>Theo’s heart is captured by the young girl, Pippa. Pippa, like the Goldfinch, is Theo’s inspiration to live and love but dwells on the rim of the story that continually tantalizes Theo. She is uncapturable in her closeness, like a letter that brings intimacy, but never the in-flesh communion.<br/><br/>The art of the story is the metaphor of The Goldfinch as Theo’s anchor to sanity. The Goldfinch is the connection to the life of love he remembers with his mother that is gone but holds Theo together in the hope of a future that will restore that loving cohesiveness. But even this anchor is not what it seems.<br/><br/>There is also the overarching sense of providence keeping Theo’s head above water and his heart from despair. References to God are scant and unremarkable through the story, yet time after time, Theo is lifted from despair by the hand of Providence. Theo’s needs are met, at times miraculously and at other times with gentle poignancy. In the rubble of the museum there is the old man who gives Theo direction, there is the painting itself, and there is Theo’s survival. There is Hobie and Pippa and at the center of it all the stoic and defiant Goldfinch, tethered to his perch but very much alive with hope despite his confined existence.<br/>The author has a sense of a world greater than the one we inhabit, one where beauty and meaning are more than fleeting moments in a setting of despair. Yet she, like the Goldfinch, is shackled to a reality of tragedy from which she cannot break free. There is no God in Tartt’s story, but there is the unceasing hint of a realm of beauty. She tells us in the many ways Theo’s despair is muted by people like Hobie and Pippa and the devotion of his best friend, Boris. Yet she holds back from offering a shining salvation. She says, “But [The Goldfinch] has also taught me that we can speak to each other across time. And I feel I have something very serious and urgent to say to you, my non-existent reader, and I feel I should say it as urgently as if I were standing in the room with you. That life— whatever else it is— is short. That fate is cruel but maybe not random. That Nature (meaning Death) always wins but that doesn’t mean we have to bow and grovel to it.”</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2U9RIPR80I7YR?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'll start by saying that I would read anything by Donna Tartt, regardless of a review. In fact I generally dislike reviews. Publisher's reviews are enough to make me not want to buy or read the book, 90% of the time. Individual reviewers are on the whole awfully finicky and critical, imperiously suggesting ways the book could have been written differently. Huh. Well I didnt major in Literature and I'm only literary in an average sense. And I wont be trying to rewrite this book for her, efforts that to me suggest something not so pleasant about the reviewer. No wonder she claims not to read her own reviews, who could blame her.<br/><br/>There were many things I appreciated about the book. Enough to make me do a little research to find that Ms. Tartt and I both have shared a fascination with Hunter S. Thompson, mine played out long before did hers, simply because I read him in the 70's. So for me picking up on that tone in the book seemed very familiar and comfortable. Nihilism has always been a focus, an escape.<br/><br/>The use of a real work of art and similar painterly circumstances (without revealing too much plot line), including the protagonist's name as 'Decker', was exciting to read. This was a highly ambitious project, which after such a long pause, was really welcome. I fantasized the author as maybe feeling the need to live some of her life before continuing on her author career which began at such a young age. Whatever, it paid off. Her writing is as if she has access to some literary cornucopia, with literally a wealth of references at hand.<br/><br/>I don't agree with many of the other reviewers that the story line was improbable. Not in the least. Obsession with high art may be something many reviewers have not only never experienced, but cannot imagine either. Pity. Experiencing profound grief is also apparently beyond the scope of experience for some readers, not for me, so I could relate.<br/><br/>I usually hate referring to someone as a genius, out of envy perhaps, the desperate clinging to status among named geniuses is fairly boring. Donna Tartt qualifies as being an extremely rare writer, with an astonishing gift. I read that her early mentors found her as such and was gratified to know Id reached the same conclusion about her. Yes, she is decidedly a genius, not talking IQ, who knows on that. But she writes in ways you or I cannot. Her descriptions are rich far beyond expectation. Like Ms. Tartt I also value Dickens, maybe there is something to the notion that one appreciates reading authors with whom you have a bond of commonality in other revered authors.<br/><br/>I rated only as a four star, why? I think because in the end the story seemed to sort of jam together. Since Theodore had become an adult and stopped being so vulnerable, I found it harder to relate to him. At the very end it seems the author abandons her protagonists voice and begins speaking in her own. Dont get me wrong, I loved that. I felt as I was reading that the author had some things she felt some urgency about conveying, it wasnt wrong, in my view, but kept the book from being a complete package in some way. A minor criticism, for an overall very enjoyable book I had trouble putting down.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R4IN2VNI1F8D9?ASIN=0316055441 makes it up as she goes along "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing is pretty good, and I thought the story line was fine for a while, but the ending is tacked on to finish the story. It is as if she had to figure a way to stop writing.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R25JIRTVZOO19N?ASIN=0316055441 Mind experience "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">775 pages! I couldn't stop reading! What a wondrous adventure! The story...the words...the imagery...the weaving of a masterful tale that by its title seemed so Simple changed me.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3H1PON1ZBIMJQ?ASIN=0316055441 Waste of time! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I hated this book. It was nothing but lots of boring words. I have told anyone who would listen not to waste his money. Just check it out at the library so you won't feel cheated.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PFPT302CVO8O?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was a real page turner. Kept me on edge throughout the whole book. I was disappointed that Theo and Pippa did not end up with each other. Other than that I totally enjoyed it.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CC30731K20AQ?ASIN=0316055441 Rambled "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">very slow going rambled a lot.did not need over 700 pages. it read like she was trying tp fill as many pages as she could. basic story was good. just rambled in too many places.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CIXDZM3I5VXE?ASIN=0316055441 Glad it's over "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I started to like this book, the beginning captures your interest quickly. The book needs some serious editing. I felt sorry for Theo but mostly he just depressed me. A long book that at times is so I unbelievable, I was glad to finish it. Good writing but I can't say I liked it too much.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R24G7I7HYTRF8N?ASIN=0316055441 Depressing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is too depressing and sad. I have yet to finish it. Just when I think it will get better something else bad happens.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16GGB3JMTDTTH?ASIN=0316055441 Literary work at its best. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book drew me right in. I lived inside it for a week while I read it. The language is elegant, the plot first rate. I will read it again to experience it again in the future.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RG6J9W8HEU8PP?ASIN=0316055441 exquisite writing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautiful language, incredible plotting, serious thoughts about the human condition.<br/><br/>Hard to ask more from a book. Boris one of the great characters in all of fiction.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1GO6QNW0MKR9T?ASIN=0316055441 I wanted to like this book because the premise was so promising "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book was overly long. The female characters were ill-drawn and sometimes incomprehensible. The boy's mother was the only female that was sympathetic and interesting. At one point I double checked the author because I assumed the writer was male as her understanding of women was . The character ""Boris"" was a mystery; friend one moment, thief another. The plot was convoluted - moving from New York adventures to wandering around Europe. At times I had to go back several chapters to pick up the thread of what was going on. The boy was unlikeable - a 15 yr old drug addict and alcoholic who sponges off people without a moral center to guide him. He stole a valuable painting from a museum but seems to have no remorse about that. And about that ending! After sticking with a story for over 700 pages the last thing I needed a moral lesson. To be preached to was insulting. One more example talking down to the reader. I wanted to like this book because the premise was so promising, but I was disappointed and puzzled by the Pulitzer price.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMMN9J29BHERS?ASIN=0316055441 Dismal "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Why this book ever won a Pulitzer is beyond me. Trite and boring with characters I didn't even begin to like. After reading half of this very long, boring book I had to give up.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LO8GFQOSB6EM?ASIN=0316055441 Engaging! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautifully written....a captivating coming of age novel that touches one's heart and fills it with compassion for a young man's struggles to survive physically and emotionally.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KT8BCNY1AU1Q?ASIN=0316055441 really engaging read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Though it dragged a bit in the beginning, it is a great book. I had to know what was going to happen. I was pulled in and anxious for the character, and protective and appalled.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R39RKIK7KZGVZ9?ASIN=0316055441 Waaaaay too long for the story line. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story line is interesting but where is the EDITOR??? Waaaaaaay too long. I listened to it on tape which was good because one of the things that kept me listening was the voices given to the characters especially Boris and Hobie. I talked with a friend who had read the book and asked a couple of questions about the plot ending. She said that she had liked the first half but was a little bored with the second. She suggested I skip to the last CD so I decided to skip about five CDs and listened to the last two. I don't feel like I missed a thing and I was able to return the book on tape (divided into two sections, total of 26 CDs) without wondering what happened.<br/><br/>The drug use and personal reflection of the characters was overdone. The point was made after the fifth time Theo and Boris had sessions of drunkenness and drug use. Who cares!?<br/><br/>There are many requests and long waits for the book on tape. I have no idea why this book gets so much attention. There are so many better things to spend time listening to and/or reading.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R946KHFVVZTFB?ASIN=0316055441 Painful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I struggled with the slow pace of this novel. I don't give up on books, and was continually hoping it would improve. The ending actually was the worst part! Save your time.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2OC6H7BTPVU5W?ASIN=0316055441 Well-written but SAD "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Look, she's obviously a talented writer. She captures depression, loss, escapism, and self-loathing with extreme precision and empathy. Having also lost my mother at age 14 in a very sudden and unexpected manner, I found that aspect of the book to be very cathartic and extremely accurate making me feel like I experienced something universal. However, this book is sad, sad, sad, and as much as I wanted to like Theo, he is extremely unsympathetic and self-destructive. Maybe it's because I also suffered a tragedy similar to his and escaped the cycle of self-destruction that I judge him more harshly. Also, I found the portions of the book regarding art and furniture making to be too drawn out, pretentious, and inaccessible. Anyway, I finished the book, which is not something I do if I am not into the story, so it is good. The last 300 pages or so were pretty suspenseful. However, I am not sure I would recommend this book to too many of my friends unless they were really in the mood to feel suicidal for the month or so it takes to read it.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R273CXM7V7I3RL?ASIN=0316055441 very disappointing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Run on sentences constantly. One sentence paragraph long.<br/>Overly descriptive which outweighs activities<br/>Terrible ending without revealing story status or conclusion</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YDLTG61C11BS?ASIN=0316055441 Masterpiece "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Totally engrossing novel. Worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. Captures the timeless nature of art through a brief but exciting moment of a rare paintings existence. Great characters.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3M6W0MS36ZDAM?ASIN=0316055441 "A bad ""trip""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Perhaps I'm just not sophisticated enough to appreciate this work. I liked the first quarter, but as it went on, it was a downward spiral/intimate view of dysfunctional behaviors.. by most of the characters! I was reminded of how I felt when years ago I attempted to read Nietzsche... I am aware that the author received a Pulitzer for her book, but it was lost on me. I can appreciate her research into the subject of PTSD, drug and alcohol addiction, art, antiques, and the industry of ""fencing"" art masterpieces. Being inside the head of someone who is suffering from PTSD, drug and/or alcohol addiction is not how I would choose to spend my recreational reading time. I was away on a long vacation and had I had The Goldfinch in paperback or hardbound copy, I would have left it lying on a hotel table top halfway through. I so wanted it to have a fantastic turnaround ending, but that didn't happen. I'm sure the failure of the book to entertain me must have been a shortcoming on my part; still uncertain of its point.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RM29SB2ULG7NG?ASIN=0316055441 Not the best book I've ever read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">To much of book spent on teenage drug use. Also this is a very wordy book, meaning to much explanation in some parts of the book. Could have been 100 to 200 pages shorter.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RD7LH8UF4UZF8?ASIN=0316055441 Non-stop entertainment "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was an excellent, highly entertaining ready that had me engrossed fair into the night. Despite its nearly 800-page length, I can honestly say I was sorry for it to end.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1JMZVU0T0EGSC?ASIN=0316055441 First-rate read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Tartt does beautifully constructed sentences and has woven a most intriguing story. I would recommend it to everyone who loves a great story and a well-written one at that.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RZNUQMOP5YTAM?ASIN=0316055441 Rare indeed for book lovers "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I cannot imagine anyone spending ten years to write a book that took me two nights to read. So much enjoyment packed into that time frame. I felt like losing all my sleep time for the next 30 days to have that kind of story to continue. I know Ms Tartt is from MS, however she must have lived for some time in NYC (as I did for seven years on West 78th) to be able to bring that story to us in real time and place. A must read for all book lovers.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17T96Z1UX6HPP?ASIN=0316055441 Really liked this one! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Even though this is a LONG book to read, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Loved the irony at the end of the book. It was a great beach read but could be an ""anything"" read!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ME1CQ2BDI5WD?ASIN=0316055441 Excellent Reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book provides a very powerful evaluation of the meaning of life. It has an engaging storyline with a thoughtful theme. All members in the bookclub enjoyed this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17MZ6B967TR3O?ASIN=0316055441 Shenanigans! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to like this, I really did. It is on everyone's best seller list, supposed to be so good. It is long, so you are making a definite commitment reading it. But the more I read, the more I thought - I am just missing something because I am just not on the love bandwagon for this book. The writing is actually good, but the characters and the plot - not so much. The main character has had some hard knocks, but really blows so many chances at redemption, that he came off just being whiny and needy to me. And the plot - oh brother - I can't say too much without blowing the book, but what was supposed to be a twist, mostly just ticked me off. And I like to figure out my symbolism myself - the last part of the book just hammers it into the readers, like they are idiots. And the overall message of the book - I guess it is supposed to be realistic, I thought it was a cop out. So I say Shenanigans on this supposed NY times bestseller - I DO NOT recommend it, and I DO regret wasting my time on it!!!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WYT7SKX3I4F7?ASIN=0316055441 Enthralling! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's been a long time since I've found a book to be so engrossing and so affecting. I couldn't put The Goldfinch down, to the point where I stayed up past 2 am for two nights in a row just to take in as much of it as I could. Tartt's language is gorgeous and deeply evocative, and her protagonist, Theo Decker, is complex and appealing. I've been a big fan of Tartt's since reading The Secret History, and now with Goldfinch, she's created something even more impressive and powerful.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1QQ534ZA0KOX6?ASIN=0316055441 Wordy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although the story was good, I did not care for the book because it was too ""wordy"". I feel like the story could have been well told in half the amount of words.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R120OT7GCXAMM8?ASIN=0316055441 Excellent book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt has created characters who reach out to us and absorb us into her works. The Goldfinch was an exceptionally well done book. I look forward to her next one.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JUIT5IXS3EY2?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I like the plot, I kept hoping the character would change and he never did. Good story line. I could visualize the painting and the environment he was in. Well written</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2Y93ZV5UVKLUT?ASIN=0316055441 Fascinating "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Definitely deserves its place as a best-seller! Suspenseful, surprising, riveting, the novel evokes an array of visions of experiences not open to many or most readers.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFVT3J717LUU3?ASIN=0316055441 Torturous "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Way too much detail! Took a mile of text to say what should have taken an inch. Even the end had too many words, but I was left unsatisfied with the character wrap up.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R33LQG7SV96Q4F?ASIN=0316055441 So much potential "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is fantastic up until Chapter 5. Great writing, characters, stories, I was so happy.<br/>Then from Chapter 5 onwards, forget about it. What a disappointment.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3IJUMB80J2WAM?ASIN=0316055441 Painful to read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Painful to read! I kept waiting for something good to happen and he just kept making bad choices. Would not recommend unless you are just too happy and need something to bring you down.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R37GSMT24XZEBG?ASIN=0316055441 Wish I could have given it 5 "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Raise your hand if you skimmed through the last 200-300 pages. I agree with most reviews here, terrific story with great potential that turned into a self interest philosophical meandering. I loved the beginning (although again, I thought the Theo would never get out of that museum with all the rambling) and I loved the part in Las Vegas where Theo transformed from the sweet kid with a loving mom into a lost boy of the desert. The character of Boris was a captivating diversion and so central to Theo's dark development. Hobie was so central to his good side. Once the whole fracas of the drug and art dealing ran on and on at the end I was disenchanted and disappointed that an exciting intricate story turned into a sleeping pill. Some good editing would have made this book a 5 star book easily. I loved the Secret History and it was the only book I've read twice. I was hoping this would be as well written. Hopefully Ms Tartt wll learn from her readers comments and make the next book her best yet.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16HLOH7P7HYPX?ASIN=0316055441 Time Suck "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Maybe if I hadn't heard the glowing reviews -- no; without the buzz I wouldn't have been able even to finish it. Nothing surprising or unexpected. The writing is not bad, pedestrian storytelling. I like that it's just a story and not a ridiculous metaphor. But she's got the timing all wrong. When are these events taking place? We know that Theo is 14 in the beginning and that it's after 9/11 but Andy has an iphone already. So that would make the instigating event sometime in late 2007 at the earliest. So 10 years after that ithere isstill gonna be a boarded up St. Vincent's? And the Grand Union? I don't know when that went out of business. Why not just say 'the store'? Why? This book is sooo long but it's no big thing. And over the years Boris' syntax gets worse? So many Russians. Is this trying to be a Tribute to the classic Russian novel? Because those books not only told a story; they told us readers something about ourselves. Ugh. So I satisfying. I feel like a sucker.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R355AOT9HNEL2U?ASIN=0316055441 A must read for all ages. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I would have gave it 5 stars except she did not do very good research of his time in Vegas. This was suppose to be in 1992, The gambling and drinking age was and is 21. She talks about the side of town being outside the strip, the outside areas were built in 1998-2005. She talks about him living in a foreclosure area that did not happen until 2008. She makes mention of the shoe bomber and things that happened recently in history. Other than that I fell she did a good job with the characters. I fell the pain this boy has went through. The feelings of hopelessness and being lost. A lot of reviews say how depressing the book is. The book is real life. Life is not a fairy tale and there are a lot of people living this life right now. Kids who grow up with addicts have no extension of family because their parents avoid the Grandparents and other family members. I think this is a great book for all ages. With so much fairy tale junk books it is nice to have a story with so much true feeling in it.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R36CNGGE772EQX?ASIN=0316055441 Not sure I would recommend "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">2.5 stars -- I liked it and I didn't like it.<br/><br/>LOOOOOONG. Depressing... Thought about quitting several times. However, I'm glad I finished it... Good ending.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2J9CGRP14Z0B0?ASIN=0316055441 Splendid "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story captivates, start to finish. Pick it up, read intensely, put it down. The images of the bird, Theo, and Hobie stay with you. Don't miss this opportunity.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RO58GS7ZG0HJH?ASIN=0316055441 Loved this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very well written and engrossing. When I finished the book, I felt as though I knew the characters, and thought about them afterwards. Wish I could visit them again.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1O23OAIX2YQIK?ASIN=0316055441 Waste of time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I bought this book solely because it was on the best seller list. I tried, and tried to get into it. The story was depressing, and way too long. How much description do we need for 2 kids continuously overdrinking, over-drugging, vomiting, starting all over again. I read the whole book hoping (silly me) that something would come out of this in the end. And yet, nothing. So disappointing and a great waste of my time. Hated it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2N3BFLQU4FD3M?ASIN=0316055441 A Let Down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Having enjoyed Ms. Tartt’s earlier work (especially “The Secret History”), I feel let down by “The Goldfinch.” Far too much philosophizing, a lot of repetitiveness, and far, far, too much of Boris, who must be up there among the leading contenders for the all-time grand prize of boring, unconvincing fictional creations. A coincidental meeting on a New York street, and it’s Boris. The unexpected knock on the hotel room door, and, yes, it’s Boris. The novel starts brilliantly. The whole sequence of the terror attack on the museum, the hour-long friendship with the dying Welty, Pippa, Theo’s relationship with his Mom, the slow discovery of her death, the Barbours… all this is wonderful. Even Vegas, with Dad and nasty girlfriend, is entertaining enough at the beginning, but that’s when Boris first comes along, and all bets for sustaining a good, or even great, novel, are off. Most of the Amsterdam sequences over the last 100 pages or so of the book are just plain silly as well as unbelievable.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3SNJHH5UZFQTT?ASIN=0316055441 I didn't want to read a 755-page novel--but I did and I'm glad "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Had I seen a physical copy of The Goldfinch in a bookstore I would have weighed it in my hand and walked away. I don't read 750-page novels--life's too short, book's too long. But I downloaded the Kindle edition, gave it a try, and I was hooked. Here's some of the best writing I have read in a long while, along with compelling characters, emotional depth and some passages that are laugh-out-loud funny. The young protagonist came alive as the most authentic teen voice I can recall since Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye. His Ukranian-born friend Boris is a marvelous if disastrous character, and Tartt's handling of Boris' dialect and humor is one of the most fun aspects of the book. I thought the story bogged down late in the book, before finishing strongly, which is why I did not award 5 stars. But it's worth all the time I put in on it, and I know I will remember this book long after having forgotten most of the novels I have read lately. Don't miss it if you value writing that soars.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3SPLOY8BYR5U1?ASIN=0316055441 Different "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I must admit I was completely surprised by this book. It is an extremely well written book and a most unusual story. I found it almost too descriptive to an extent that sometimes I felt that the style slowed the story down excessively and I was not sure it needed to be. However, the style is so unusual that what results is characters that are completely alive and places you feel familiar with. The author's knowledge about the subject(s) she is writing about is absolutely uncanny and particularly so when the protagonist turns out to be a boy who becomes a man through out the story and a very unusual boy at that. I can't but wonder how a woman knows so much about the opposite sex. Some of the passages are absolutely beautiful and the entire story is a very unique and fascinating one. You certainly will never look at a painting again without taking into account the what it might have gone though. It's definitely a book worth reading and one that you are likely not to forget any time soon.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R10T7D3HX1T9J9?ASIN=0316055441 Much too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book is very well written however if 50% of it was not included it would be a 5 star book. Very wordy, very drawn out. A struggle to finish after a great start.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R38Z48BPUHC2LZ?ASIN=0316055441 A tedious read at best "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book started off with promise with interesting characters and a trauma that resurfaces throughout the book. However, the book and quality of writing soon descend into endless details of drugging and drinking. The book becomes fragmented and disjointed along with the mental deterioration of the characters, Theo and Boris. I found it difficult to empathize with their outlandish and sometimes implausible behaviors and to sustain interest in them. I kept hoping for resolution regarding the theft but instead met with more tedious and lengthy chapters dealing with their substance abuse that only detracted from the substance of a potentially interesting story .As a physician, I think it was highly unlikely that Theo or Boris would still be alive given the massive amounts of alcohol and drugs they consumed. I finally gave up on the book having plowed through three fourths of it. The book called for lots of editing<br/>and the story could have been told in half as many pages.,</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R4JBZ68RPA43E?ASIN=0316055441 A complete waste of time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As I was reading The Goldfinch, slogging through the endless pages of tedious, mostly superfluous detail, I kept telling myself that the novel won a Pulitzer, so it has to get better...but it didn't. In addition to her penchant for excruciatingly detailed descriptions of the most mundane situations, Ms. Tartt apparently has decided that she is being charged for punctuation marks – commas, semicolons, quotation marks, and especially periods are used very sparingly, making many passages difficult to read. One sentence I encountered ran for almost three (e-book) pages before she at last, mercifully, saw fit to insert a period. I suppose she was trying for some sort of stream-of-consciousness effect, but for me it was just confusing.<br/><br/>I gave the book two stars only because the basic premise – an art masterpiece stolen after a terrorist bombing of a museum – had such great promise. I've never before rated a book on Amazon, but I needed to vent. Thanks for listening!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CFERTV4JUUP8?ASIN=0316055441 Love between birth and Death "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch becomes the symbol of what Death can't touch. As Theo travels through hell in a transcendental existence, he emerges with the understanding of Beauty.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2DDDLB57V0O1V?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I mainly enjoyed this story, which was very well written with rich and powerful imagery. It just went on too long, really. It needed better editing, in my opinion .</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FQWH0ZXVC7EA?ASIN=0316055441 Looked forward to this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">For the most part I liked the story,however found some parts repetetious and much , too much detail about drugs..well researched, but would not recommend to anybody</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3HLDD2PQO2906?ASIN=0316055441 Great story until the end. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was engaging and even a page-turner for most of the book but the ending turned into a philosophical treatise and went on and on. I gave up and never finished it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2L2CTP2U6OJVD?ASIN=0316055441 The Emperor has no clothes on "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to quit this book several times a chapter. But, with all the great reviews I felt there would be a redeeming factor somewhere. Alas, at end of book I was still looking.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R38M99OACYG8H7?ASIN=0316055441 Enjoyable read that could have used a better editor "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read The Goldfinch as, probably similar to many of the other reviewers, a huge fan of The Secret History and slightly disappointed by Litte Friend. The Goldfinch was.... Somewhere in the middle? I think as far as pure story line goes it engaging and enjoyable but I couldn't help but feel Tartt needed a better editor. Exceptionally long repetitive passages were at times excruciatingly emotional and others just excruciating. The actual plot probably could have been contained in a novella and it's a testament to Tartt's talent that certain characters (certainly not the protagonist) were strong enough to carry the lengthy book. At parts I couldn't put it down, and at others I had to force myself to pick it up.<br/><br/>If you're a Donna Tartt fan this won't be a disappointment but it's not nearly as immediately gripping as I found The Secret History. If you've never read her works before you will find this an engaging story that just drags on a bit in the middle.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19PP885X0TUQ9?ASIN=0316055441 couldn't put it down! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">excellent read, well written, fascinating story, which would appeal to readers with varying tastes. quite a long book, but keeps your interest all the way through</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2YZSF1RM4LD1K?ASIN=0316055441 Fabulous story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a Great Story. It is written so well that I did not even realize that I had read half the book. I remained Interested in the characters and what happens to them. I felt a strangeness walking past the Metropolitan museum. Thank goodness it was so long because I did not want the book to end. I originally read the book on Kindle but then had to have the real book to keep. I look forward to rereading.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2R2XNZZWMDYQ5?ASIN=0316055441 Not like Ms.Tartt needs another good review but... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">...best page-turner since 'Thornbirds'! Beware. Once in a blue moon I come across a plot I cannot bear to put down married to living people who obsess me, make me love them, make me suffer for them. When the tale is baited with rich details of art, antiquity -- quirky cultures and exotic pockets of humanity, I am so hooked. When all my canny-voyeur cleverness still cannot predict what will happen next, I know I am trapped. You will be too if you are the kind of reader who willingly jumps down the rabbit hole running with all your heart to keep up. You will put your real life on hold...stall...rationalize that a few more minutes can't hurt. You will be tempted to read on feverishly into the wee hours and may even find yourself calling in sick to finish up the latest development. You will be hung over when the story's done and in despair over what to begin next. You will know nothing can compare. You only meet such a book once in a quarter of a century.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2K7X154GFHSN6?ASIN=0316055441 Pulitzer Prize? Absolutely! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">My God, what a book. Some novels stay with you, most do not. This will never leave me. Thank you for this beautiful work of fiction with its' universal truths.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKN2DKC5NVWYO?ASIN=0316055441 Fabulous "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Couldn't put it down and now that I've finished it, I can't stop thinking about it. Brilliant character study. Also loved the unexpected plot twists and turns.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1P30ZAE79P90T?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Have not quite finished reading this book. but love the story. Sad and poignant but yet a wonderful read. Everyone who enjoys books should give this one a try.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/ROB1EM99G2BG0?ASIN=0316055441 Spellbinding! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Could not put it down! No wonder it took her 10 years to complete. The characters were so well developed and the story so complex, I found it amazing to follow.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16G4LWFY3MXOL?ASIN=0316055441 Just too much... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm not someone who writes book reviews, because my literary taste is not what you'd call average. However, I'm getting tired of our book club picking books that are rated so highly, and not enjoying them at all. So I have decided it is time for me to write a review. The author is obviously skilled at describing characters, they were all very complex. Too complex. The book was too long, and the last 100 pages or so, it seemed almost like a different author took over. It was rushed and you never really get the answers you want, just the ones she decided should probably be answered. The book is depressing, dark, but not in a ""makes you reflect on your life"" way. A for effort, but putting a long time into building characters does not create a compelling story. Too fragmented, with detailed sections that are not necessarily relevant then glossing over other important scenes. if you have a lot of free time on your hands, by all means go ahead and read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R32CIXJ5Q59C72?ASIN=0316055441 Overpraised, under-edited "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This novel has some fine parts, but the characters are mostly caricatures, and not very nuanced.<br/>The description of Greenwich Village is a few decades out of date (and I would know) -<br/>and there's too little description of the Village itself to evoke much visualization if one doesn't know the place.<br/>The descriptions of the Las Vegas outskirts, however, are surreal and memorable.<br/>In fact, the Las Vegas section was my favorite part of the book.<br/>After that, it gets repetitious (especially with illnesses) and there are far too many ""chase scenes"" - as if the author was consciously writing it for a film adaptation - but by the last one, I only wanted to skim it, because it was too obvious how it would turn out.<br/>In general, this novel is overblown and over-written, and suffers from the editor having indulged the writer<br/>instead of encouraging her to cut and be concise.<br/>NOT a great novel, but it has its choice parts.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RNUORJQBVDNY8?ASIN=0316055441 the good things. The characters were very clearly drawn and ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">First, the good things. The characters were very clearly drawn and some of the descriptive passages were sharp and lovely. But seriously, I'm not sure why this book is a Pulitzer prizewinner. It's an engaging enough story -- it kept me turning the pages, but so do many lesser praised books. Overall it felt unnecessarily overwritten and rather impressed with itself. Too often the words got in the way of the story, and slowed the narrative energy to a crawl. Never a good thing. I skimmed a lot of portions that felt like wading knee-deep through molasses. It took forever to get to the point; three quarters of the way through the book I was still wondering what it was about. And then finally, almost to the end, we get it. But THEN, it goes on for another 20 pages or so, wandering in several other directions, muddling up what could have been a very nice resolution. I'm still not sure what I was supposed to get out of it. Good enough summer read but no more.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20KUL30GG99N?ASIN=0316055441 LIked it; Didn't love it. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is beautifully written and very engaging. I was drawn to read it, but did not have the ""I can't put it down"" experience many others have had.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3HHL5G1WNE5PM?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A friend recommended this book to be. My only regret I cannot put it down. One of the best that I have read this year. I have already recommended it to others.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3955A6YGPY8VP?ASIN=0316055441 A spellbinder! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna's special writing ability weaves a story that is very intriguing and unusual. Scary, emotional, sometimes sad but draws you in to her world. Great read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RHK1SU8IEHWP?ASIN=0316055441 Poorly written book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could hardly read up to page 200 it was agony, and, I had over 500 pages to go. I frequently read long books so the length did not turn me off it was the book writing. So I gave up. An overblown book with much to dislike. The rambling of details which do not add anything to the story or advance the plot at all; the one-sided characters; the improbability of the story line; all this leads to a book that I would not recommend.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R4APZKOXJSSLF?ASIN=0316055441 Existential Gem "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book tells the story of many deeply flawed characters who flow back and forth through each others lives. The protagonist is connected to the others by being in an explosion at an art museum that kills his mother. This man definitely has ""mommy issues"" and for that matter issues with all the relationships with women in his life. The most engaging character in the book is his unsavory Slavic friend Boris with whom he shares a life long friendship bonded by alcohol, drugs and scrapes with underworld figures. The Goldfinch is a painting that is the central unifying theme of the book. The main character over thinks everything he does and for matter finds it difficult to commit to virtually anything. Also, I feel he is of a much more of a feminine mindset in the way he approaches the world - through sensitivity and an artistic outlook. Boris is the male - male here. The book is well written but ultimately has a existential message.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RZAL6WTOSBAU?ASIN=0316055441 I was not impressed with The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the book ""overwritten"". It is much too wordy. Instead of reading it word for word, I found myself skimming paragraphs and skipping portions.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2IKAMT3CWBHBV?ASIN=0316055441 Life is a castrophe. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm not going to write a long, literary review. As a former art dealer, I've read enough art reviews to know that many reviewers don't know how to explain anything about the art of which they're writing. The book was a great STORY, one you could not put down. It was not an easy read as its plots were very hard for an average person to live with. But, after you finished the story and were nearing the end, the author's point of view came out and it was not a popular one. Most of us have to believe that there is a reason for our life; that is is somehow important and meaningful.<br/>But, in fact, it's not. We're just here and things happen, many of them bad. There is no fairness or justification for what happens. As Tartt says, ""life is a catastrophe"". And that is what most people cannot accept. Theo's life was a catastrophe - his entire life. That's the theme that we must<br/>live with and that is not an easy theme.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BMYIU9106XUK?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A heartfelt story and a good lesson for parents; trust and dedication will go a long way even if it may take some time for the reciepient to come to terms.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3N3R6URT0B8KM?ASIN=0316055441 great read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">i really loved reading the Goldfinch it is an exciting and well written novel with great character development, suspenseful and well developed story line.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2IVCCTJTRCKN3?ASIN=0316055441 Not for the impatient reader who wants it all spelled out for her "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Dense, intense, too much, overwhelming, rank, overwhelming, obscure, familiar, sweaty, bloody, addictive, compelling--must come up for air to get through!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NU4W1YQF7J7E?ASIN=0316055441 Great read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A heartwrenching tale of an orphaned boy and how he survives through a lot of turmoil. What a good book. It's one that I tell my friends they must read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R28PHS1SRAN613?ASIN=0316055441 Great ending! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Moved through so many emotions, so many errant behaviors in all characters at different times...through it all the little bird was hidden but so present.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HTVXG1VA5DN9?ASIN=0316055441 Enjoy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Fascinating, thought provoking read. Takes you on a somewhat Dickensian journey with many difficult choices along the way. You won't want to put it down!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1V9W8KEKV0AVJ?ASIN=0316055441 Terrible "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I selected this book from Amazon Top 25 The reviews were all five star. What a waste of my time and money! The drugs, addicts, woefully sad lives of all the characters .... I wish I could get a refund. This is a horrifically depressing story.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PU6EO96Z8CBZ?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderfully written "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writer captures the character's personalities and experiences so well. It transports the reader into their lives. A long book, but hard to put down.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RROAR6YQSBN44?ASIN=0316055441 Boring........... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have never written a review before, although I read every day but felt compelled to write as most of the reviews here are so high. This was the wordiest book I believe I have ever read and the story litterally goes no where. I always read reviews, as I base the selections for bookclub over the past 17 years on what people are saying............ I do NOT reccomend this book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2N09OE045EXUI?ASIN=0316055441 No editor working, here? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This woman writes well, no doubt about that. Yes, I really enjoyed the first few pages of this book. However, it quickly became a matter of well written ""stuff"" that went on and on and on and- - -. I knew I was in trouble right after the museum explosion. I thought that the next seven hundred pages might actually be about the main character wandering about the museum, such was the pace of the writing. I skimmed ahead to make sure the main character actually got out, only to find that in his next ""setting,"" the events there, also went on and on and- - -. Enough! I skimmed the rest of the book and, unfortunately, found it insufferable. A synopsis on Wiki allowed me to quickly take this thing back to the library. A brave editor, up to the task, should have cut this book down to less than half its size. I have to add that I'm not sure why this won a Pulitzer. The plot was fairly absurd.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YZRNGS9U1NAQ?ASIN=0316055441 Rambling. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Over all the story line was intriguing but I have to be honest I skimmed over many pages to continue with story. I found the character ""insight"" to be to rambling and much to long. I wouldn't reccomend this book for that reason.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2LUK5W442SS74?ASIN=0316055441 like Boris and even the dog "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was very overrated! I had such high expectations for it based on it winning the Booker prize and the glowing reviews of some of the other reviewers.<br/><br/>From a positive perspective, it was an interesting story and overall, engaging written. The characterisation of some characters, like Boris and even the dog, Popchik was well done and the dialogue brought some characters alive on the page.<br/><br/>From a negative perspective, the writing is often unnecessarily longwinded and good have done with some solid editing. It seems like the author was trying to be profound or philosophical but often it just ended up being boring or pretentious.<br/><br/>The main character was hard to like and I found that I did not empathise with him or care what happened to him at all.<br/><br/>I have read this book being compared to Great Expectations and I can definitely see the similarities.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RI7NWDO4T9PRA?ASIN=0316055441 Well done! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was ""into"" this book from start to finish. The protagonist's Dickensian life from New York to Las Vegas and back kept me glued to the pages.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R24UBFGAF0VIOQ?ASIN=0316055441 Almost Awful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The two stars are for the side characters. Vibrant, endearing, and raw are Boris and Hobie. Truly treasures and brilliantly written. The main character, however, becomes annoying about a third of the way in. His whining self-absorption drowns the joy created by the others.<br/><br/>This book needed to be cut down to a third of its current size. I skimmed so much, I couldn't have read more than every third page. Woven throughout is a wonderful story, but it is so buried in the exhausting laundry list of Things the Author Wants You to Know She Knows About (think of the way Anne Rice ruins her books with her looooong descriptions of New Orleans and other things she wants readers to know she's worldly about), you simply cannot enjoy it. It's completely overblown with Author's pontificating and mediocre grabs at philosophy. At least 70% of this book has nothing whatever to do with the story line.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R28K1CWH669B88?ASIN=0316055441 A beautifully rendered story. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Compelling characters and breathtaking story result in a marvelous read. I felt the pull of this book from the first chapter. I'd recommend reading this book when you can afford to do nothing but read read read it from beginning to end.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJPKBX729DN43?ASIN=0316055441 Hated it. Pulitzer prize why? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Thus book needs some serious editing. In spite of all the critics a claim it was an endless story of the same endless events over and over again. Ugh</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YONJP6LPVILT?ASIN=0316055441 Highly recommend it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Excellent writing- so many stories in the book- hard to put it down. I have a mental health background and this book is perfect for intense analysis.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13KWC50EC3FCB?ASIN=0316055441 An intriguing read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Complex and extraordinary character development and storyline. Location descriptions put you there on every page of this beautifully executed novel.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1QHBLFW84GC12?ASIN=0316055441 Incredible read, lefts wanting more! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Excellent book although left me feeling a little depressed at times. I could not put it down. The writing and story line would make a great movie.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FOH61YGQULT2?ASIN=0316055441 Brilliant but frustrating.... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is a terrific writer - with the ability to let you feel what her character is feeling.<br/>The problem with that is that her main character, Theo, spends most of the book getting drunk to the point<br/>of vomiting, or drugged to the point of near-death. He makes terrible choices in most ways, and is chronically depressed<br/>and in post-traumatic stress. So the book is a really difficult place to dwell! I kept wishing that Theo would wake up, tell the truth,<br/>stop self-destructing. It felt miserable, being inside his life and inside his head. But the writing is so good, so vibrant and compelling that I kept reading even though it was far from comfortable in there.<br/>Theo does find redemption of a sort at the end, although it's not really his own choices that bring him to the solution of his problems.<br/>Still - the experience of this book is worth having.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3573MN6D7HREA?ASIN=0316055441 Good reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Great book........Enjoyed reading, could not put it down.<br/>Love the author.<br/>Will read more of her books.<br/>I would recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1MUHIO1NUOO40?ASIN=0316055441 life is far to short to waste on badly written books "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a book group read, so I tried to finish it. Got to the 67% mark (on my kindle) when I had an epiphany: life is far to short to waste on badly written books, and this one is a stinker of the first water.<br/>I read fiction to be entertained. This wasn't entertaining. In fact, it was a downer that only got further down as things went along. The protagonist doesn't try to fight upstream: he merely drifts with the current, feeling awful. The descriptions never end. It's 'show-don't-tell' on steroids. Ms. Tartt shows Every Little Thing. And then she sets up another fictional scene where she repeats the same point. And again. Just in case you didn't get it the first time.<br/>I doubt I will bother with any other Pulitzer Prize winners. The fact that they chose this wordy pompous bore of a book has convinced me that we have very different standards on what is good fiction.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R11G6I9H9MQVIQ?ASIN=0316055441 Time Waster... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ms. Tartt is a phenomenal researcher and has a tremendous grasp of the English language, this is what a good education will provide. <br/>But I promise you, all of that research must work in tandem with feeling, in order to be an emotional moving piece of literature.<br/>The ability to tell a story, not just to describe every single detail (and I mean this book was ALL detail, ie. ten pages describing a single<br/>room), leaves the reader completely frustrated. The story moved so slowly, that your only obligation to finish the book was out of sheer commitment once <br/>page 522 out of 732 was reached. The characters, often thrown out from nowhere and never fully allowed to breath, die amidst all the lost words, descriptions,<br/>art history lesson and antique furniture restoration lecture. This book is a great example of a well researched paper missing its heart. </span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R198KB65J3Y99Z?ASIN=0316055441 Best I have ever read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is one of the best books I have ever read. The use of language was scintillating and the characterization was nothing short of unforgettable.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21WZH5QA3B8YM?ASIN=0316055441 too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was not a page turner. I would fall asleep reading . I thought I would never get to the end. Almost started a new book several times.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26PMEJM6B9EQU?ASIN=0316055441 wow- what a book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">So specific is the description of Theo's life- you can insert yourself into his predicaments and so very clearly understand his life. Incredible.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R157L8FKSZFBJR?ASIN=0316055441 RE Narrated book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Here's the problem: it's so good - so amazingly narrated - that I had to stop for several days after disc #17 because I knew that shortly this wonderful listen would be all all over. I am ready to swear that David Pittu sounds exactly like a 13 year old in the beginning, gradually getting older and older. Nothing gimmicky in the reading - just an ear-candy transition of voice. Amazing.<br/><br/>I do believe if I had read the hard copy I would have skimmed over the adolescent angst years - not because that section is not well written, but because Tartt's writing of those years is painfully palatable to anyone who has ever been a teenager...under any family circumstances. And that would have been a huge mistake.<br/><br/>I am now working on finding other books David Pittu has narrated [sadly, too many are for young kids - sure they are all well done, however].</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R11C98NGLKQMK7?ASIN=0316055441 loved this "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was an incredible read, but bittersweet and painful to read at times. There were times I had to put it down and take a break from the pain.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1UWODNE0H21AE?ASIN=0316055441 modern Dickens, Hugo and Harry Potter for adults "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Loved The Goldfinch unreservedly. Loved the Dickensian patterning, the intertexuality, the art referencing, the adventure of it all. A favourite.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NJZ95SA51VDJ?ASIN=0316055441 Thought it would never end! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This has to be the longest read of any book I've ever encountered. I do not understand why it received a Pulitzer Prize. Although I realize that mine is likely a minority report, I remain unconvinced that the book has any real redeeming value. The language is convoluted, disjointed, but often seemingly stream of un-consciousness to describe the protagonist's rationale for his hedonistic, drug-crazed and self-centered life choices...someone gave me a priceless treasure to protect and I didn't even do a good job of that because, hey, drugs and the lure of wealth are taking over my life and by golly, I'm not responsible for any of it...it just happens to me. But I'll do as I damn-well please because that's just who I am! I'm sure I missed something really significant and life-changing in this book, but I'll not slog through it another time to try to figure it out.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1K83SPJCZJJ7X?ASIN=0316055441 Over-rated by others "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Vastly over-rated novel. Good story largely diluted by middle fifty per cent of the book which is a too wordy, dissipated coming-of-age segment.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BBUBMMM502BC?ASIN=0316055441 The beat read ever "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was a real page turner---always something new and startling. Never could guess what was happening next. A must on everyone's reading list!!!!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R9GIKIEKHZP5P?ASIN=0316055441 great read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved the pace and story and characters. Her descriptions of family disfunction and drug users was spot on. Reckon it would make a great movie</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1E6V3SI883NLV?ASIN=0316055441 A must read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is definitely a book you can't put the down. I didn't want it to end. It's a coming of age saga that keeps you on the edge of your seat.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2YLWN7Q0T3QSI?ASIN=0316055441 Being there with the protagonist "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's a well-written, profound novel and should receive 5 stars; however, it's too lengthy at 700 pages: For the first 600 pages I enjoyed every word. But towards the end I had had enough, wanted to go onto a new book.<br/> The protagonist and his mom live quietly, happily, in spite of the runaway father/husband. When he's grown up, engaged to a rich, extravagant woman, there's a culture clash and he and the reader are exhausted by the spending, the $4,000 plate.<br/> So much happens in the book, several plots are sustained. But, the most important are the grieving for his dead mother and his owning the Goldfinch painting which he loves, But ownership gives him feelings of guilt and terror when the painting is stolen, not well taken care of. The drug culture occupies our hero for many years, and even at the end we feel he'll never be drug free.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RZP22F2B9EJVT?ASIN=0316055441 A Chore "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the last 175 pages, or so, of ""The Goldfinch"" to be very painful reading about characters and a plot twist that rather painfully bored me. The only reason, in fact, that I read the last section of the novel is that I had already invested five-day's worth of reading time in it (and had read about 500 pages of the book).<br/><br/>The first part of the plot is powerful and all the way through the main character's growing-up days with a low-life father in Las Vegas, there were interesting character developments and relationships. Then, very slowly and very gradually, it became apparent that the main characters (with one or two exceptions only) were all basically a bunch of losers who were only going to continue rolling all the way down hill in their personal lives.<br/><br/>A book does not have to be filled with ""likable"" characters in order to please me, but the characters do have to have a little life to them. Unfortunately, the main character of ""The Goldfinch"" is so passive and lifeless that I began to hope the worst for him, and I doubt that's the response that Donna Tartt was going for with him.<br/><br/>And, frankly, I found the last dozen pages of the book to be the most painful reading in the entire book. It came across to me as pretentious and unworthy of the rest of the novel.<br/><br/>I really don't recommend this one...but if you read it, and like it, please feel free to tell me what I missed.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1G826501BQC52?ASIN=0316055441 LOVED IT "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a book that I couldn't put down until it was finished- Great characters- laughed, cried. I was sad when it came to an end. LOVED IT.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1PYTW21A7ZBCA?ASIN=0316055441 A beautiful book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was so wonderful, I couldn't make myself start a new book after I finished this one. I just wanted to think about it and savor it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3GFSATM7JNNDN?ASIN=0316055441 A must read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I had read The Secret History and loved it but was doubtful that a second book could be as good. This one might be ever better! Outstanding!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3TBTFBVB4NX0C?ASIN=0316055441 Long and interesting "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">situation was unusual....boy was believable.<br/>would make a good movie<br/>Plot made me want to see what happens<br/>end was a bit wierd</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19EQ4Q15FFFTX?ASIN=0316055441 wow "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is so powerful, so beautifully written that I don't quite know how to describe it. An incredible story, it really will leave you wanting more of Ms Tartt's writing. Don't pass up this book. It is simply amazing.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JZ4NQF15W348?ASIN=0316055441 Masterful! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am a passionate reader of fiction and I have not loved a piece of literary fiction this much since I don't know when. The novel is epic in scope taking us from New York, to Las Vegas to Amsterdam and from Theo at 13 to Theo at 26 and beyond. I can't recall a novel so big and busy since I read ""Middlemarch"", or ""Great Expectations"" .<br/><br/>But, like all great books, it is also delightfully intimate, presenting a never-ending stream of memorable and rich details that comprise the lives of its characters. Whether it's Theo's tortured thinking, or his mother's ice blue cashmere sweater, or Pippa's hair, or Boris's butchered English, everything and everyone is exuberantly alive and beautiful.<br/><br/>I can't recommend this book highly enough. I anticipate re-reading ""The Goldfinch"" with great joy sometime soon.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3RSIISTHS6406?ASIN=0316055441 A Modern Saga of Growing Up in the US Today "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a rich casserole of cultures and levels of society is presented by Donna Tartt, as she develops this fascinating tale! I've read reviews that describe her narrative as ""Dickensian,"" and it does have some of that novelist's techniques. However, this book does not have an overwhelming social justice flavor, but is decidedly non-judgmental, and the principal youth is not a hero, although his friend just might be.. The cross-country trek is a part-quest, part crucible of terror --- a breath-taking mini-story that is reminiscent of Huck Finn's adventures. This is a book that encourages the reader to slow down and appreciate the care invested in its dialog and character development. The art history commentary is thought-provoking all by itself. ""The Goldfinch"" merits the accolades that have been showered upon it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R116CNV7SIJK1T?ASIN=0316055441 Terrible story! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I couldn't wait to finish this book - it was tedious. Following this boys' life was depressing and so crazy! I disliked every aspect of it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LUPLH0XF5D2R?ASIN=0316055441 A Special Page Tuner! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this book. It has a different interesting style. The story and characters are sensitive, serious, fascinating, fun, and intriguing.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3RFB6C21A3FW2?ASIN=0316055441 Loved it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautiful writing that told and an engaging story that kept me inside reading for the few short days it took me to read it start to finish.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19PJUZ8V1HRZM?ASIN=0316055441 You will miss them at end "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Excellent writer best read in long time ,characters are funny and sad...the parable one of favorite parts! He got his point across anyway.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21L55QAX3M4ID?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed in the Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Way too long and overly wordy as if this was a creative writing thesis. I did not like the main characters and the plat just took me round and round with nefarious characters that exposed the underbelly of various worlds that I did not care to visit. Theo was a pretty not nice guy and the death of his mother does not excuse his awful treatment. He uses her death and that of his father to explain away the good things his mother taught him. He abuses his relationship with Hobie and thinks that money will cure his problems when in fact his character is lacking. I suppose I personally did not enjoy this book even though the chained goldfinch maybe the underlying message here. Maybe its ultimate return to the rightful place set Theo free but found I could care less and 748 pages could have been helped by cutting it 200 pages at least.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PYQ7IN52D5AS?ASIN=0316055441 took me months to finish... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can zip through a really great book in a week or less. This was the most painful book I've ever read. Don't get me wrong, there were some parts that had my attention. But then it just rambled on and on and on and I had to stop. I only finished this book be uses I'm not a quitter and have a really hard time just leaving things undone. Although I'm not sure you can classify it as finishing it, even. The last 3-5% of the book I flipped through and skimmed to make sure I wasn't missing any dialogue or a crazy twisted ending... Nope, just more rambling and introspection as far as I could tell. And if there was some big plot twist that I missed, I don't really care. You couldn't make me open it again. That's how much I hate this book. Also, you should know I've never written a review on here before... Ever. But this book deserved it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JCSNWW058B5Q?ASIN=0316055441 terrific! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is as un-put-downable as it is long. Donna Tartt has given us a masterpiece that examines love, good and bad, life and death in a prose that is so vivid, you can't help but feel part of this touching story.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NYU6EVVSPLS3?ASIN=0316055441 I couldn't put it down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the smartest, most thoughtful, philosophically capacious, lyrical, and moving novels I've read in a long time. I have all of Tartt's work on my shelves; this is her finest--a mature, confident, riveting story.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3IGMZELL7LFXT?ASIN=0316055441 It was on the Best of 2013 lists for a reason. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What an intelligent, well written, captivating, character driven book Ms. Tartt has written!<br/><br/>The subject of the title is a famous painting, the importance of which ebbs and flows over the course of the book. The book follows a young boy from about age 12 through his mid-twenties, and how he deals with the death of his mother (revealed in the first page, not a spoiler!), moving, poverty, neglect, drugs, thugs, and the importance of the kindness of relative strangers. And yet, it is somehow an uplifting book.<br/>The main character is compelling and well rounded.<br/>Although this is not “YA” fiction, and the themes are pretty intense, the plot is the coming of age of the main character, and therefore, the book is not entirely inappropriate for an advanced high school reader.<br/>Truly, this is a great work of fiction and one of the most well written books I’ve read in a long time. My ONLY criticism is in the ending, Ms. Tartt did not let the relationship between the significance of “The Goldfinch” painting and the main character stand, she could not help but explain it. In that, one can see her deep understanding and love of art, but it was unnecessary: the book was well written enough that the reader already understands how the painting and the protagonist are alike.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CJED5LZJQHG9?ASIN=0316055441 Luminous . . . "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is the most beautifully written novel I've read in a longtime. The nature of the story is extremely contemporary, and yet it exists in the luminous space of the best historical novels . . . a wonderful read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2U3KU69P9W8SZ?ASIN=0316055441 Exquisite Start, Strange Ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just finished reading The Goldfinch and though I rarely leave a review of a book, this one compelled me to do so. The start of the book is so beautifully written, I found myself underlining sentences that were just so perfectly executed. I loved the main character Theo as an adolescent and loved the intertwining of art masterpieces throughout the story. I also adored the character Hobie and it's clear that the author did too. But after what started as a glorious book turned and twisted into a strange tale. I felt like things were left hanging and found the end to be rushed and written not at all like the beginning. I'm not quite sure if I would recommend this book but am glad that I read it, if for nothing else the writing throughout the start of the book is so vivid, descriptive and at times just breath taking.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LX4XBKQHGZ9J?ASIN=0316055441 Incredible achievement. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It is almost hard to describe what a tremendous experience it is to read this book. It's like living another life, so fully realized, so beautifully written. Best book I've read in a long time without a doubt.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3VP3T33XLJV5N?ASIN=0316055441 Lame "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">stupid. I hated everyone in this book and had to force myself to finish it for book club because I didn't care if anyone lived or died.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Y19AL44ROLYV?ASIN=0316055441 loved This Book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Like reading several novels in one; deals with art, life, psychology and philosophy. Holds the reader's attention throughout the story</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R383DXXVNINPOA?ASIN=0316055441 Sublime "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An allegorical tale covering most of our lives; warts and worse. Beautifully written. This is a book I'll be rehashing for a long time.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R36K1DE9JXZWMK?ASIN=0316055441 A masterpiece of Dickensian fiction "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a book about the life's journey of a young boy dealing with the aftermath of his mother's sudden - and violent - death.With a wonderful ability to keep you turning the pages, Donna Tartt elicits many gut-wrenching emotions from the reader. It's not easy to read about someone coming to grips with the idea that the one person in their life they could depend on is gone forever. However, it is also a story of getting on with things... and the finding of hope and love in unexpected places.<br/>Don't be put off by the size of the book. You'll hardly notice the pages turning and you may find yourself delaying finishing just so that there is some more to read the next day. She only writes a book a decade, so take it slow and enjoy the ride. A book like this is a rare and wonderful treat.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27SJX90AOUTLB?ASIN=0316055441 Great Expectations "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">We read this for book club and while a looonnnggg read, we enjoyed it, especially the characters. Everyone loves Boris, aka the the Artful Dodger. So many Dickensonian themes and books here! Our one complaint was the repetitive drug use for pages and pages, we started skipping. I suspect about 200 pages could have been trimmed and we would have gotten the picture just fine. Boys' brains are undeveloped at best and this was a great illustration. Things happen. People are who they are, it's in their nature. The last 10th of the book are almost lost in the attempt to finish the book, but will be reread and savored more. Many good thoughts that were almost thrown out there at the end that we felt could have been dropped in there and there rather than piling on at the very end. It would be a great movie!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30QKERGXRIPOD?ASIN=0316055441 wordy and boring "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Too long...too much filler...couldn't wait for this book to end. Frustrating to read...waiting for something to happen that never did.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R8J76H7RMDBU0?ASIN=0316055441 Fabulous book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very long but compelling which makes it go faster. I hooked up sound toward. The middle and had it read to me. It is an exciting book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3K9YAZOTVR6UY?ASIN=0316055441 Dragggggssss. Oooonnnnnnnn. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really liked the book for the first 25 percent. By the 41st percent, I gave up. Once he got to Las Vegas and it was nothing but gambling, alcohol, drugs; over and over and over with no redeeming merit to the book, I jumped ahead nubby 60 pages and it was still the same stuff. By then the story line was going nowhere.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RT5IC1IVNA1B5?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt compelled me. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Found myself transported by this account of a boy, Theo, whose perceptions of life and art are distorted, but also expanded and intensified by the traumatic loss of his beloved mother, followed by neglect in his adolescence and years of drug use and alienation into adulthood. Theo commits serious crimes but it becomes very hard to say at some point if these are wrong, if they create more harm than good, if they outweigh his impulse towards nonjudgmental friendship, caring and love, and if--even though Theo feels persistently, deeply guilty--he is guilty in a moral sense. A gripping mystery, interesting characters and relationships, compelling philosophical questions, and beautiful, sensual descriptions. This book explored things that are hard to talk about--the feeling of timelessness, severe painful beauty and specialness that are the strange compensation for trauma, depression and marginalization; the alternative ethics that may accompany unspeakable experiences and the perceptions that they yield; and, most impressively, the way that art can draw us into that timeless, sweet yet painful liminal space between the sacred and profane. I couldn't stop reading the book, read it too quickly even though it's long, and miss it now that I'm done.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1P7JBXMFELQS?ASIN=0316055441 One Star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">In desperate need of an editor! And for me, even with an editor, this is not Pulitzer. I stopped 500 pages in.....I kept hoping....</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RDIIT05UMOQJC?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found this book to be very engaging. Read it in two sittings and would recommend it to anyone looking for excitement in the chase.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3H8LNV37APSXZ?ASIN=0316055441 Too long - needs serious editing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book starts brilliantly, with fascinating descriptions of a child who is orphaned in a terror bombing. He rescues a prized painting of a Goldfinch in the aftermath of the bombing, and this becomes his most prized possession. The book then becomes a detailed story of a teenager's move into a drug addicts life. It then spends many pages describing the thoughts and impressions of a young man who is involved in scams (selling fake antiques). At this point boredom set in, and I started skimming pages, jumping forward. There is a side plot of a character ""Lucius Reeves"" who decides to destroy the young man - we don't really know why. Also a side story of a bunch of thieves, who steal the prized painting. I forced myself to finish the book and felt that the ending was a total letdown.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R393V0O066G3SB?ASIN=0316055441 Laborious "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Interesting but too long. Loss interest near the end<br/>Couldn't stay focused not sure what point Donna Tatty was trying to make</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RRJXZOG365SIK?ASIN=0316055441 Not worth your time. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was too woody, too technical, had little plot except how high you could get on different drugs, too lengthy, with no resolution.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FCKAMBQQDY2H?ASIN=0316055441 Great Book!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Terrific Book, very rich in characters! Well written and takes you on a roller coaster<br/>ride. Looking forward to the movie!!!!!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2J2I72WOQZ126?ASIN=0316055441 Page turner! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really enjoyed this book, lots of twists and turns with great description. Would recommend it to any one who enjoys a good novel!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R83B9QDMHQGBQ?ASIN=0316055441 Worthy read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Had trouble starting but well worth the read once I got into it. Reminiscent of ""Catcher in the Rye."" Glad I stuck with it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTW6U1V5CPBG9?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am still reading it ... can't put it down and when people ask "" what is it about "" .. can't answer .. except IT IS GREAT!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3HX7E4NSSO0H4?ASIN=0316055441 Characters to love and hate... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Am easily bored by facile characterizations...no depth, no interest. Donna Tartt is all about the good and bad faults in all of us.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3ORFTKZUA8TE1?ASIN=0316055441 Great book. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very entertaining; a real page-turner. I enjoyed the length of it, I never lost interest in the story although it was a long book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2RQXPQ7G81RHM?ASIN=0316055441 BORING, Torture "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Boring, too descriptive, I often forgot where the story was going. The author is a great writer but I just gave up after 400 pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1XDCWR8S99EWE?ASIN=0316055441 A Huge Disappointment "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to like this book; it won awards, everyone seems to be reading it--however, it is one of the worst books I have EVER read (and I'm very well read). It is 800 pages of listening to a child become a thief, alcoholic, addict, and pretty much unadmireable human being. I kept reading in the hopes that I had somehow missed what was so great about this novel--it did win a Pulitzer--but yet, I found nothing worthy of its awards. There are very few books that I have reacted so strongly to in the sense of putting it down and exclaiming (which I did with this): ""That was horrendous! What a waste of time!"" There is so much wonderful potential in Ms. Tartt's style of writing, her sense of description, but beyond that I can say very little good about this. A huge disappointment.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1DVMGHW6IO1GU?ASIN=0316055441 Feels like it will never end "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">While the characters are interesting at some point the story should move on. I kept hoping it would pick up the pace and it never really did. On the up side you can put it down when it is time to sleep.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RXL0FW5PPQR2P?ASIN=0316055441 A Fascinating Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I both liked and disliked this book. I appreciated the well-drawn characters and the dilemmas they faced. Tartt's descriptions of the events draw one in until you feel like you are experiencing them also. Some of the issues she addressed in this work made me uncomfortable but that didn't make them any less relevant to the story. It was a long read and there were times when I had to take a break because of the intensity of the story. I wanted there to be more hope and redemption for the main characters at the end; but I also realize that there are people in the world who don't give up, while leading desperate lives. I am glad that I read this book and it will stick with me for a long while. Life is so complicated and Tartt did an excellent job of communicating that in this novel.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2SPSM7ZZ5PF2R?ASIN=0316055441 Well worth the long read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was worth reading, but I do have some criticism. It was too long! I found I was skipping over what I considered excessive description. I know setting is important, and the author did a good job of it, but it went on for far too long - especially the ride back from Vegas! As a result, momentum slipped. While I found I could identify with the main character, I found the others more like caricatures, especially an important one like Boris. The story was compelling and the climax exciting, but the anti-climax was the real jewel, and the thoughts expressed worth remembering. I think I read the last chapter(s) over again to try to truly grasp the depth of thought. Having said all this, I did enjoy the blend of art history and literature, and the lessons to be learned from both.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2DF6NN0KMCPG9?ASIN=0316055441 looked forward to reading this each day "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Enjoyed the writing style, the character of Theo, getting familiar with restoration of furniture, settings of NY and LV. Haunting.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WNDZXPVHQVIJ?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch - an unworkable mishmash "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is arguably the worst book I have ever read. Tartt attempts to give us four stories for the price of one, and the resulting mess is like mixing pickles with Corn Flakes with orange sherbet with olive oil. The overwhelming story line was not about the painting at all, but read like a manual of pharmacology. Then there was the story of the painting - that would have made a good story. Then there was the story of the protagonist's relationship with his employer. That would have made a good story. Then there was the story of the PTSD. That would have made a weak story. And, thrown into the mess are the sub stories of the protagonist's relationship with his friend Boris and with the woman he loved and who remained unattainable. There was also the story of his relationship with the family with whom he lived for some time in his youth and who he rediscovered on his return to New York. Well, you get the idea. Definitely worth a pass unless you're fascinated with the effects of several intoxicants combined, the high and lows of the psychedelic experience and the seamy underside of Russian low life.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17XAUGTMDD4LI?ASIN=0316055441 great book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">really enjoying cant wait to read the rest of this authors books. witty and smart - well deserved on winng alocolades and prizes</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R25DPTAHSURUI9?ASIN=0316055441 instant classic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Theodore decker will be as unforgettable as Dickens' protagonists in years to come. You grow and learn along with the character, and feel the power of his tale as if it were your own memory speaking.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2KIE9UUBSSNSZ?ASIN=0316055441 Memorable characters, but is this really great? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm never sure what constitutes Pulitzer Prize material. This novel was certainly full of memorable characters, some of which I cared about and followed with interest. Some characters I just didn't understand. This story is divided by events before Nevada and events after. It is the after-Nevada that becomes confusing. In particular, it was difficult to understand how one character became such an 'international figure' (trying to avoid spoilers, here). It is a very convenient plot device that the 'international' character pops up and has morphed into an all-knowing of things underworld. I wonder if the author got Pulitzer kudos for writing about this underworld that depicts almost feral children who become survivor adults, as if to explain why and how some people came to be.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RST3Z8KFTWO32?ASIN=0316055441 Ridiculous plot, cartoon characters, don't bother. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">How this book won the Pulitzer prize is beyond me. The plot is somewhere between ridiculous and implausible, not a single character is developed with any authenticity and the writing is amazingly thin. Did she have a B movie in mind that starts with an (unexplained) explosion, morphs into a display of street drug knowledge (spoiler alert -- the hero never uses a needle! so refined of him!) and ends with a (gratuitous) shoot-em-up in Amsterdam? The ""amazing small painting"" theme is so strained as to become pointless both to the reader and to the alleged plot. As an author, Tartt is a show off, but that was OK by me in <The Secret History> which I liked despite the spun out denoument. This is a very disappointing, failed effort. Don't bother with it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RB2NRSX252JP2?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch fizzles early "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">You know it's not going to end well when it starts in a dark, depressing hotel room in Amsterdam. But I didn't really care, becasuse I never really got to like the main character, Theo. The first novella describing events to befall Theo as a child are moving and gripping, but unfortunately, it all goes downhill from there. While I appreciated the plight of young Theo, it became increasingly hard to care for this flawed character. The plot just went more and more off the rails until Theo just ends up floating through airport terminals and foreign hotel rooms in a state of total conscious despair. The takeaway: life isn't really worth living and you're better off to know this and wallow in your torment. I think I'm going to stick to more cheerful books from here out!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2KFUQD2TUM1CZ?ASIN=0316055441 Well written and kept me reading. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Well written with many twists. Kept my interest through the entire book which due to it's size is amazing. Highly recommend it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3KHNZ838KESKE?ASIN=0316055441 Beautiful read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved the book ,the whole story,the prose though I felt at times,overwhelmed ,by the excessive descriptions of the drug usage.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2QGIPREQD5E6C?ASIN=0316055441 Much too self-indulgent "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Did Ms. Tartt win the Pulitzer based on number of words? I agree with the reviewer who stated ""there are plot twists that are beyond absurd, there is far too much self-congratulatory philosophizing stuck in at the end. . . . .The end reads like student work. The characters are unlikeable, and there are pages, pages and pages of drug addiction descriptions that begin to read like pornography."" In reality, the severity of alcoholism and blackouts that were attributed to the main characters would render most people nonfunctional. I read a lot and a variety of genre. I was looking forward to reading a masterful work, but concluded that this was way too wordy, overly hyped, and would have been much better had the author self-edited and cut out about 300 pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2IUOZ1S7EILUH?ASIN=0316055441 It's a 5 until the last 20 pages! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Loved this book until the last 20 pages when he gets overly philosophical and introspective. Great story and great characters.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2XJXDFTA86FRA?ASIN=0316055441 Beautiful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautiful writing and made me think. Fantastic and surprising--it goes where you're not expecting it to go. I really loved it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RAUV7820D5CCM?ASIN=0316055441 Powerful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautiful writing. Intriguing story. Couldn't put it down. Difficult topics to read about but so well done. Would recommend it</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RO19RGRXBBZGV?ASIN=0316055441 Too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I enjoyed the beginning but after the plot switched to Las Vegas and the constant drugging bored me. There were other parts I enjoyed but I was beginning to think I would make it to the end.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1V44JAFLBE0EC?ASIN=0316055441 disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">too long...too many dead spots...struggled to finish...pluses were wonderful phases and descriptive<br/>terms... interesting look at drug world but still way too many temptations to skip ahead</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R8B80KHIH5ADQ?ASIN=0316055441 A great gift recommendation from Amazon! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">My wife loved it! Great recommendation from the book experts at Amazon! She finished it in a week and highly recommends it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2ZHCZE26R21SX?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Powerful & Descriptive. At times difficult to read, Gripping emotional story line, and I missed the characters at books end.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2I11708OX2VKW?ASIN=0316055441 This book kept me reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although it is a little too long, the book is interesting and entertaining. I couldn't bear to leave it for too long a time.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFHSWNLDUGXT1?ASIN=0316055441 A dreadful, bloated book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Amazon needs a negative star rating to describe this book. Save yourself and don't buy it. Don't even check it out from the library because watching paint dry is a more effective use of your time. I kept hoping it would get better, but alas, no luck.<br/><br/>Tartt starts out with a good, though somewhat implausible, storyline. However, the story line is then dropped in favor of a chaotic rendering of life in Vegas, which, at most only needed 100 pages, not the vast amounts it took up. Also, she's a great example of the type of terrible writing you get when too many adjectives are strung together.<br/><br/>How this won the Pulitzer prize is a mystery to me. Needless to say, It stains the reputations of all previous winner with bloated, inky pages.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3138G5O3VKN28?ASIN=0316055441 Wow! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first book I have read by Donna Tartt and now, I will read everything she has written. The characters come alive with masterful detailed insight into troubled lives from childhood to maturity. The story is intertwined with human struggles, intrigue, love, big city society, historical antiquities, tragedy, and laced with philosophy. As I was reading this extraordinarily well written novel, I found myself wanting to know more about the author and how she created the characters, their path in life, how their lives played out together in a world complicated with human failures, addictions, tragedy and triumphs. Bravo, Donna Tartt for writing an award winning novel that has the capacity to cause one to pause and evaluate their lives here on earth.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2A5FNT5H4OUAZ?ASIN=0316055441 A Dark Fairy Tale "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book challenges the mind in the way a great novel like Moby Dick does. The writing feels like its from another time too. Tartt's descriptions take you right to the place where the characters are rather it been a cluttered room with amber light or a vast empty desert.<br/>The story is creative and surprising and thought provoking. I loved following our hero (and often anti hero) through his young, fascinating life. There's a magical quality to it and yet it feels fresh and current. It's happening now but it could be happening in another time too.<br/>Most of all I enjoyed the peaks and valleys of this book. The dark macabre places we followed the moments of joy and ecstasy. It's a long deep read and worth every moment of the journey. Thank you.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1JTG0CIIMTMGH?ASIN=0316055441 "I did it - finished this ""sorta"" good book!" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A very long book that at times hooks you in, however could not be happier to be done with it as opposed to the book that makes you sad when done. The characters are very flawed developed, unique, varied and complex. The characters are the draw and what keeps you reading versus the many existential philosophically oriented ramblings. Explored in this book are many heady topics including issues of PTSD, depression, drug abuse, relationships, blurred lines of love/hate , good/bad and of course life and death. This is all centered around a small but deeply valued famous painting of a gold finch. For such a long book the ending was very unsatisfying for me as I would have liked an outcome of the characters instead of meandering generalizations of life.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2O61CKBRN1SXE?ASIN=0316055441 Exceeded Expectations! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a ride! Amazing! Awesome! I wish she would publish more than once a decade! Miss Tartt is an America literary treasure.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ARQ5BKT3MF7E?ASIN=0316055441 Fabulous story, waaaay too long. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Amazing saga, but like some good movies that run about 20 minutes too long, The Goldfinch could have been 200 pages shorter.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23423EKDY8OXT?ASIN=0316055441 why in a gods name did I read this??? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Pulitzer Prize, you've got to be kidding me? The first 30% of this book was spectacular. The set up for this book grabbed me. I love every minute of the first 30 %. The characters were developing nicely. The setting clearly set in my mind. When setting changed to Las Vegas it went all down hill with a huge bang.<br/><br/>I won't even go into details about the story but it went from understandable to the theatre of the absurd. Drugs was the theme of this book more than that stupid painting.<br/><br/>It got one star for the first 30% of the book. I was really into finding a great book for the summer, this was not it.<br/><br/>Save your money, downloads whatever for this book only got Pulitzer for the number of words in it, useless words.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R773LLNM7GZDZ?ASIN=0316055441 Sorry "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book did nothing for me. Boring!!! Could not wait to put it down. Too much description too many useless conversations.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/REEMXOL6N1FMW?ASIN=0316055441 too many words "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Takes her 12 pages to say ""good morning"". Verbosity kills the action, slows the moment to the point of disinterest.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1P1MRZLIRA7CT?ASIN=0316055441 stunning book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Engaging from the start and a journey of hell, poetry, literature and fiction.<br/>A classic, worth the wait, a must read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RS5OZFRO6WAEV?ASIN=0316055441 Emotional roller coaster! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The author makes the characters come alive bringing the reader through a whirlwind of emotions - anger, sadness, joy, fear.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3QURR1IA03XT8?ASIN=0316055441 just the most awesome "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt continues to be the best. Her cult is so deserved, and this book will surprise everyone and their expectations.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1GXT5MMYC0NEQ?ASIN=0316055441 Intense atorytelling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book is full of twists and turns. It is intelligent, moody and features well drawn characters, particularly the leads.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1T5VVFMUO9228?ASIN=0316055441 boring, esoteric "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was burned by another popular, 'everyone is reading it' book called ""Freedom,"" by Jonathan Franzen a few years ago. Somehow books like this appear in popular tv shows and People Magazine, and then everyone feels they have to 1. Read them and 2. Pretend to have loved it just like everyone else. I pushed through five chapters of this book and could not tolerate it any more. So, I went back to the start and re-read those five chapters again to really make a thorough effort at it. This book has no hook. There's a lot of references to New York City and some young boy who apparently knows Franny and Zoey by JD Salinger pretty thoroughly (What's the chance of that?). This book gave me nothing to value, nothing to wonder about. My only assumption is that this author is well-connected in literary circles or something to earn such acclaim and accolades for a book this lame. I wish I could force myself past the five chapters, but I'm not that eager to have my heart broking by another plodding, esoteric, boring book like Freedom again. I wouldn't steer you away from trying it yourself, but I'll say this- don't believe the hype.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1TLFBWB28HRHC?ASIN=0316055441 """Bad Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal!""" "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt includes this quote, usually attributed to Picasso, in The Goldfinch, perhaps as a way of acknowledging the plot, character and scene similarities to other great works of fiction. As other reviewers have noted, the book includes elements of Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and Harry Potter (mirror of erised, anyone?) . I'm sure it nods to other great novels that I have never read, particularly Russian works.<br/><br/>Nevertheless, this is a wonderful, engaging, plot-driven book. Though it draws on the traditions of 19th century novels, it is very much a 21st Century work. Each paragraph is beautifully worked; each word and name carefully chosen. Moreover, the psychological elements of the characters appear particularly well researched: Theo (like Van Gogh's brother? God? the Antipope?) and Pippa (nod to Great Expectations?) are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. This is a key part of who they are... ""and the damage is part of the attraction.""<br/><br/>I cannot recommend this book highly enough! I am already of jealous of all you readers out there who still have this delight in your future.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1JVGXXL0HYDB3?ASIN=0316055441 The book's length interrupted a good story! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a novel of a boy who is given one of the world’s most famous paintings, by a stranger, during a terrorist attack. It is also a book that vividly paints the idiom, “No good deed goes unpunished” while adding the phrase, “and no punishment is without reward.” The essence of the book is excellent. When Ms. Tartt writes action, dialogue, plot points and descriptions of the locations within this book, there were few better books published this year. This excellence, however, is often lost among the (seemingly) endless discourse of the narrator, Theodore “Theo” Decker, about the minutiae of an observation, memory, place visited or the present distraction suffered by the Hero. The book would have been on par with Gone Girl were it 400 pages shorter, alas, it is almost 800 pages.<br/> Theo Decker’s father went to work one day and never returned. They learned of his abandonment weeks after the fact when he contacted them. His mother, already working to support the family, was making Theo’s life as full as possible when they stepped into a museum to escape a thunderstorm at the absolute wrong moment. What occurs in the hour they were looking at the paintings was a moment that defined Theo’s life for the next 13 years (the duration of the book). He lives with the family of a schoolmate, a wealthy New York Old Money clan that embraced him quickly. When his father shows up to “claim” him, he relocates to Las Vegas, where the safety, direction and care he knew in NYC is nonexistent. He meets Boris, a Russian immigrate whose father is as dependable as is Theo’s; they are left to raise themselves. Theo moves back to New York City in hopes of finding the life he once knew and any memories he can find of his mother. In all these moves, he takes with him the painting handed to him during the disastrous museum visit.<br/>How an adolescent can keep a world famous painting safe and a secret, all the while worrying what to do with it, yet never considering returning it to the museum, is never addressed. The issue of “what to do with MY painting” is so frequently raised that it becomes but one of the distractions of a plot that, eventually, fulfills the promise of being a fine story of life, friendship, fidelity, faith and destiny with a bit of mystery, intrigue and violence in the mix to give it flavor. There is a moment of graphic violence, descriptions of violence done to a child and plenteous drug use within its pages.<br/>I doubt I will read another of Ms. Tartt’s books unless she finds an editor that knows her/his job. There are too many words used to relate the story. I felt, at points, that she was testing the editor (and reader) to see how much she could write that had little to do with the plot flow and it be included within the pages of this book. Her other two novels, according to the dust jacket, have been translated into 30 languages, if this one is likewise translated, I hope it is done with more clarity and succinctness than is found on these pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1LFUE63TBUK3D?ASIN=0316055441 One of best fictions of 2013 "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Tartt's debut novel, The Secret History (which I loved), has been talked about as a ""contemporary classic"" in the twenty years since it was published, so she had a lot to live up to with The Goldfinch. But, she hit it out of the park! The Goldfinch is definitely one of my favorite fiction books of 2013 and I liked it even more than The Secret History.<br/><br/>It is hard for me to boil down what this book is truly about because it covers such a huge breadth of themes and I also don't want to ruin the suspense. Perhaps what best captures the essence of the story is Theo's statement that he had ""the conviction that my whole life was balanced atop a secret that might at any moment blow it apart"".<br/><br/>Tartt includes so many disparate topics/themes (art / art crime, drugs, antiques, gambling, mental illness / trauma, love, friendship, and family dysfunction), while still making it all feel necessary to the story. In this way, it reminded me a bit of Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore. The other thing that reminded me of Penumbra is that much of Goldfinch takes place in a dark and somewhat mysterious antique shop (like the old book store in Penumbra) and the mentor type relationship Theo finds with Hobie, the proprietor of the antique shop, is reminiscent of Clay's and Penumbra's.<br/><br/>Tartt managed to combine two completely different types of books (a coming of age story and a suspenseful mystery) and actually make it work. The book is initially more focused on the coming of age angle and then builds into a suspenseful art / antique crime mystery. I'm not at all interested in art or antiques, so was worried I wouldn't like The Goldfinch as much as others did, but Tartt managed to keep me engrossed anyway…the mark of a truly great story teller.<br/><br/>As evidenced in The Secret History, Tartt can be incredibly dark at times and, while The Goldfinch is certainly somewhat shadowy (or at least operates in a shadowy underworld for much of the story), it has elements of warmth, love, and some good hearted characters to balance out the darkness.<br/><br/>I admit that I worried about the 770 page length, but I shouldn’t have! I think the setting changes and sheer breadth of things going on keeps things interesting. However, the length is keeping me from adding The Goldfinch to my Book Club Recommendations List, but it would be a fabulous selection if your club is especially ambitious. I think The Goldfinch is one of the Best Books of 2013 (check out my blog, Sarah's Book Shelves, for my full list).<br/><br/>For more reviews, check out my blog, Sarah's Book Shelves.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OOI9ZE7229EC?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch Doesn't Soar "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I would probably rate it a 2.5 stars. I actually liked the writing when it didn't blather on and on. I found the characters interesting and the story line moved in a way that compelled me keep reading to find out what would happen next. The problem for me was that it took too long to get to the ""next"" part. This book could have been quite good if it had been much, much shorter. It just went on and on and on so many times that I actually found it quite tedious and started skimming which I almost never do. There was a dream description that I'm sure went on for longer than all of the dreams I've had in the last month. Despite the fact that several in our book club really enjoyed it I would not personally recommend it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17BBOOXFXXBHJ?ASIN=0316055441 Utterly Amazing! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could not put this down! This is an exquisitely written book telling a breathtaking tale. I highly recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R183Y7K5EJXJ2W?ASIN=0316055441 Expected to enjoy this - disappointed. Did I miss something? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Having really enjoyed Donna Tartt's previous two novels, and after waiting the pre-requisite decade for her latest offering, I had no hesitation in promptly whooshing it into my kindle for immediate consumption. Sad to say, that's where this novel's movement ended. I found it tedious, repetitive, stagnant in fact, - effects which if engendered by some covert authorial plan to evoke a surprising terminal emotional response (then perhaps there would have been some point to it) backfired badly as I instead had a terminal response. Finally admitting defeat, I abandoned her darlings to their final chapters, took what remained of my reading life and ran. I can only assume that those who rated it 5 stars stayed on for the last dance.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1T6ETJYTF9Q3C?ASIN=0316055441 Art in all of living "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Art and life are shown to be symetrical in this wonderful novel which embraces all the inconsistencies and inconsistencies and mysteries of life. Truly a delightful and insightful read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3N27FC7UF7XCE?ASIN=0316055441 Avid reader "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's very well written and builds suspense. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed seeing Theo mature and grow.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2F9KK9I1N3OL1?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch is a masterpiece! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have had The Goldfinch sitting on my Kindle for some time only because I have not had time to get to it. That being said, this novel is one of the truly great reads of this summer for me. Firstly, Ms. Tartt weaves an amazing tale of our young Theo as he takes this circuitous life journey. She focuses on the essential plot elements and does not bore the reader with unnecessary details. Secondly, her characterizations are flawless, leaving no stone unturned in her masterful portrayal of each one. Lastly, my favorite element is her beautiful language and descriptions of people, places, and things. I am an English teacher, and some of her passages reminded me of Faulkner, and that's the ultimate compliment coming from me.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R11KQKR6EC3KI6?ASIN=0316055441 Best 5 books ever read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the best 5 books ever read. Intense, compelling and deep insight. She goes where few thread! Highly recommended.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3T7WFH4GEO273?ASIN=0316055441 disappointed. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I do not know what all the fuss is about this book. It was too long and the main character was the sorriest person ever . It took forever to get through it, I was hugely disappointed</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1PYUJV74WLQHR?ASIN=0316055441 Simply awful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the worst books I have read lately...constant booze and drugs. Only kept at it to find out what happened to the painting. Who needs all that self analysis and breast beating.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R9V13Y8S1VKUY?ASIN=0316055441 Generous three stars rating. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a very tedious reading. The descriptions were elaborate but excessive. It was a chore to finish but I did it!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13BE20GG187CY?ASIN=0316055441 Sixs and Sevens "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really had a difficult time giving this book a three star rating. I was leaning toward a one or two star only because I was so frustrated and miffed by the end of the book. Her writing is beautiful, but this is a great example of someone who is so enthralled with her own words that she doesn't know when to stop. The first 60% of the book is really good and holds your interest. But, and that is a huge BUT, after that it just drones on and on when it should have been wrapped up. Even when she finally does end it, there are several questions you will have concerning the main characters. What happened to them, where did they go, etc., etc. To me this was just a wonderful read turned into an endurance trial.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RWSRMFPQBSNZK?ASIN=0316055441 A literate page-turner. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If you enjoy getting lost in a book, getting caught up in characters and settings that stay with you, this is the novel for you. Having done part of my growing up in the Hague, I used to amble by the Mauritshuis on my way home from school. Faustivis' bird on a chain was one of my favorites and this drew me into the narrative immediately. That I live in Manhattan amid the locations and settings of some of the narrative was fun also. But what lies in store for Theo was a harrowing and daunting ride. I was touched several times, sometimes to tears. This is story telling on a Dickensian scale, with a wonderful Artful Dodger kind of character named Boris among the standout characters. A first rate and memorable read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1L0ENO8C7OKYR?ASIN=0316055441 DONNA ROCKS!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The author of The Little Friend...Donna Tartt has written another stunning creation. I am only into it a chapter, but...this is creation is for those who like high art. In the tradition of the true southern writer, great attention is paid to detail...and the assumptive notion that the reader is intelligent...there are expanses for the reader to create their own movie...their own thoughts...good writing is in the empty spaces...<br/>We read The Little Friend every single year...as it reminds us of Welty, Capote & O'Conner all merged into one great writer...does Donna Tartt model herself after the main character's mother...? Stay tuned....I do believe she was Harriet in The Little Friend...okay...that's all Amazonians...buy it!<br/><br/>UPDATE: I finished this book too quickly...I looked forward at the end of every evening... to finishing my night with more of this kinetic book...full of colour, body, art, antiques, drugs, alcohol,class, classlessness & all sorts of International drama, i loved the characters. Donna, if you are reading this, congratulations on another home run.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R25TI7T6E9YUSH?ASIN=0316055441 TOO MANY WORDS! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I became interested right away in the main character and the span of his life that's covered in the novel. I stayed with it to the end despite the many repetitious meandering descriptions about how different drugs react on him or how some buildings and rooms make him feel or how the weather affects him or...well, you get the picture (pun acknowledged). Several of the secondary characters are more compelling than the protagonist, which is not a flaw, but the over-written book is dense with digressive detail that neither fleshes out character nor furthers the story. My friend who recommended the book admired the many lengthy, extraneous passages, and apparently the Pulitzer committee did as well. I did not..</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3W26ZKG1ONX4N?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book made the top 10 books for fiction and I am not sure why. There are so many themes in the book and the author jumps around from one to another. I enjoyed reading about antiques and their restorations. I enjoyed some discussions on art but the author begins to throw a lot of artists names around with a lot of philosophy. Interspersed with this we have the theme of post traumatic stress and the drug culture. Then in last part the author tackles allot of philosophical issues. These themes did not flow together. The themes could be edited and somehow combined to make a more (and shorter) book. Although everyone does not like the same type of book I do not think I would recommend it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WWQJFNDS6XQL?ASIN=0316055441 Philosophical jibberish "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was at least 200 pages too long. I read professional reviews and noted that two reviewers from the NYT had it on their top 10 books of 2013. I certainly will not consider their opinion very highly on the future.<br/><br/>Every reviewer gives a brief description of the opening events so I'll skip that. I'm not sure the author wants us to empathize with the protagonist Theo, but I found his self pity, drug addiction, criminality and selfishness to be boring almost pointless.<br/><br/>The book devolves into pseudo-philosophy that is pure jibberish.<br/><br/>The only reason I even gave this three stars is because I did like her literary, although, as stated, the book is far too long.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20CQSOTVPXZKD?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch reviewedi "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I liked this story and the way it was written. It was one of those stories that you think about when you're not reading it. You have the urge to talk about the characters with people who have never even heard of the book, almost as if they were personal acquaintances. I longed for Theo to make a good decision, but was fascinated by the bad ones he ultimately made. I want to know Hobie and Boris and I think I would probably not want to spend much time with any of the Barbours. Especially the surviving ones... some characters that seemed relevant disappeared, such as the lawyer. But I suppose it's good the story didn't go on any longer. Quite a lengthy read. But very, very well worth every second.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2YZNZL7NR7QPI?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written and difficult to put down "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a beautifully written book that keeps one interested and coming back for more for over seven hundred pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3YFIHO6JHKLL?ASIN=0316055441 Loved it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Best novel I have read in year's. Couldn't put it down. Right glad it was in my Kindle though, pretty hefty book!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2XR7RSLGKV4FF?ASIN=0316055441 One of the best books I have read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book kept me on the edge at all times. I can't wait to read her other books I am sure to tell others about it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RIC8XAOURQFME?ASIN=0316055441 Too wordy, Too Long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just finished the Goldfinch and I have to say that I'm exhausted. It took me days to get through the last 15% of the book. When does that happen? Most often I can't wait to finish a book to find out how the story ends. In this case, I kept putting down the Kindle because I couldn't bear the long drawn out descriptions and repetition of yet another drug induced experience. I somewhat enjoyed the plot but I will not be reading anymore of this author's work. I gave it 3 stars partially because I felt that I should have enjoyed it more based on being a best seller and other reviews. I could have easily given it 2 stars if I wasn't questioning my own lack of sophistication in reading choices. HA</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHVAWPHVCUR13?ASIN=0316055441 Wanted to like it more... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">But, and in this age of instant information and gratification, I suppose I should be grateful for a writer wiling let the narrator mull and reconsider his feelings and reactions, but these responses and observations often leave me wishing for a broader visual fel of the world of the novel and, for that matter, for the narrative to continue with some pace. Truth is, I got frustrated with a lack of narrative drive and it took me months to finish the book, just note that this is a very long book. A book of similar length, ""The Son"" by Philip Meyer, was also Pulitzer nominated and while, sometimes, vastly sad, wrestled a bigger story to the ground with a,similar amount of personal insight.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1SNDTYGHH2L1L?ASIN=0316055441 Worth every minute "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a rare thing - a novel that is poetically written, and has a ripping good story with a proper ending (unlike Ms. Tartt's Little Friend.) To all of these negative reviewers I can only say go watch TV, you ninnies, if you can't handle a long book. I am not unfamiliar with novels that drag on and go nowhere. But this is not that. The character who narrates this bildungsroman endures a succession of traumas that twist him in pitiful ways that break your heart. But he holds on to certain transcendent things and people until ultimately he is redeemed, ironically by his most secret sin. I am too busy to read much these days, but I longed to return to this story every time I closed the book. It is not a mystery in any sense, yet it has Wilkie Colins style elements of suspense. The descriptive prose is like Proust put down the teacup and took up neglected little boys sniffing glue. And in the end it has something eloquent to say about art and the human soul that is wise, and uplifting without being maudlin. How sad for readers who didn't get it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3OATK99T9GLMB?ASIN=0316055441 Wordy and unbelievable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">So many reviews have been written of The Goldfinch that it hardly seems worthwhile to add another, but the book irritated me so much upon reading it , after all the hoopla it received at its launch, that I feel compelled to add my two bits. My two main objections are: too wordy and too unbelievable. Life is strange enough as it is, so that fiction has the license to include the unbelievable, but that a 13year old boy can remember 14 years later the minutae of what he saw, heard and felt as described in the book is beyond the possible. He could not have had the vocabulary and the perception. This amazing capacity for memory feeds the wordiness, so that the book goes on and on, senselessly.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2YKVOWAOCQL4O?ASIN=0316055441 So very glad it's over! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the most depressing books ever written. Add to that, it was wordy wordy WORDY!!! The large print book is 1240 pages compared to the 784 pages in the regular size printed book. It was far too heavy to carry, let alone hold while reading, and I had to force myself to stick with it because all the teensy tiny story details were so very unnecessary really. I had to skim through the last 100 pages or so, just to find out how it ended, and it wasn't worth it once I got there. The only thing I took away from reading this book was information about the painting. Otherwise it was a complete waste of time, and a huge downer.<br/><br/>I suppose it did help build up my arm muscles though! ;-)</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R40A3XU4QCL16?ASIN=0316055441 Compelling, rich "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was drawn in from the beginning and held in an hypnotic trance throughout this deeply affecting narrative, that explores the nature of attraction. ...to life, to art, to danger....The audio performance was perfection...I felt the personality of the characters through their voices and intonations...the affable, comforting Hobie, like a favorite sweater....fearless and rakish Boris..... The story and Theo's character unfold layer upon layer, and there is not a false note to distort the imaginary world introduced. The ending was satisfying and wholly consistent with the story and characters. Thank you, Donna Tartt for writing this gorgeous tale and inviting me into your world....loved it.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3GG7E0DXVGR46?ASIN=0316055441 Too much "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">While I enjoyed early parts of the book, I found it to be way too long and ponderous. I did not care much for the main character and the book just seemed to drag on forever.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2KPIMMXP4C3HC?ASIN=0316055441 Excellant "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Held my interest couldn't wait to get back to reading every night<br/>I Loved the ending something to think about</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OYU0YL7UG17N?ASIN=0316055441 Like the Dickens "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">this reminds me of a modern day David Copperfield. One of the best novels I've read in years. Worth the long read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BPTFVU67CQZ2?ASIN=0316055441 Great read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I love a good book. This novel is smartly written, a page-turner and I liked the length so I could savor the read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RL2ZPQV8EQS7U?ASIN=0316055441 Very good reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm not even 1/2 way through this book, but what I have read is very good, can't wait to get back to it every day!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2EHSHQ2LO4KB7?ASIN=0316055441 What were they thinking? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have a hard time understanding why The Goldfinch was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Had I been editor of this book, I would have wanted the author to reduce it by at least a third. In my opinion, there was way too much description of the vile life the main characters were leading. I grasped the picture of their drug use and poor morals early on and didn't appreciate having to wade through excess garbage. The route of the art piece was interesting, but it was difficult to sort it out from all the side issues the author contrived. I probably would have stopped reading it mid-way through if it weren't for thinking I would find something to substantiate the Pulitzer committee's selection!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R12PENK0NPX5UW?ASIN=0316055441 Don't read this book. Not worth your time. And it takes a lot of time to get through it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Only the first 10 pages and the last 10 pages are worth reading. Takes forever to get through this book. Drags.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2RFE03XQ0MFES?ASIN=0316055441 A Must Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Amazing and engaging book...highly recommend. Couldn't wait to see how it would end - yet didn't want it to end.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3T3RZKOLPBO?ASIN=0316055441 I don't understand the hype "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I forced myself to finish this book. While it had moments of being good, it just went on and on and on to no end!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RB7YYUJK94JH9?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch-a review "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Extremely well written! I have not finished the book, but it is one of those rare gems that is hard to put down!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCR7C7BAP8HP3?ASIN=0316055441 Well Deserved PP "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">My favorite novels leave me missing characters when I have finished the story. It is as if I actually knew them in a very personal way - even more deeply than I know some close acquaintances. Hobie, Theo and Boris are characters that most touched my heart. I do miss them. The research Donna Tartt did to create this writing is so impressive. It leaves no question as to whether she deserves the Pulitzer Prize. I will read other work by her. I think her most important legacy is leaving her readers with a deeper appreciation for all art. No matter where that appreciation fell on the spectrum before Tartt takes you on this journey, I know it will have grown when the last page is turned.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2U6H4O1BO0LN4?ASIN=0316055441 Had potential "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first third of the book was well written and engaging. It had potential to be a great story but somewhere along the way the writer got lost in trying to create an elaborate plot and talking about drugs. Only two if the characters were likable and they were minor. The last 200 pages were full of two much plot twist and espionage . I had difficulty finishing because by that point I did not care how it ended. I was ready for it to end about half way through this long book. Also way too much time spent on the period in Vegas describing the antics and drug/alcohol abuse of Theo and Boris. I am very well read and can finish almost any book but found this difficult to finish.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3DAUB0M1L5N4K?ASIN=0316055441 A Wonderful Coming of Age Novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">An absolute masterpiece. Every single word, every single paragraph, every single page is pure perfection. I am a reader. I read well over a hundred books a year & this book is one of the very few that gets a five star review from me. It is actually four books in one. I should say four wonderful books in one.<br/>Our protagonist spends time in New York, Las Vegas, Europe & all the stories are fabulous.<br/>Having spent my teenage years living in Las Vegas, I cannot believe how spot-on Ms. Tartt's descriptions of this section of the book were. It was if she had read my diaries!<br/>Heartbreaking, smart & funny...""The Goldfinch"" has something for everyone. Read this book!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGPOMQ6HPD4WM?ASIN=0316055441 I book I thought I would not enjoy...but I could not put it down! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story of this young man and his journey from the opening disaster to the years afterward is enthralling. His adolescence is portrayed through his eyes, his emotions are so well described....you can feel the hormones raging. I found some of the chapters almost too descriptive, thinking of Stephen King's telling us to ""write what you want and then go back and take out most of the adjectives"". The author could have used that advice in some chapters, but she is good at describing the inner feelings of this tortured soul, so some of her descriptions were needed.<br/><br/>It is a good read, make the time to sit down and read without interruption. You will not be sorry!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1AZ21DJRK244P?ASIN=0316055441 A pretty good yarn. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I liked this book. I loved the characters, all so different, so individual, dare I say, so likeable. This is not a fairy tale, it is not a particularly happy story, but it is entertaining. I loved the writers clever use of language, her ability to create a scene and conjure up a mood from her descriptive writing. I found it easy to keep reading even when a passage may have been a tad wordy.<br/><br/>I thought the intertwining themes in this book were fascinating. It is hard to imagine the despair that any child put into Theo's position would endure. Life is complicated and unfortunately not always happy. I wish I had the gift this writer has to create a story so fine.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UJPVMILGBLMB?ASIN=0316055441 I listened to this book on audible version "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I walk each morning and listen to books. I got this book due to the excellent reviews. The narration was outstanding as the actor did a great job with Boris, Hobie and the other character's voices. I think this helped me get through the book. I kept waiting for something to lead somewhere. It never did. I guess this is one of those books we are supposed to look for the higher meaning of it all. I found myself listening to the book in my car on a two hour drive just so I could finish it to get on with another book on tape to listen to on my walks. Bottom line: What was all the fuss about?<br/><br/> I was almost going to give it two stars but enjoyed the job the narrator did.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CBPC0YTRQG1A?ASIN=0316055441 stuck in the middle "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">was interesting in the beginning... i'm stuck at 80% 3 hours left and have lost interest. first time this has ever happened to me. the story got very boring and tedious.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1653L2C9Q4BZ2?ASIN=0316055441 An Incredible Experience! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Wow. What an incredible read. Donna Tartt paints a picture with words. She immerses you in the scene and you swear you can feel it, smell it, hear it, like you are right there vividly experiencing it for yourself. And, that is the way with this book; You don't read it, you experience it. This isn't a warm and fuzzy, fairy-tale, feel good novel. It is real and raw. But, it is beautiful. There is much to be said for the statements made in this book, but that's best left for a much more in depth discussion. Certainly one review could never scratch the surface of what this book has to say. Just read it. It has been many years since I've experienced a book quite like this one.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R4YAIJBXDMB2C?ASIN=0316055441 Not too happy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Was interested in the story until the ending. It just didn't make sense. It was too boring and not expected.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R117CC2FWEVV71?ASIN=0316055441 Mixed feelings. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing is exquisite. Even when I really wanted to ditch this book because of the tales of violence and especially the self destructive abuse of drugs and alcohol the author left a hook; a ray of hope. She would end a chapter where she described something ending with a statement that told you it wasn't 't the end. You knew he'd see that person again. But how? She always left you hoping. And we all want to hope. We hope those we love will stop drinking too much or will get out of an abusive relationship or any number of other hopes for our selves, those we love and the world we live in. I couldn't' t give up reading this story because to do so would end all hope.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R16Q1B1QDJBTNG?ASIN=0316055441 Great Great Novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am a very casual reader, so I was skeptical about my ability to finish a book with nearly 800 pages. However, that was before I started reading The Goldfinch. Saying that Donna Tartt is a genius is putting it lightly. I have never looked forward to my reading time like I did when reading The Goldfinch (I actually starting going to bed an hour earlier just so I could read more each night.) I think that everyone should read this novel at some point in their lives. I am currently reading another work by Donna Tartt - The Secret History - and I can't wait to see where it takes me. In summary, if you are debating on weather or not to read The Goldfinch...READ IT!</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3AKT9ELLZGQKV?ASIN=0316055441 What a disappointment after The Secret History. I wouldn't bother. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a disappointment after The Secret History. The New York part almost became interesting after about a hundred pages but then off to an unspeakably dull endless time of soporific puerile Vegas dullness that forced me to pull the plug after 370 pages. Whatever wasn't immediately predictable was too crazy to ring true. Hats off to those who actually enjoyed 800 pages of this but likewise, what a delight to be able to call it a day and move on to something that is actually enjoyable to read. Congratulations to those of you who stopped at page 100 and even more to those of you who never paid good money for this miserable over-long tedious piece of yawning bilge.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2GCU2L14INM49?ASIN=0316055441 A Long Dazed Journey "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt's first two books were terrific and I had high hopes for her third novel. After an ""explosive"" start it stumbles as Theo begins his journey from New York to Las Vegas back to New York and on to Europe. She's a skilled writer but she reminds me of someone knitting a sweater who has great technique but can't keep track of the pattern or size. The result ends up being colorful but too long and bulky. It's sad because there was potential for real suspense and intrique in this book were it not for all the loose threads that were never tied up. And was the excessive drug use really neccessary for the plot? Let's hope she does better next time around.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1EMQW35SIY4HX?ASIN=0316055441 Could have been... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What an undisciplined sprawl of a book! A potential masterpiece, however dark its soul, but missing the mark by miles of unnecessary verbiage and ideas that are not quite in focus.<br/><br/>Our hero, Theo, is as unformed a person as the adult narrator of his story as he was as the thirteen year old who suffers an unimaginable, cataclysmic shock and tragic loss. He is rudderless and ethically adrift along with being emotionally numb. It seems as if Tartt is trying to see how many tragic flaws can be balanced on the head of her protagonist before the whole edifice topples: unfortunately, too many, here: the whole thing, in my mind, is left in a jagged heap.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3TURPDFYUGGLN?ASIN=0316055441 Les miserable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Enough. Five hundred pages of this pointless slog is all I can take. Sure, the Goldfinch painting has some irony(a bird chained to its post), but to be hit over the head with it in this endlessly depressing doorstop continually is asking too much.<br/>This book has a paint by the numbers approach attempting to be a work of art; maybe a creative writing workshop that went on too long?<br/>Pulitzer prize-winning? This isn't the first series of mediocre writing to get a prize. There's so much trying to associate the multitude of characters by comparison and contrast, it's just annoying.<br/>Depressing for the sake of being depressing-just because ""I can"".</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UX784OWFQVQJ?ASIN=0316055441 best book I've read in a very long time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Unbelievable! best book I've read in a very long time. Great.makes me want to head to the museum right away.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20UQMCY061QNS?ASIN=0316055441 A great page turner "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was rooting for Theo to come out okay. Very well written & great mix of current , past, art, love & life.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6W80W3NOEVT7?ASIN=0316055441 Finch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Hated for it to end because it was a magical and touching story... start to finish. Very Catcher in the Rye.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3R4UORVLMP3S8?ASIN=0316055441 It was totally worth it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">ELEVEN YEARS!! It's been so long.<br/>She has an effortless way of pulling an awkward character through their story at a clip that Stephen King has too. I love her protagonists. You never feel like you can identify with them but you root for them all the same and understand them. Secret History sucked all the air out of the room when I read it. This one's the same way. I loved The Little Friend too, I know not everyone did.<br/>All I know is, I've been trying to replace her while she's been gone and I never could. And she doesn't disappoint this time either.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2RB74LLLYCEDN?ASIN=0316055441 Delicious writing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The most atmospheric book I have read since Dickens. Could read it again and again it was really that good.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CPU0BW74S42O?ASIN=0316055441 Art and danger "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Writer uses language to surprise seduce and keep you reading. This is a book about survival. Art is a need.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1LZ0FOGIVTFGN?ASIN=0316055441 Pulitzer. Really? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's usually best to read a book before all the hype. Expectations aren't as high. I might have given the book four stars if I had read it before the hype and wasn't expecting pure perfection. The book has many excellent qualities. The best being the descriptive prose that makes you feel like you are in the room and feeling all that the main character feels. Alas, it was too much, too long, and too depressing. The main character, while his apathy was understandable, wasn't very likable for a large part of the book. The gangster scene seemed fake; I seriously thought our hero was going to be double-crossed in the end. The actions and words were so corny and contrived. The ending was a flood of philosophy on life that would have made a bigger impact had it been directly addressed throughout the story rather than dumped in the last pages. All this being said, the writing itself was superb and I will read another book by this author as this was my first experience with her.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RLWWNALHN16BJ?ASIN=0316055441 Not on my Best Seller List "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a dark comedy! Tartt writes in a very engaging way until she gets long winded and goes off on tangents that, frankly, I felt were irrelevant. And very quickly into the read, I kept hoping for some pages that made me feel good. They were few and far between. So a tragic story of a young boy who, through a horrific loss and an experience of mega proportions, wallows through life with no purpose, no self-awareness, no lifelines to cope, still grows up, finds wonderful Hobie, but has no way to be able to truly trust and relate to him. I am going to take my time on Best Seller lists as this is not the first time I felt, good but no way great.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R37VEEPGKAFK3Q?ASIN=0316055441 Was not impressed! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I do not understand what all the buzz is about this book! The plot is weak and the writing is average at best. I had to make myself finish this book....I thought that it would get better, kept hoping it would get better- it never did! I have a fine arts degree and thought this book might deal more with the influence this painting had on the main character, but the painting is really just a small part of this book, at times even forgotten. There are numerous long descriptive passages of drug use and teenage angst that I skimmed. The author could have written this novel in half the pages...and I still wouldn't recommend it. Save your money.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R33ZWS17PF406Y?ASIN=0316055441 One Star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Interesting premise, however, it quickly became a long, meandering book that never quite got to the point.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHD3IZ3JI45CC?ASIN=0316055441 Read this book!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I enjoyed the book ,nice easy read.I will recommend this book to all who ask me about it,I like this book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2OWQE5Z1EVTZH?ASIN=0316055441 worst book I ever read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read the whole book hoping it would improve. It didn't. If you take pleasure in someone else's tragic circumstances and destructive behavior, read this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R204SRKC3MTH30?ASIN=0316055441 awful! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Never before have I wanted to jump inside a book and strangle the main character. What an idiot this guy is! Besides that the book slowed to a boring conclusion and I wound up skimming the last 50 pages. 700+ pages of wasted time!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2SH1Z45CAGOJ0?ASIN=0316055441 great read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Just a wonderful read from the very beginning. A long book but you didn't want it to end when it did .</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3ID7KU76H7PF2?ASIN=0316055441 Very good read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A great book, a little dark but written very good. Not what you call a feel good book but a good read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ELE2J88WIB4O?ASIN=0316055441 Slowwww mooootion nonsense "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Pulitzer prize? Really? The story started out holding my attention, but fizzled fast. I skimmed the last hundred pages just so I could say that I finished it. Getting to the end of this novel was like trying to accelerate mass to the speed of light- the closer you get, the heavier it gets and the more impossible it becomes! My Kindle literally felt heavier by the moment! After Ms. Tartt spent 47 pages describing the main character in a hotel room experiencing numerous drug-induced halcyonic thoughts, I was just saying to myself ""please just let it be over with!"" A couple of hundred hours of my life I'll never get back!</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29VZ65XPOPSEE?ASIN=0316055441 More Goldfinch, Less Falcon "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The 17th Century painting of the title is a symbol of all the beauty and truth missing from the life of the adolescent protagonist, whose world is hyperbolically full of terrorists, gangsters, intoxications, cheats and murders. For all of its extravagant wanderings through the adult underworld, the novel keeps finding such convenient solutions that even the most ingenuous of readers will blush. The book has way too much of the cloak and dagger to mount a serious portrayal of a modern life. Too bad it could not have been better informed of the manner of the diminutive masterpiece it claims to hold so dear to its heart.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3DNZISC21UC7I?ASIN=0316055441 no disgust, no anxiety "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It's a rare book that I find challenging to finish once I start, even if I'm not loving it. This one was a bit of a chore. And I eat fat books for breakfast, so it wasn't the bulk. Bloated. Overblown. Overwrought. No one fleshed out and feeling real. No connection with any of the characters. Felt no sympathy, no disgust, no anxiety, no compassion. Nuthin. I'm not a big skimmer but gotta say, I'd cover 9-10 pages in seconds. He turned his head.... 6 paragraphs later he's still turning his head. What a yawn. Kept hoping it would engage me but eventually it just felt like a project that needed to get finished. Tedious.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1E2TZ0GYSKQ4J?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch needs editing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I gave this book two stars rather than 3, because I did not truly enjoy reading th book. Often I found myself reading pages of description of drug use, that really seemed too much. Or, very long paragraphs of detail about restoring antiques....not that interesting. Basically, the first half of the book could have been condensed.<br/>Also, I found some of the plot resolution to be somewhat unsatisfying.<br/>What I did like about the book was the character development, the twists and turns of the storyline and the main object of the protagonist's obsession; a great piece of artwork.<br/>Very dark piece of writing.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2EGFTR2XLASFY?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch Review "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch provided a great diversity of characters, dilemmas, and schemes. The characters' development<br/>and the basic plot were excellent. The references to a variety of artworks and history of various artists was very<br/>enlightening. This reader tired of the ongoing multiple indulgences of drugs and alcohol. The stability of specific characters was gratifying, yet, most characters had continuous struggles with conditions of heredity, environment, crime and wealth. I would recommend this book and found it to be a page turner in certain chapters, but overall I would not consider it ""light"" reading.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R300FIWERYWUDC?ASIN=0316055441 Gripping read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a story of a man's life and retribution! I had a hard time putting this book down, even at work!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2PAT9EZBTF584?ASIN=0316055441 It's not great literature and it's too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was an interesting read but I found some of it highly implausible. The writing is overdone and verbose. Although the author's analogies were rather unique and thoughtful at times, there were a number of connections she tried to make that seemed a stretch - as if she were trying to impress the reader with the diversity and extent of her knowledge. I found the characterization one dimensional and cliched. The ending seemed to wrap up quickly and neatly as if the author wanted to be done with it, regardless of the logic in it. It's not great literature and it's too long, but, for the most part, I enjoyed it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23S6UHONM217V?ASIN=0316055441 depressing and a struggle to finish... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the top 5 worst, most depressing books I've ever read. A self-absorbed, schizophrenic protagonist without the insight to fully realize that he's his own worst enemy. This could be the anthem of nihilism.<br/>Sorry, Ms. Tartt. I'll not be venturing between your pages again. Stephen King was wrong about this one. (And that's rare).</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26XG29T2JQCA7?ASIN=0316055441 LOVED IT! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the best books I've read in ages. I could not put it down. I look forward to her next book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13CYZ05AJJF98?ASIN=0316055441 Love it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is a real page turner! And a couple of twists I didn't see coming really kept my interest.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FHDR5DLJ9KUG?ASIN=0316055441 never ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">So long. So wordy. Stopped caring. I loved it at first but by the end...I just did not care anymore.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFN0AZ3PH5LQG?ASIN=0316055441 Remarkable Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is a well-written, complicated story, a woman writer and a male protagonist convincingly portrayed. The author has remarkable powers of observation and description, reminding one of the writings of George Eliot. The reader, often uncomfortably, enters the world of PTSD, drug and alcohol abuse, abandonment, fraud, love, betrayal, and finding one's place in an adult world, in addition to insights into the collection and restoration of antiques. Those who are moved by art would be particularly pleased with this book. I found it an engrossing read and a book I shall gladly read again, soon.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RIC2Q4CEYCUQN?ASIN=0316055441 I kept hoping "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Life is misery. Misery abounds with but brief interludes of respite provided primarily by alcohol and drugs. Is there something in the great beyond---perhaps but most likely not. Nevertheless this book is fascinating in many ways. The reader becomes totally immersed in Theo's life, shares his various hopes, sorrows and disappointments and regrets his destructive decisions. His dislike (hate?) for himself pervades the book. Beautifully written but depressing. I had grown very fond of Theo and so my hope for his eventual acceptance of self and happiness, which continued until the end, was thwarted.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R14VJZIQZHCBBF?ASIN=0316055441 Meandering, murky mess... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Meandering, murky mess. It will trick you in the beginning, intrigue you, make you think it'll be worth your time and money. Don't be fooled. By the 37% point you'll be wondering who switched out a potentially excellent novel for a depressing, overwrought piece of garbage that seems to be going nowhere -- very, very slowly. At first you'll keep turning the pages, thinking: ""This must have a point. If only I read on, I'll discover it."" Nope. Don't bother reading on. There is no point. Or if there is, life is too short for the time (words upon words, upon redundant words!) it takes to get there.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3IB7NRDW7JQH2?ASIN=0316055441 Tortuous and wordy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did not know length of book prior to my purchase. It would not have stopped me from purchasing it. I mention because I felt like I had been reading FOREVER and was slowly going somewhere...I think. Which is when I noticed I was 50% done. This could have been a good story at 400 pages because many of the pages are filled with unnecessary words. My *** at some point I'm thinking I cannot continue to read this book and will just not finish it on purpose, something I have done about 3 times in my life.Now 64% through and don't think I will bother as I no longer care what the hell happens to Theo.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RCCKMXYOF34C?ASIN=0316055441 Not worth your time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was one of those books that I tried hard to enjoy, but never found it possible. I would have stopped reading it far before the end, but I had convinced myself that there must be a big reward awaiting since it won a Pulitzer. There wasn't.<br/><br/>The main character starts out as a likeable 13-year-old who is befallen by tragedy, encouraging our sympathy. He wears that out by continually making stupid decisions throughout the remainder of the book (into his mid-twenties), leaving him as a very unlikeable character.<br/><br/>On top of all this many of the premises are simply unbelievable.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCZGDR9HJXKT5?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldrinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Slow, boring so far. If this book doesn't pick up soon I'll give up. I think reading books on my kindle may be my problem as I prefer holding books</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2AAEP9IZJFUZ4?ASIN=0316055441 Inarticulate Addict "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A self-centered addict without an ounce of empathy or compassion, Theo is inexplicably condoned and assisted throughout his life while obsessing on his dead mother and the painting of the title. The book has two main parts: addiction - anything that can be smoked, inhaled, drunk, or ingested on a daily basis including vivid descriptions of the color of vomit; and restoring antique furniture - a much more charming and educational part of the story. This must be the ""Dickens"" part reviewers have mentioned.Theo is numbingly inarticulate: ""I..."" followed by three pages of narrative; ""um..."" followed by two pages of narrative; ""well..."" followed by five pages of narrative, etc. I just wanted to shake him! Bought this book based on the reviews and because my husband had given me a Kindle gift certificate for Christmas. If you're into addiction or furniture restoration, you might like it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2G2KIK7420SI7?ASIN=0316055441 To paraphrase Salieri, too many words "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I like the book, but it suffers from a lack of editing. Some scenes are overly long and redundant, especially the ones in Vegas. They are ENDLESS!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2TD434RN4PRZ2?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch is Superb! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I recognized a winner when I began reading the Goldfinch. The language and flow of the writing, thoughts, and scenes just totally drew me in. As I read, I kept asking my friends if they had read it, and had great discussions with those who had. The characters are very real, well rounded in description, dialogue, and action. The twists in the plot keep the reader guessing all the way to the end. Beneath the story lies the essential question of how does one undo an unintended wrong and make things right? Donna Tartt is definitely gifted. Now I am curious to read her other books. Denise Greller</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R23OSO02S6GRQC?ASIN=0316055441 Did not finish this book. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Couldn't seem to keep up with the subject. I skipped a large portion of it. I would not recommend it. Guess I don't relate to these people.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2VCKHP5RLU64E?ASIN=0316055441 I have NEVER posted a negative book review before, but... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I hated this book...I didn't think it would ever end! I skimmed most of the excruciatingly long passages that went on and on and on as the main character's mind meandered through monotonous reasoning and descriptions. Because it was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, I did hang in there, thinking perhaps I wasn't in the right mood for such a heavy book. Unfortunately for me, it didn't improve. I was relieved when I got to the end, but am mystified as to why it won ANY awards. What this book really needs is a GOOD EDITOR! I not only am NOT recommending this book, I'm warning you to stay away!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R32IZC1QREJX9C?ASIN=0316055441 Weight of Content "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The weight of the content was not equal to the weight of the book. The whole plot development could have been accomplished in about 60% of the pages. If I had not been reading this for a Book Club I would not have finished it. It took me three attempts to slosh through the entire book. My thoughts on the book were reflected by all of the members of my club and those I have heard from others clubs. We all question the wisdom of a Pulitzer Prize for this particular book. I will have to think long and hard before I read another book by this author. It was definitely not worth my time.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21LTGDVVG1Z86?ASIN=0316055441 Not what I expected "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After reading a summary I prepare myself for a story about young boy strongly connected to the art world living through some kind of adventure... While first pages of story let me believe that I understand the main line of the book correctly... the events which followed after the explosion proved me wrong. I wasn't expected drug addiction, mafia, life of constant degradation in different forms and aspects. As a good part- it could really happend. It's like an article in a newspaper or a story told you by friend of a friend... Also the prose is really good. But sometimes seems overloaded.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2EF1ECEH8L61Q?ASIN=0316055441 Fell apart in the last 100 or so pages "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have read and thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Target's and loved most of this book as well. I wish I could give half stars because I would give this another half start. The premise is brilliant and Theo Decker is lovable even at his worst and you are held captive by his voice until in those last pages the author goes off into a kind of philosophical rant that list cohesiveness for me an disrupted the flow of a beautiful story.<br/><br/>That said, I would still recommend this book and urge readers to skip the last chapter entirely. Of course everyone's opinion will differ and that's ok too.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PILDQN2Q1LDO?ASIN=0316055441 Very Readable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I sometimes find these award winners too ""literary"" to be truly enjoyable. As an English major and teacher, I love a great story and appreciate lovely language, but a good book needs both. This selection has them both. The story got a bit muddled at times, but it was very believable (if dark in places). I could have lived without all the drug use, but it was an interesting story.<br/><br/>I rated it 3 stars because it didn't quite live up to all the publicity, but I would recommend it to certain friends. I'm not sorry I invested my time, but I'm not raving about it, either.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WUNE7YXFGPVP?ASIN=0316055441 Interesting Book but Much Too Long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I have mixed feelings about this book. When I first started reading the book, I thought, wow this book is going to be great. But soon I found myself skimming entire sections of the novel. There are just too many long overly descriptive passages that simply did not hold my interest, and didn't add anything to the characters or story line. Theo's life is complex and tragic but I found myself not caring about him after pages and pages that rehashed the same themes. The basic story is interesting and intriguing, and would have made a 5-star book if written in a more succinct manner.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R7C7PGT2QU1C4?ASIN=0316055441 Could have been considerably shorter... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this book for my book club. The other six who attended LOVED it, but not me. The book dragged horribly through the middle section; it became tediously wordy and these 200+ pages could have been pared down to about 50. I slogged my way through, and if it weren't for book club, I would have abandoned this book. My book club buddies went on and on about how powerful the book was with its depth of character development, etc., etc. I kept wondering what book they had read! Certainly not the same one I did. I'm really not sure why this book won a Pulitzer. I was quite disappointed.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HVIU2HGNB3RD?ASIN=0316055441 Another excellent read from Donna Tartt "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was beginning to think she was not going to write another book, but it was worth the wait. My feelings for the main character varied from pity to mild disgust and back to pity, and yet I always wanted things to turn out for him in the end. Tartt does it all and does it well: characters, dialogue, action, introspection, philosophy. Towards the end of the book I realized it would make a good companion piece to John Irving's A Son of the Circus, with some overlap in topic and with the same high quality of writing. I just hope she doesn't make me wait until retirement to read another.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27J5G4Y1CDP2P?ASIN=0316055441 Worst book ever. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to pay someone to finish this book for me. I am not a literary genius but I do read a lot and this book is at the bottom of the list of ""must reads"". Theo & Boris were two of the most unlikable characters in any story I have read. The story itself would have been wonderful had it been written as just that. However, we had to endure dreams, imaginations, and descriptive events as told through a drug induced character that never made sense even on a good day.<br/>I truly hated this book and will never understand the Pulitzer Prize nor the praise it has received.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NKLPWM2DP5UC?ASIN=0316055441 enough with the drugs already "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book gives a graphic reminder of why illegal drugs, prescription or otherwise, are a bad idea. The novel is interesting as a study of PTSD but drags in the second half when he gets to Holland and the long section at the end is worth skipping. The first section when Theo Decker is still in New York is quite compelling where you see a semi-outsider manoeuvring New York's upper social rungs and when he moves to Las Vegas the portrait of the cities uninhabited suburbs is fascinatingly bleak. However, it's not a book that will be staying on my shelves to be reread - once is enough.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R5UUUDI740B18?ASIN=0316055441 Life (and art) is all in how you look at it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The novel, The Goldfinch , is a very unusual piece of work -just as it's namesake the art work is rare. The themes are many - death, addiction -drugs and alcohol, relationships, and interpersonal skills among a few. While the writing can often be extraordinary and insightful into the human condition, it's just too long. I understand that Ms. Tartt took ten years to research all of the background, but the plot often became very lost in the ramblings of too much detail. Give yourself plenty of time to read the book and it certainly has many discussion points for a book club. -fmc</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R35BH5WXKJT97F?ASIN=0316055441 Awful read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Too wordy, too long, digressed continually, very upsetting, authors meaning was completely obtuse. Not worth the time used to read this book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BSE3SEW8MF5H?ASIN=0316055441 Magical Storytelling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am a slow reader and so the thought of reading such a hefty tome felt too daunting an endeavour. But once I started the words just seemed to flow and I devoured Goldfinch under two weeks. The writing was rich and powerful and the character development was masterful. Isn't it funny how a writer can make someone seem so real, down to how they smell? I despised Boris and his negative influence on Theo, but then he grew on me and I loved reading his philosophy of life and found his English charming. I dabble in woodwork and could identify with Hobie and his artisan mentality: so much fun to make something, who cares if it sells? Anyway, the Goldfinch delighted me on so many levels. But more than anything it made me appreciate life: art and people and wonderful books. In addition to reading the book I also recommend the audio version as David Pittu is simply amazing.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2O9XQLQH6BPZI?ASIN=0316055441 Angry at myself for having wasted reading time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I cannot believe that this train wreck of a book got a Pulitzer. I am almost at the end of it to see if the author ever pulls it all together. She does not. Most of the 1 star reviews represent my feelings and reactions exactly. Unlikeable characters, unlikely situations even for fiction, desparately in need of a stern editor. The would-be Faulknerian sentences were maddening. Many read like a bad imitation of Whitman's catalog-type poems. I'll give her future books a pass. There are so many books to be read and so little time and I resent having wasted so many hours on this one.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R37H8P5ZXF6992?ASIN=0316055441 it wasn't a pretty story to read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">'The Goldfinch' grabs your heart immediately and doesn’t let go. No, it wasn't a pretty story to read, there is tragedy, shock, grief, darkness, and brutality. If you want to read something that restores your faith in humanity or makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, this probably isn't the book. However Ms. Tartt’s joining of two components, 1. the genuine believability of her characters (with all of their failings and imperfections), and 2. Her entrancing plot, kept me riveted until the end. With a dozen books or so in my queue, I may just read it again ... it was that good.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BDZR715NB4N0?ASIN=0316055441 Editor desperately needed! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is a mystery to me why it is on so many best lists. The beginning starts out really well, and the Las Vegas section is just super, but the last third of book - is just down right boring - pages and pages of description of delerium! I was skipping /skimming for pages. Apparently this took ten years to write, a good editor would have saved her 5. The story idea is great, some characters very clever, but it lacks say the tension/black humour of a John Irving. To top it all off - the climax is kind of anti! You find yourself thinking - 700 pages of reading for this!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R205RBEW3O7QCF?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What I loved most about this book were the relationships between Theo and his mother; Theo and Hobie; Theo and Pippa; although brief, Theo and Welty; Theo and Boris; Theo and Andy; Theo and Popchik; and Theo and Mrs. Barbour. Parts of the book were mystical: Theo and Welty in the museum; Theo and Hobie in the workshop; the meetings and interactions between Theo and Pippa. Tartt took me under her spell in feeling the sadness, loneliness and lack of belonging or a sense of place that Theo felt after losing his mother and then both his parents. I love how she cast him into the safety net of Hobie. Tartt undertook a large endeavor and she brought it all together. A bit too long, but I appreciated learning along the way. I very much enjoyed this book, its characters, the relationships and story. Worth my endeavor. Thank you, Donna Tartt, for writing this book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RZ916EGT9WH58?ASIN=0316055441 Art, opiates and fate "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A great book that works on so many levels, about loss, obsession, art, opiates, friendship and existential angst, the writing both precise and beautiful. A convincing portrait of a boy growing to be a man damaged by one random event – or perhaps doomed beforehand to his fate. But if that sounds too heavy or miserable it’s not – it is funny, fast as well as moving. The story is gripping, something a thriller and a mystery in parts. The middle section is a little predictable, bad teens coming of age on dope and pills and vodka, but it only seems slight by comparison with the rest. The robust comfort of the old antique shop, Boris’s cynical dialogue, the evocation of Theo’s love for his mother and the mayhem at the museum are all beautifully drawn. Theo’s final almost life affirming philosophizing amid his nihilistic rage is wonderfully done. A must read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RLIBMC5O6V6Z3?ASIN=0316055441 a treasure "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Love, love, love this book. I wanted it to never end. A jewel to stay up with all night long.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1AYA3UPPPUN4R?ASIN=0316055441 Greatly Overrated "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Do not understand what all the fuss was about. Dreadfully written--well, perhaps not dreadful, but,certainly pedestrian. In the end, which took,an awfully long time to get to, there were perhaps one or two interesting passages, but taking some 700 plus pages to,get there . . . well, certainly not worth the time. Why did I finish it? Because, at that moment, I had nothing better to read. A ""good read"" I suppose, in the sense that one felt no desire to put it down, but that's about the best I can say for it. Greatly overrated IMHO. No more Donna Tartt for me.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1N0A5ZXZ0CSF3?ASIN=0316055441 Ornate Austerity "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">THE GOLDFINCH captures the reader on that fine chain that connects and restrains humanity, as surely as the painting in the novel holds the attention of the main character. The author not only controls the reader's interest throughout, but also manages to bathe the reader in a sense of oneness with all art forms and the very human need for beauty and understanding. A lovely book extremely well written, it offers individuals and clubs ample material for discussion and self-examination. Its contrast of flourish and plain spoken truth leave the reader filled with admiration.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YTJOOEGRFAC5?ASIN=0316055441 Deserving of 10 stars "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I recently read an interesting article in Town & Country about the authoress, Donna Tartt, and decided to give her work a try. Reading 2-300 books a year, 90% of which are in the crime, courtroom drama, espionage genres - a la John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Daniel Silva, etc., I was not sure how I would receive her decidedly different subject matter and writing style. I started off with The Secret History, and could not put it down. Having grown up at a much earlier time and in a part of the country, where the strongest substance kids could get their hands on was ""rabbitt tobacco"", where alcohol abuse was definitely frowned on, and the mentally infirm were behind the walls of asylums, I find it remarkable that I could become so absorbed in her characters. Ms. Tartt's story telling expertise draws the reader into the story in such a way you feel you are there, experiencing the events as they unfold. Now I am finishing up The Goldfinch (I do not want it to end) and I honestly feel that this book will ensure her ranking in the top tier of great American writers. Thank you Ms. Tartt for the 10 year effort, and I hope we do not have to wait another 10 years for your next offering. The Goldfinch would deserve 10 stars if the ratings went that high.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RE8T190NEGVEJ?ASIN=0316055441 Easily one of the greatest novels of the twenty-first century... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is one of the best novels I have ever read, and might very well go down in history as one of the greatest novels of the twenty-first century.<br/><br/>While the overall theme of the story centers around loss and sorrow, the writing itself is very uplifting. The character dynamic between Theodore Decker and his benefactor ""Hoabie"" (in the beginning at least, very reminiscent of the relationship between Bobby Garfield and Ted Brautigan in Stephen King's novella ""Low Men in Yellow Coats""), as well as the relationship between Theo and his best friend Boris are incredible. I personally enjoyed reading the conversations between Theo and Boris: it was all too easy for me to hear Boris' thick eastern european accent, a true testament to Donna Tartt's dialogue writing.<br/><br/>In short, I highly recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R43YSZYIYS72A?ASIN=0316055441 A novel written by the ounce "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There is a pretty good story at the kernel of this book, but there is absolutely no reason that it should be as long as it is. My impression is that its construction is very padded and that its pseudo-philosophizing is pretentious and irrelevant. Lengthy episodes are tangential and unnecessary, and the reader simply does not need the life histories of every character in the book. My guess is that some editor decided that this book needed to be a ""block-buster"" and encouraged the author to bulk it up. Since when did they start giving Pulitzer prizes for shlock?</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LPHY3VCAI4KD?ASIN=0316055441 Tedious "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I got tired of reading page after page of drug taking, drinking, and wasting a life and time</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RHUKCOQ7206GX?ASIN=0316055441 Too much detail. Less is more! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The explosion scene was a good read. However, the rest felt like that long cross country drive listening to your mother-in-law's boring ""long story short"" endless rants.<br/><br/>I found it difficult to stay engaged. The story left my mind wondering on other things causing me to have to go back and read again. My stubborn ways is the only thing that got me through this long and repetitive drug high.<br/><br/>Cut out the fat, I want the meat. This 800 page book can easily be trimmed down to under 500. Yeesh!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R4EKT6AEKA08P?ASIN=0316055441 Gave up on great writer due to lack of good editing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">At the beginning, this book was a five star for descriptive, thought provoking writing and a story that caught me up right away. However, I gave up reading it by page 475 when I got tired of trudging through it's lost storyline. The lack of good editing really bogged it down, and I couldn't face slogging through 300 more pages to finish it. I actually went online to search how the story ended, and wished that the middle section had been much more severely edited. I do want to read another novel by Ms. Tartt, though, as she is obviously a very gifted writer.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2N8KV03DD7OXO?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read the book because I am a painter and have been fortunate enough to have visited most of the worlds greatest museums. The story is about an explosion, in an art museum and a painting goes missing. A 14 year old is in the museum at the time, with his mother.<br/> The most enjoyable book I have ever read. So much so that when I finished reading it, for a few days, I was still hearing the accent of Boris, the Russian friend in my head.<br/><br/>I have read a fair amount in my life. I am 55, have traveled extensively outside the U.S. and have 19 years of formal education. I wish the author of the Gold Finch would use the style she used in the Gold Finch, to write another book. It was sooo descriptive, I felt like I was right there . It had all of my attention, took unpredictable turns. It is a book I will never forget.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3AAEEOARAC9FB?ASIN=0316055441 but not a great one. It certainly kept me reading however in ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt's new book ""The Goldfinch"" was an enjoyable read, but not a great one. It certainly kept me reading however in some places it seemed to drag on, eg Boris's adventures became very tedious and unbelievable at times. I also felt that Tartt overdid the descriptions, every little thing was described to the ""nth"" degree, a bit of editing wouldn't have gone astray.<br/>I really couldn't warm to any of the characters. While I had sympathy for the main character, I kept hoping he would take himself in hand and stop wallowing in self pity.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3M683U5QRORXZ?ASIN=0316055441 too philosophical for my taste. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did not dislike this book, but I didn't like it either. I would never have finished it except I read it for my book club. It is well written, and the author is very good at descriptions. BUT, I simply wasn't interested in a long description of person at a hotel desk, who is never mentioned again in the story. There was way too much of that in the book to suit me. Also, there were too many of the same descriptions describing drug and alcohol use. The first time she wrote about it was informative, but there was too much of it! It made it very boring.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3O4OLMRJMXFRQ?ASIN=0316055441 This book needed an editor "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved the story. The writing is good and the story is engaging. But the author doesn't know when to stop writing. The book could have been half as long and twice as good. I was engaged at the beginning of every chapter, but half way through I was over it and wanting to go on to the next chapter to find out what happened next.<br/>Some of my friends didn't get very far into the book and gave up just because of that. I finished it because I wanted to know how it ended but I had to start skimming.<br/>I would recommend the book but be prepared to skim.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2JXWLTP8MBU3Q?ASIN=0316055441 Remarkable, thought-provoking "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">We all should have a Goldfinch in our lives ... and we all should have a Boris and a Pippa.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJ2OJ18MVY16W?ASIN=0316055441 Needs Editing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I don't understand the accolades for this book. Passages go on for pages describing drug or alcohol binges and major plot lines are revealed in one sentence. Other than feeing sorry for the main character in the beginning, I really didn't care what happened to him. He was so unlikeable, I was having trouble figuring out why people cared about him. Actually thought Boris was the most interesting character. Because Theo had so little self control, the insightful philosophy at the end seemed contrived. The Book was probably at least 200 pages too long.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RXT5HLIWDUH3Z?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I chose 4 instead of 5 stars because there were parts that I felt just got a bit draggy compared to the mostly exciting pace of the story. Endings are difficult and I loved this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in the book. They were quite alive for me. Their challenges and sufferings were vivid, recognizable and familiar. The ups and downs and turns are what being human and alive was well demonstrated. Life is not about right or wrong. There is fate and choice but it is all mixed up. You get one chance, here, so it is up to you to make it sing.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3EGV9COH1LGEH?ASIN=0316055441 Alas for him and us.. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Pultzer Prize book but not all that interesting or enjoyable. Well written technically but subject matter was mostly a downer...Characters in the main were unlikable and sketchy. The ending was philosophically rambling. I stuck with it because of the award but didn't enjoy it or learn much. If you want to read of a sad young man who falls from loss of mother to the underbelly of life in New Your to Los Vegas to Amsterdam. He is exposed to some goodness and people to love but drugs, booze and immoral choices are the story. Hoped for something more.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R372YLP5V08IPD?ASIN=0316055441 10 STAR BOOK- MY FAVORITE BOOK of not just 2013 but one to always cherish. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is 10 stars!! As an avid reader of non-fiction, to get me really into fiction is a huge challenge. I absolutely was intrigued with reading The Goldfinch. The complex story development and rich character profiles were stellar. Just when I thought the book would be finished there were exciting twists and turns . Donna Tartts story telling ability is superior. I am glad she is getting the recognition. If you are looking for a great book to sink your teeth into- this is one to read!!!!!! Do not hesitate, I promise you will love it as much as I did.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1TVB8CNII2VAL?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful beginning. Ending was like slogging through molassess "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved the Goldfinch for the first three quarters. In fact, I recommended it to several friends. That part of the book I would rate a 5. The writing was beautiful, and for the most part did not bog down. But at about the three-quarters mark, it began to slow down. If I hadn't been so invested in the story, I wouldn't have finished it, but I wanted to find out what happened. My take on the ending was that it was very self indulgent for the author. I sped through and tried to pick up the plot points just to get through. Honestly, I was so disappointed.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BR849GJ8HSW1?ASIN=0316055441 why the hype "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was the worst I have read all year.I can""t believe I even got through it.Page after page of descriptions that I had to skip through.NOT A PAGE TURNER....This book stinks.....Nuff said</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1TXEBJROFMTWH?ASIN=0316055441 Incredible storyteller! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Such an engaging novel. Writing and storytelling that transports the reader to heights and despair while touching on lifes greatest mysteries. Beauty and love, sorrow and resignation. Such a deeply moving novel that will join a short list of literary greats.That said, her editor missed the mark. Much of the elaboration and explaining of some beautifully written thoughts were extremely overwritten. There was a good many pages at the end that I merely skimmed. Perhaps a couple hundred pages could have fallen away without losing anything of the story.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RZ3GBOXM20ZJY?ASIN=0316055441 This novel is intense and absorbing--but not without effort! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is fascinating, sometimes hard to put down, but not exactly uplifting, even though the centerpiece is a beautiful and mesmerizing painting. The plot involves deep social and moral issues, loss and abandonment, grief, drugs--heart wrenching character development, primarily but not exclusively, for the main character. No character escapes the anxiety and trauma propelling everyone, including the reader, toward an evolution of some sort. The struggle of the young protagonist Theodore Decker won't be lightly observed or easily forgotten.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CK6TUYBMKZZK?ASIN=0316055441 Pulitzer Prize Not What It Used To Be "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I agree about ""The Secret History,"" a good read if there ever was one. This book is about 200 pages too long, starts off well enough but loses steam due to overlength and poor story development - Donna Tartt is no Charles Dickens! I actually started this book and lost interest, then when it won the big prize picked it up again and finished it, albeit with judicious skimming here and there. The concluding rhapsodizing about the importance of art feels simplistic and tacked on.....should be in a chapter entitled ""Author's Message.""</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2KOKZELZ08GEQ?ASIN=0316055441 Good read but weighed down by too much prose "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book has some great passages. It was well researched and the details are accurate. It was just too long..cut out some of the repetitive sections and the trajectory of reading the book would have been smoother. In the end the author through the main character appears to transcend the page in a pedantic and almost preachy way. This also would have been better left unsaid. Donna Tartt in her effort to leave no t's uncrossed has left little room for inference on the part of her audience and it comes across as a heavy hand by the end of the novel.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R5LK9FWR6GJJ5?ASIN=0316055441 Easily read; don't be intimidated by the length "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I won't review the plot; you can get that elsewhere. I will say that I read The Secret History and The Little Friend before reading this. I loved The Little Friend especially, although I thought coming in at 550 pages it could have used a bit of editing. So I was nervous that a book this long (700+) would also feel the same way. But it doesn't. I was riveting through most of book, fascinated with the dramatic changes of lifestyle and scenery he endured. Don't be intimidated by the length, if that is what is putting you off reading this book.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1N1YFEL4018DW?ASIN=0316055441 Good "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Great story line and love the details on the art and character interaction. More about drug world than I ever wanted to know though.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NC3AQFIR2DLD?ASIN=0316055441 Too Wordy and Tedious "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just MADE myself finish this book on my Kindle. I read constantly and rarely find one that I do not like. I do not understand the four star rating. Usually, if a book gets four star ratings, it is good. This one was repetitive, tedious. I found myself skipping over many pages. I also felt it was just too much about drugs and unhappiness. I would NOT recommend this book to anyone, particularly not to my book club. I read it thinking it would be a good one for book club. Glad to know beforehand that it would not be one I would like to recommend.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCERQB0WNL3TZ?ASIN=0316055441 Donna Tartt continues to excel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">From the moment I first read The Secret History, I fell in love with Donna Tartt and could not wait for her next novel to come out. Of course, I did have to wait. And wait. Then, after The Little Friend, I had to wait again. The wait is always excruciating, but the result is always worth it. She is truly one of the finest authors of our generation.<br/><br/>It doesn't really matter what the goldfinch is about, it only matters that it is her work. She writes so magically that you are always guaranteed a gorgeous (and often heartbreaking) story with rich characters and unexpected turns. There are plenty of reviewers who will happily outline the plot for you. I simply urge you to read the novel because she wrote it. Then, if you haven't read her earlier works, go get them and read them right away.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1P4786TJF4F0T?ASIN=0316055441 Best book I read in 2013 "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book reminded me that there is nothing more pleasurable than a great read. I am going to start handing it out as a birthday gift to readers and non-readers to see if they react the same.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2M8YPR6Y8LO2N?ASIN=0316055441 Rich detail, but drugs "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book begins with fantastic descriptions of New York City-the imagery painted makes it easy for the reader to picture walking those same streets, especially anyone who has spent time in NYC. However, towards the middle it becomes repetitive-constant drug overdoses and stupid behavior. There is very little character growth in the main character-he tries to grow, I suppose, but ultimately is a weak character who does whatever other people tell him will make him feel better. He uses his past as an excuse to continue acting like an idiot.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FDLT8A66TQDK?ASIN=0316055441 A book for those who love to read. So well written. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I bought a sample and later the entire book after reading some of the reviews. One that stuck with me was a person saying they were sad that it ended because they had been reading it for so long. That was exactly the kind of book that I wanted. Something to get lost in like a 1,000 pg Ken Follet book. Tonight I finished it in a race to finish it before my wife did and I too am sad that it has come to an end. I have read this every day during lunch and sometimes at night for the past three months. ( my wife has done it in less than 30 days ) I will miss it.<br/><br/>There was another review that I want to share with you that kept me motivated in the slow points. I wanted to know how he ended up in Amsterdam. Yes there are some slow points but they always set you up for a great big rush where you ask yourself. Do I have time for just one more chapter? When it gets slow remind yourself this.<br/><br/>There is a constant and I mean constant sense of nervousness for the character. Thank the editor for not editing the book down. Her lengthy descriptions of the scenes put you in the rooms with the characters. The author tells the story in the first person. If the character is impaired then the writing is. Remember this if you get the sample and can't understand the ramblings especially early on in the book. When something happens like when he gets bumped in the street you can't help but wonder if it is for the detail of the story telling or did the guy pick his pocket. Again you are nervous.<br/><br/>But my favorite part are the philosophical view points shared by the main character that are just wonderful and I am not the only one who thought so based on the number of highlighted passages.<br/><br/>I encourage you to get this book but only if you want to get lost in a book and are willing to give it time. I promise you will enjoy it if you enjoy reading but it is a slow enjoyable burn.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2K59WJATUG9QU?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written dreck; a pretentious Louis Auchincloss strikes again! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Now halfway through Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch I continue to be amazed at her ability to write gorgeous prose, and her complete failure to string them together into a a story about the lives of persons most people would care about. Having chronicled the behavior of the mildly distasteful but always pretentious, privileged youth in The Secret History (one of the most overrated novels of the 90s) Ms Tartt now gets down in gutter (so to speak) settling upon the Upper Middle of NYCs Upper West Side--wannabees and hangers-on to Park Avenue's Gilded elite.<br/><br/>SPOILER ALERT: paragraphs below sketch the broad outline of the first third of the book's plot to highlight my point above.<br/><br/>After attacks upon our financial center (the World Trade Center) and our military-industrial complex (the Pentagon) where do hate-filled terrorist believe they can do the most damage to our collective psyche? MTV studios pumping out sexually provocative hip hop propaganda? Madison Avenue's culture of consumerism and wanton consumption? Certainly not, silly! Blow up a Met Gallery of Dutch Masters--those timeless symbols of American Hegemony. Huh?!?! It is this complete disconnect from the real world, its influences and everyday travail that make the author's novels both implausible and unmoving.<br/><br/>Rising literally from the ashes of Al Qaeda's disdain for Vermeer and Phillipe deMontebello is our hero Theo. (an homage to Theo Van Gogh, probably). A Holden Caulfield sort who has just lost his beloved mother in the blast. Indeed, rather creepily, Theo's<br/>mother is his best friend, unforgettably beautiful, an autodidact art historian and pretty much every cliche necessary to emotionally scar and immobilize an impressionable lad. To suit her narrative, apparently blast victims can wander out of bomb sites unimpeded, with the book's eponymous masterpiece tucked under an arm. Happily for Tartt it doesn't occur to NYC emergency services, firemen or policeman that a bloodied boy in shock, tattered and covered in plaster might require assistance. phew! Close call, that!<br/><br/>From there Theo wanders effortlessly into the 14 room Park Avenue apartment of a casual family acquaintance. Apparently socialites with no time for their own kids don't mind having a near stranger set up house--providing of course they can sedate him as they please. Where is NYC Social Services during this travesty? Apparently they neglect the well-to-do as readily as the poor, and are as eager to medicate teens as any PA doyenne.<br/><br/>All of these highly improbable doings are essential ingredients to concoct the character the author loves to explore: An emotionally bereft and estranged dilettante with addiction issues--Tartt's sweet spot, as it were. As of this writing, we are mired in dissipation in Las Vegas. My headline compares Tartt to Auchincloss, and as I sketch the outline of her latest work I fear I have done Louis a disservice. LA's work portrayed a different class and world without ever seeming pompous or pedantic. Ms Tartt's Theo begins with a enormous potential and has devolved into a self-absorbed, self-pitying jerk who squandered anysympathy I had for him a 100 pages ago. He is presently in Las Vegas wallowing in the morass of his addiction and the author is starting to pontificate (some reviewers have said philosophize but my patience is worn).<br/><br/>So I am taking a break. I am putting this aside for a week or so and see if absence makes the heart grow fonder. I am not hopeful. Too bad. Her prose is quite wonderful. Unfortunately, the story is just rubbish.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGCQ3QYK9UBM?ASIN=0316055441 Badly in need of a firm editor "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved The Secret History when it first came out, but rereading it again recently as an adult I was struck by how many draggy scenes there were involving characters moping around getting drunk. This book takes that tendency to extremes. From the beginning part of the novel (explosion in the museum), and worsening as the story went on, each section could have benefited from being shortened at least by one-third. I read this book on a Kindle, so I had no idea how many ""pages"" it was, but about halfway through it certainly felt I was slogging through a 900-page book.<br/><br/>I am not a wimp when it comes to long books--two of my favorite novels are Infinite Jest and Ulysses. However, as other reviewers have stated, for a book of this length to hold one's interest, there must be forward motion and an interesting narrator. During the first part of the book (when the narrator is a child/teen) I was driven by wanting to know what happened to him, and horror at his predicaments. However, the older he got, the less likable he became. To some degree, I felt this book was like an episode of Three's Company where the entire plot hinges on someone not doing something obvious. Whenever the narrator has the opportunity to be truthful (which would make his life so much better) he inevitably lies. As a result, his life spiraled downward and downward. Once he became an adult, he was so unlikable and passive that frankly, I didn't care about him at all and was driven to keep reading only because (1) I really liked the character of Boris and (2) I really liked Hobie and the entire world created around him.<br/><br/> Tartt does an amazing job of creating the feel of both Manhattan and Las Vegas. However, I don't feel that we needed quite so much description of endless teenage druggie afternoons in Vegas or endless adult druggie days and nights in Manhattan. In addition, although I really enjoyed Boris and his talkative nature, his endless speeches didn't ring true. I read once that in real life, no one says anything over a paragraph long unless they're making a speech. There is a lot of speech-making here. In addition, as another reviewer noted, the female characters all pretty much seem like paper dolls with no real personality - just ""types"" of girls (slut, preppy, golden idolized girl). The only woman I had any interest in was Mrs. Barbour.<br/><br/>By the end, I was exhausted and the payoff--a lot of highfalutin' talk about art, beauty, love, yada yada that went on for pages and pages--just did not affect me at all. I think this could have been a great book if someone had reined in the author's tendency toward endless description and endless conversation.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2GVPGY8HG1XSH?ASIN=0316055441 The ending is just rushed like she wanted to just get it over with "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Dreadful book. Hundreds of pages of character development with no plot. The ending is just rushed like she wanted to just get it over with. If the author had given the book to someone else to finish that developed a plot and added a good ending it may have been worth reading. I only tried the book because of its Pulitzer prize. I now know that the ""Pulitzer Prize"" is worthless and must just be a marketing tool to sell bad books. Will not buy another Pulitzer Prize book without having got good recommendations from reliable sources.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2K8XTUTBG41HM?ASIN=0316055441 astonishing and brilliant "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautiful prose framing timeless themes within contemporary story lines. A joy to sink into. One of the very few books I've wanted to begin reading again the moment I turned the last page.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1S98BSL6ZR385?ASIN=0316055441 Deeply enriching and thoroughly enjoyable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Rich prose, realistic characters, interesting twists, and such an unusual story kept me wanting to read each and every word. The details in Hobie's furniture renovations, making tea, Theo remembering his mother, Boris and his enlightening outlook on life, all of it transcended me to the very spots where the scene was taking place. The author's spot on depiction of what goes through a teenaged boy's mind and her ability to weave characters in and out appeared flawless. I was sad to find myself on the last page.<br/>Thank you Donna!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6BFML6364NQY?ASIN=0316055441 One Star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found this book to be very hard to get through. Very bizarre story and way too wordy.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RDCMLNGQKFUF5?ASIN=0316055441 Brilliance and boredom "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">the literary style (found in so many enjoyable language ""paintings"") becomes submerged in unnecessary, lengthy passages that detract both from the engaging plot as well as the reader's concern for the unique, credible characters. in short, the novel is too wordy. a good editor could have turned a good novel into a fictional ""best"". a work of literary merit well beyond a contemporary novel on the best seller's list. the author's ruminations on the puzzlements of life and death may indeed define what makes this novel worth reading.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3OGXR21DJQJLX?ASIN=0316055441 I only finished this horrible thing because I am WAY too stubborn "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">ACK!!!! I only finished this horrible thing because I am WAY too stubborn!!!!!!!!!!!! Over written, under plotted, and a cast of characters that no one could possibly care about. Boris throughout the book -- a Russian thug and drug enthusiast -- oh please!!!!!! I'm sorry I wasted the time. I kept thinking surely I was missing something, but I don't think so. I ended up cursing the narrator, yelling in frustration when Boris showed up yet again, and wondering how anyone could be as lame as our so-called ""hero."" Yecch.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15IASRCZ1Q194?ASIN=0316055441 a fun, immersive read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although I know this has gotten mixed reviews from readers, I loved it. Sure, the story tended to drag in a couple of places, but I enjoyed the scope of the story, which covers many years and several situations. My favorite parts involved the crazy Russian, Boris, who is a really compelling character. The madcap, action-packed sequences and the way that the book evokes places like Hobie's shop or the desert wasteland of Las Vegas are the best features of the book. It is weakest when it tries to be overly philosophical and deep.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R10R8I82YCKKY8?ASIN=0316055441 Painful plot, frustrating, depressing story line! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I struggled to finish this book, and at times, decided I'd put it down and not bother to finish it. But, I kept hoping that there would be a twist and turn, at the turn of the next page, and the direction of the book would change in a positive way. But, this did not happen. It is truly one of the most painful story lines I've read in a long time. Just when you thought things couldn't get worse, they did! It is so well written, that I hesitate to give it such low ratings, but if you're looking for an uplifting book, this is not it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2UZJG4R2WGVU?ASIN=0316055441 ... half (approximately) of the book was original and had amazing descriptive qualities "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first half (approximately) of the book was original and had amazing descriptive qualities. HOWEVER, the next three eighths of the book contained long drawn out descriptions of drug use and some pretty mundane topics which became utterly boring and, after the first few, added nothing - downright tedious. The end was not well organized and finished with some pseudo- philosophical meanderings. I think the author tried to take this tale in too many directions and could not bring it together (unless she's planning on a sequel).</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R18W8ZMPBAJOUE?ASIN=0316055441 Epic and Powerful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A journey through decades highlighted by the writer's gifted prose. I haven't read something this thought provoking in ages, and to be truthful, I thought this kind of writing had been lost forever. It is a bit long in spots, but Donna Tartt's words have an elegance that more than makes up for it. Don't get me wrong, it's a challenging read, but worth the time. And time is what you need to appreciate this. It isn't a summer page turner, it's much, much more, and it's worthy of the effort you need to put in to thoroughly enjoy it.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OR1DXMRL2BE?ASIN=0316055441 Atruly great read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Enjoyed the book very much and now that I have finished it, I miss it. Hoping to find another book that I will enjjoy as much.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKRZA23Z76HZD?ASIN=0316055441 Overblown "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was looking forward to this book due to the reviews, but I found it too long and sometimes repetitive, so much so that I began to loose interest and became exasperated. The plot twists are frequently absurd,and the philosophizing reminds me of moral tales read in high school. The characters are not likable, and I almost OD with the drug addiction descriptions. There are well developed parts, but there can be too much of a good thing and then it's not so good. I wanted to recommend this novel to friends, but I can't.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/ROQNU7YYFFDIU?ASIN=0316055441 Too much of a good thing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Tartt’s writing is beautiful but, in the end, there’s too much of it for the story she has to tell. She creates many intriguing characters – real people with flaws and contradictions, strengths and weaknesses – and situates them in the equally intriguing world of art and antiques. The first two-thirds of her book are riveting. The last third drags with endless re-runs of the highs, lows and drunken stupors of Theo and Boris who are Tartt’s male leads. Her plot is a little suspect as it relies on people bumping into each other at opportune moments. And the book finally becomes didactic as Tartt indulges her characters with long speeches(more like lectures)which seem designed to ensure that readers have understood the moral issues she wanted to air in her book.(less)</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R202DPWBGLF46R?ASIN=0316055441 too too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">While I understand the trauma one may carry on in life. In the beginning I was rooting for Theo, poor boy, then well OK, no so good living with dad. . I found the constant descriptions of the antique store, his drug deliriums and constant fear and mother flash backs really tedious and sometimes just annoying. I just started skipping paragraphs especially at the end. I would have liked it better if it had been more abbreviated. The last part where Theo is telling us about why he is writing this left me completely cold.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6N02MSMLKOK9?ASIN=0316055441 Tooooo Long. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As an avid reader I was delighted to see another Donna Tartt book published. WAY too long and dragged out. It was almost like two different authors were involved. The first author for about 2./3 of the novel and another for the end. If you really want to read, be prepared for a really downward spiral. I have spoken with others who have also read, and their reactions were exactly the same.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1CZMGDT4JZK8P?ASIN=0316055441 Not impressed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the pacing to be off. The first 2/3 of the book cover 2 years of Theo's life, then skip ahead 5 years for 1 chapter, then skip ahead another few years. I couldn't finish the last 50 pages because they were just summarizing Theo's life philosophy. I already gleaned his philosophy from the book; I didn't need to be hit over the head with it. I have never put down a book with 50 pages to go, but I did here. I was finished with the character and the main conflict had been resolved. It should have ended there</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15OTQSLX7ZYC?ASIN=0316055441 One Star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Book was horrible and drawn out. Read for book club and we all pretty much agreed.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFP1LA1VTS6SB?ASIN=0316055441 Very interesting story. Good read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Great story with lots of twists and turns and new characters constantly joining the plot. However, I find it unrealistic that the teens in the story would know so much about art and music and have such a wide vocabulary, but perhaps they have very cultured adults in their lives to teach them. The American characters from New York also use an awful lot of British language, such as Crikey and knackered, so I would swear that the author must be British. Beyond that, I do like the story and it held my interest.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3OLV3YHY0TRA9?ASIN=0316055441 I like it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Ms. Tart has, no doubt, a masterful command of the English language and an ability to evoke deep emotional responses from her readers. I could not put this book down. I found it intelligent, engrossing and so emotionally engaging, I had to find out what happened next. That said, I ended up feeling quite sad and remorseful for Theo, and most everyone in the story. I finished, thinking I wanted more, and had an unsettling feeling inside. I loved The Secret History, and will read Her other book straight away.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1UKE0H9V2N8HL?ASIN=0316055441 Awful reader "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can't stand this guy's voice and the way he dopes every single female character in this book. I can't understand the hype around the book either. Tiresome characters, too many drugs, too much drinking, too much vomit, too many fights. There are nuggets of good things--the furniture refinisher, observations about the edge of Vegas, but it seems to be a hopeless, vast, and empty landscape. So much of the plot of the novel is telegraphed and cornily done. I don't really want to finish it but probably will.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2P5A55HZ9FYMJ?ASIN=0316055441 Yes and No "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I stayed with this novel thru all 700+ pages only to be disappointed by the ending. I wanted to love this book. All the art and antiques and aftermath of a child-mother tragedy seemed like the perfect recipe for a great story. I did enjoy the story and character development, up until the period when the main character returned to NY. At this point it felt excessively long, almost interminable.The descriptions of getting high, getting drunk, recovering only to do all that again and the introduction of the engagement to Kitsey (totally unnecessary in my view,""kitschy"" in fact!) was disappointing. All of which is to say, I very much enjoyed about half of this novel and perhaps if it was half as long I would have rated it 5 star.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RXQEHBBKU0STN?ASIN=0316055441 Overblown, narcissistic, self-important twaddle. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I felt like I wasted many hours of my life reading this boring book. I thought it was poorly constructed, poorly written and overall unauthentic. I would not recommend this book to anyone. The worst parts were the long paragraphs taking place entirely in the narrator's head, which was most of the book unfortunately.<br/><br/>The narrator was a very unlikable sort, who only used other people for what he could get out of them, but never seemed to really know them. Therefore neither does the reader.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R34HGXSO31MPP2?ASIN=0316055441 Like father, like son "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved the first two parts of this novel: the explosion and Las vegas. Outside of the part of the trip back to NY on a bus, the novel for me started to deteriorate. Particularly unnecessary in such detail was the Amsterdam episode and the still seamier part of the novel.<br/>Pippa was an unnecessary character as some others characters.. I suppose when one writes a 800 page novel, there are parts that could be eliminated. I think the author had too many themes such as the decadence of the rich of NY</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1MUOS1P72ZAPH?ASIN=0316055441 Long and detailed read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Overall a good story, but almost too detailed in some of the storytelling, to where interesting plot lines get bogged down. Although not one of the most likable protagonists, it seems a very realistic portrayal of how a person could react to such a traumatic event in their life. Theo's sometimes self-destructive nature seems likely, but makes it a frustrating read at time. I really didn't like Boris but, ultimately, he saved Theo by stealing the painting years before, which made him an unlikely hero.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29SMXRKW7VU0T?ASIN=0316055441 Beautiful and thought provoking. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I got this as an audio book, and it took me a lot of long car rides to finish it, but it was well worth it. I hated pressing the pause button, and leaving this stressful, vibrant, and poignant world. I am glad I met Theo, but I am torn as to whether I would want to see him again. He is a wonderful and complex character, but maybe a bit too real, a bit too much a lost cause, and a worthy rescue, too tightly balanced to figure out which aspect will win out in the end. I will have a big story hangover!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJDYSERX9Z8VL?ASIN=0316055441 Flight of The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch has the scope of a Dickensian novel and the dynamics of a Harry Potter tale. Tartt's language is muscular and poetic at the same time. Her characters are all vulnerable and revealed as subject to humanity's weaknesses and power. It has that quality that all good art has of feeling as if it as always existed, we just needed to find it and revel in it's familiarity. The power of art exists in the small painting of a captive goldfinch that has impact on every life it touches. We are swept from one intriguing location to another like migrating birds landing in strange places. When I felt Tartt begin to apply the brakes to the inexorable forward movement, my sense of loss began because I knew the story had to end.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2L295S8WA79GT?ASIN=0316055441 so disappointing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The ambition is high, but the execution falls way short. Ms. Tartt sets out to write a Great Expectations for our time, but sadly succeeds only at matching the Dickens masterpiece in length. The writing is very unclear at times, and rather that focusing on important details to pain pictures, she provides us with endless lists of relatively banal descriptors that one soon starts skipping over to get to the plot - often dropped for hundreds of pages on end. The characters soon descend into cliches, and the narrator is so unlikable that it is hard to spend time with him. The final section is a sermon - a lecture on - what? It's not clear what points she is trying to make in this final section (read the sentences carefully - they don't mean anything), the writing is so unclear and poorly focused. And who needs a lecture on ""what it was all about"" anyway, unless the point of the book was obscure in the first place - which, alas, it is.<br/><br/>I wanted to like this book. Instead, it left me frustrated and even angry at times. Where was her editor?</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Z7KI98Z6X9OX?ASIN=0316055441 BORING! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this book after reading Amazon's description and reading some of the customer reviews. I'd been ready to enjoy this book. I should begin by stating that I to listen to audiobooks because, being I'm quadriplegic (I cannot hold a book in my hands). This being the case, it sometimes happens that my opinion of a book is somewhat affected by a reader's voice and the way he/she reads, but I doubt it. This book was WAY too long. The protagonist's ruminations went on interminably. The book would have been much more interesting if the writing had been much `tighter'. It was just so boring; I simply lost all interest in Theo. Boris was much more interesting!<br/><br/>Having said this, I cannot give this book a good rating.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R201MVU17IYEW0?ASIN=0316055441 beauty marred by tedium "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever read. The precision of her prose is glorious; she paints with words as Fabritius did with his brush. But there were times when I SO wanted her to get on with the story and worry less about the craft. It is clear why it takes her 10 years to write a book as each word is chosen with purpose. But sometimes I found myself feeling that instead of the characters.<br/>I liked it very much. I did not, however, love it, which made me sad.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGCN1B38DZ2SD?ASIN=0316055441 Another injured soul dealing with issues by indulging in drugs and booze "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Even though it is written quiet well, it did not need 800+ pages to tell the story. Hard to find the redeeming value.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFSJ7C5UV92ZN?ASIN=0316055441 How did this make it past the editor? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Tartt wants me to treat this novel like an intellectual challenge without actually writing a challenging work. She curates a plot around images and ideas that she assumes carry intrinsic symbolic weight (art! violence! drugs!), writes a book, and then goes backwards to reassure me that all those elements mean things. The preaching in the final pages falls flat and those ideas should have been woven throughout the text, not written as an addendum to ""Dear Reader.""<br/><br/>Her character writing and dialog are both insufferable. Boris was the redemptive element of the novel when he was the amoral, off-beat best friend with whom Theo hammers out every possible adolescent anxiety. But I'm supposed to take him seriously as a intellectually engaged moral agent? You must be kidding.<br/><br/>Most of us are very comfortable with the idea that asking big question makes us super clever, by default, without any intention of real answers. Tartt, likewise, wants credit for Asking The Questions (see Boris in there, scolding me that I don't understand how important he's being?) but she'll hand-wave away any real attempt at conclusions. The ending did not ring true. Plot line after plot line --- she wanders from place to place and idea to idea. I believe she has mentioned every major theme without actually exploring any of them. This book was a literary disaster.<br/><br/>Two deeply unhappy boys finding solace in each other in dangerous, broken, genuine ways is meaningful and engaging. Why can't I read that novel?</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2G6F220D5GOCA?ASIN=0316055441 Far too slow "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wish I had read reviews before starting this book. Although I love her writing, and her turn of phrase throughout the book is the literary style I love, this book fell in a heap for me. It stared brilliantly, so much so I recommended it to friends who also downloaded it. Big mistake. She seemed to want to write a lengthy book and was determined to do so. The plot took too long to unravel for me. The previous reviews on this site that I've read with similar ratings are spot on in my opinion.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6UASKAFC1S5Q?ASIN=0316055441 Not for me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I finished the book but just barely. Maybe I'm not""literary"" enough to understand the significance of this author's work, but I had a hard time appreciating anything about the character's lifestyle or why the author felt driven to drag readers into the depths of his alcoholic and drug infested life. The monotony of the writing style did not appeal to me. I was more than ready for the book to be over about 3/4th's of the way through. Sorry, but I would just not recommend this as a good read.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15TUCO16L1T66?ASIN=0316055441 Art, Antiques and Artful Dodgers "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">When teen-aged Theo Decker survives a terrorist attack on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, it sets off a suspenseful novel of intrigue and adventure among international art ""acquirers"", drug dealers and users, wealthy and privileged New Yorkers and Las Vegas gamblers. Author Donna Tartt interweaves the lives of Theo, Boris, Pippa, and Hobie and produces a novel that is both poignant and edgy. The common thread that guides the action involves a small painting by the Dutch painter,Carel Fabritius, that has survived the explosion that destroyed much of Delft in 1674,only to be lost again as a terrorist bomb planted in the gift shop of the Metropolitan explodes in the first decade of the 2000s. The tiny goldfinch as depicted by Fabritius is possibly the most famous bird in the history of Dutch art. Tartt has done her research in art history, and her ability to capture and portray the underbelly of major cities reveals a depth of understanding rarely present in contemporary fiction.<br/>Liz Wildberger, Fairfield, CA</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2O755ZMYVHDU4?ASIN=0316055441 Don't waste your time. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The most depressing and laborious book I have read in years. Troubling on so many levels. The drugs and profanity are practically intolerable for anyone with any reasonable level of a moral code. The fact that Theo gets away with murder, even if it is a scum bag low-life, is totally unacceptable, and disgusting. The use of prepositions is confusing & incorrect in many instances, the various scenarios go on insufferably long, and the ending is completely incompatible with the character of Theo. Hardly any of the characters are likeable, or even believable, and the few who are, are not sufficiently developed. I am astounded that this book has received the rave reviews that it has. It is a big zero in my opinion.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27E0742IXAL1D?ASIN=0316055441 A compelling meditation on damage and the meaning of art "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The powerful theme of The Goldfinch is damage and it permeates both the characters and the narrative. At turns gritty and visceral, the story also explores how beauty sustains us and in hot flashes of insight points to the meaning of connection with others, even when they are randomly conceived. At nearly 800 pages, one would expect occasional lulls, but the dramatic tension remains taught throughout, and we cannot look away from the damage inflicted upon the characters or the equal damage that they inflict upon themselves. Moreover, Tartt delivers surprising twists and never relies on expected plot conventions, continually offering fresh perspectives. The book continues to resonate long after the last page.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3T3YPMLBELF0C?ASIN=0316055441 A great collection of well written sentences "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">When I started reading this book I rejoiced. The sentences were beautiful, well written, compelling. And then...nothing really happened. The book went on and on and on losing itself in meaningless dribble. I couldn't believe it wouldn't pick up somewhere, so I have put it down four times only to pick it up later, trying to find out if it is just me, or this book. Halfway I put it away forever. Still I feel it could have been a good book, if it only was rigorously edited....and shortened.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UQJ9AHJVY5QD?ASIN=0316055441 I did not enjoy the book but liked the story. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I do not know what the requirements are for a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. My expectations, though, were for something more....not sure what, but more. I can imagine this being made into a movie that I would enjoy. This is not a ""life is good"" story but not a ""life is bad"" story either. It is a story of survival and friendship. I feel the author spent too many words describing feelings, emotions and sometimes area (scenery). That was when I would start skimming.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3T22FU4LHQSJ9?ASIN=0316055441 I thought it would never end! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">There is descriptive then, there is excessive. I mean do you need 6 times in two pages describing his mom wore a white trench coat tied at the waist? When he was taking about suicides I was hoping he would do it so the story would just end. I was depressed the entire time I read this book. I am not sure how this author won a Pulitzer. She goes on and on with non value added excessive detail. If this is how she talks I would have to punch her if I was unlucky enough to know her.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3EWBBSP0GNG7C?ASIN=0316055441 Memorable! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was certainly engrossed by this thrilling, sprawling novel. The writing is luscious and captivating. Even when the inevitable plot-advancing coincidences start to pile up, you are so relieved that our heroes, Theo and Boris, are able to stay with you another day. It's quite odd to read a book of 770 pages and, when asked what it's about, to say ""Oh, a boy who loses his mother, goes to live with various people and has a lot of adventures."" While the comparisons to Dickens have been made, I also saw a close literary connection to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It's the detail, the moods, the artistry, the beauty that makes The Goldfinch so compelling. Just the act of spinning an entire saga from such a small and delicate painting is remarkable and miraculous. I may forget the details of the novel in time, and am perhaps already forgetting them (the scenes in Amsterdam were exhausting), but I will never forget the little goldfinch, chained to its perch, that provoked this literary fantasia.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3JYRE41IJFA5T?ASIN=0316055441 Five Stars "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a lovely journey through this young man's life. I could not put it down.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FFLYOKD3V47Q?ASIN=0316055441 On and on and on.... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautifully well written. An author of much talent and creativity. The book does , however go on forever and some of the sleezier characters engulf the story. One is reminded of Holden Caufield on steroids.. Would that the book had been just as riiviting as the elegant goldfinch painting to which it refers. That is the power of an elegantly presented painting over a book that feels as if it will never end. The painting of the captive bird and the beauty of it says it all.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Z6CIGB8G89HH?ASIN=0316055441 Great Read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It had been awhile since I'd read a book that I didn't want to put down, but ``The Goldfinch"" came along and kept me up way too late on several nights! It continually surprised me with its plot twists and turns. I am well aware of the stinging literary criticism of the book, and I totally disagree. I found Tartt to be a high skilled writer and her characters to be extremely well-written. And don't be put off by the length of this book. It's a thick tome, but easy to read.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ITOV81AOS07W?ASIN=0316055441 Swept away! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Glides effortlessly down a twisted road. Glad I had four days to devote to nothing but reading because I could not put this book down except for a few breaks.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGWFABR5EQ7SL?ASIN=0316055441 A disappointing novel that won the Pulitzer Prize "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did not enjoy the laborious detail. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time it seemed redundant and unnecessary, particularly the descriptions of drug use. Enough! The endings are so important in a novel and this one was a letdown; a bit preachy and maudlin. The basic theme was interesting and by-and-large I could have dealt with the overabundance of description if the ending was a zinger, but it wasn't. It was a letdown. I would not recommend it to a friend.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R244HTBEHB34GI?ASIN=0316055441 this is more a philosophy book. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although started out really liking this book and the story progression, eventually I wanted to throw it in the flood waters. Ms. Tartt was very, very long on the philosophical prose. I got to the point where I was skipping huge chunks of her words to just try and get to the story progression. It's never a good thing when the reader can skip huge portions of a book and still not lose the story thread. This bool should have been written in 500 pages instead of 755.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RDGSWLP6QCDA0?ASIN=0316055441 Great Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I would have flown through the pages of this book if I didn't have a life I need to lead and a family to take care of. There is nothing simple about this book. The characters seem to all be a hot mess in their own way and yet I wanted to know how each of them was doing until the very last word. I read Secret History and expected to see similarities in characters. These are new characters and a very different story. The book was a gift, I consider it a good gift.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21ERTL4MTYL2R?ASIN=0316055441 goldfinch an intense read. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">an intense read.<br/><br/>this book deals very well with the eternal themes of love and loss.. also the way art and the creation of beautiful objects<br/>can heal the soul.<br/>life is presented as chaotic and meaningless .<br/>each person has to find his or her own meaning in life in order to go on. so the things of the spirit like creating art and music<br/>and also the human connections which are<br/>forged shape our lives and give us a reason to live.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3GAKKFN8SFIEC?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a book for adults. It explores the horrors of post traumatic life: lives interrupted by trauma. It delves into drugs, and insecurities of every level. It is written on a level above excellent, reaching into the emotions and troubled lives of ordinary people that have experienced untold internal pain and turmoil. Not for the pleasant random ho hum read, this demands thought, and compassion that should go somewhere and offer help victims of terrorist trauma.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MFFP9WQKJ39Y?ASIN=0316055441 Total downer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can't understand the popularity. It is an interesting concept, but the two main characters have no redeeming moral or intellectual qualities. Indeed, the only secondary character who was thoroughly admirable was the protagonist's mentor. I did not care what happened to either of the two main characters. I finished it only because I kept thinking that, given the book's popularity, there must be something toward the end that makes it worthwhile. There wasn't.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MH8I6C27UEIQ?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed in a long read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm not a quitter and persevered through this novel. The beginning got me and I wanted to learn what happened to Theo, but once he moved to Las Vegas it was not enjoyable. Of course, the ""f"" word had to be a constant in their vocabulary and I guess that goes along with the world of drugs. I could have lived my life without reading this and would not recommend this as a good read. I am trying to figure out how and why it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3K6X91CR05DYD?ASIN=0316055441 A rich and multi-layered tapestry of plots, characters and colors. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was so absorbed in Donna Tart's extraordinary new novel Goldfinch that four trans-continental plane trips passed by too quickly. I fell in love with Theo who, like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, dispassionately narrates the extraordinary evolution of his life. We assume that, like Holden, Theo was about to be expelled from school when a terrorist bomb explodes inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and changes the course of his life. The author artfully combines extraordinary events and characters - Boris the Russian drug dealer, Theo's deadbeat dad and his Vegas girlfriend, Hobie the antique conservator and the up tight Upper East Side Barbours (to list just a few)- and weaves them together to create a believable and vividly entertaining plot. Theo's coming of age and wisdom are exquisitely voiced. The insights into the international world of drug dealings and art theft are fascinating and credible. This is an immensely satisfying read.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R353HWMOZ5CC3C?ASIN=0316055441 Why the accolades? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">All I can say is that I will never get the hours of my life back that it took me to get through this novel. I can honestly say that grocery shopping and yard work would have been more enjoyable. While it's well written, it's dank, dark, depressing and frankly unbelievable. Do yourself a favor and don't succumb to all of your contemporaries recommending this Pulitzer Prize winning novel like I did. It's 800 pages I will never get back and completely not good.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13EWR963JTQN4?ASIN=0316055441 This book is in serious need of a good editor. Although the plot is intriguing the author ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is in serious need of a good editor. Although the plot is intriguing the author gets carried away with her thoughts and the book begins to sound like a series of notes. There is an incredible amount of unnecessary detail on many topics. It drivels along becoming way too long and self indulgent. At half the length it would have been long enough. I wouldn't recommend this unless<br/>you are an insomniac and need something to send you to sleep.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RG154YDN9MJHZ?ASIN=0316055441 A fruitcake of a novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book has now been on the best-seller lists forever, but if you're one of the handful of people who haven't read it yet, be aware that - like fruitcake - it's not something you can finish in one sitting. Tartt's plotting is excellent, but she's never met a simile she didn't like, & places & characters are constantly being compared to this, that & the other thing. Like fruitcake, it's dense, rich, & even fulfilling, but just a bit cloying after awhile.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R39TSWYL4NQQ8M?ASIN=0316055441 Though she can still write beautiful sentences and create memorable characters "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Unfortunately, this novel confirms my belief that Tartt will never live up to the potential she showed in The Secret History. Though she can still write beautiful sentences and create memorable characters, she no longer has those flashes of brilliance that illuminated TSH. Instead what we get are sentences that seem designed to showcase the author's style rather than develop the plot and characters who are unlikable. I got halfway through and gave up.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R12A9K82IEHS22?ASIN=0316055441 Compelling; quite an investment but worth every minute! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A Catcher in the Rye book. Really loved the characters, but the trajectory stalled, and this book woud have benefitted from a<br/>good editing. (Just two examples: we don't know until the very end that Theo has been journaling all along, or had taken some control of his health by seeing a dentist. Unlike other commentators, I enjoyed the evolving and complicated life processing of Theo and Boris, and it is important to understand the impact of drugs, alcohol, poor nutrition and total lack of care on a developing person.<br/>These characters do entwine themselves into your brain, and the philosophies and thoughts on art, fate, parenting, morals, and sense of place, to name a few, nag and niggle long after the book is closed. I remain horrified at how adults can so baldly abuse children, and those in a position to help, don't.<br/>I think this is a very important book to read. I'm likely to re-read, which is rare for me</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RITLSRCHWKO6A?ASIN=0316055441 To much fine writing for this retail reader "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to read a Pulitzer Price winner for my own writing improvement. It was a beautiful read and poetic at times. It reminded me however of a college writing assignment of a 20 page paper on a 1 page subject. As I got into it--it became a slog of pages that could have been said in paragraphs. In her defense, there are retail authors and fine literary artists. Like wine, my pallet enjoys a 15 dollar bottle while she writes for 50-dollar tastes.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1QKNE8O1XATRX?ASIN=0316055441 This was an amazing book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt has a way of weaving a story that captivates, informs, and, at moments, teaches us along the way. The book is written in the first person which allows the reader to really understand the depths of thinking of the main character as he takes his journey. I generally finish a book and go right on to the next. I found myself thinking that I wished the book was more, more to read and more to think about. From my perspective...great book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2J5XODQWZOZP5?ASIN=0316055441 Highest recommendation : The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was a wonderful read taking the reader through great personal loss, doubt, love stories, family dynamic and, mental health issues of very different types while set against the background of antiques, art, history, NYC (intimately) and Europe. I couldn't put it down! All my major interests were encompassed in extremely well written prose. A feast for the creative mind...I would write more but my break at work is over! Read this book!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R9JKFJ3BKU06P?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Well, I started with great expectations. Although it was very well written, it was so depressingly hung up on the dark side of human nature that it was really difficult to read. Normally, I digest a book in a day or so but this was a lingering, long process. I only hung in there to see how it ended and that was even depressing. This was a chronicle of human addiction and bad choices! I sure wouldn't recommend this, Pulitzer Price or not!!!!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27I9FPISE8VB5?ASIN=0316055441 Much better than 'Little friend' but . . . "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Obviously no problems with the quality of the writing, but she flogs every scene and every incident to death by water torture - virtually without exception all are too,too long. I wanted to scream ""OK, I've got the point, move on!"". Almost as if she is wallowing in the belief that her writing is so good that the readers need more of it thrust down their throats. Remember, Donna, less is more in most things and particularly in writing.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMLMIYOISAGVJ?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Good premise for the storyline, but thought it was overly wordy. While it's not the primary element of the story, the book deals openly with excessive drug use. To the author's credit, she does not glorify it. I did enjoy the main characters, and particularly felt a kindred spirit with Hobie. His kindness was the saving grace for Potter. The story wraps up with a plausible finish, and you get a sense that life will be better for Potter.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2LRH6H53ZBEC?ASIN=0316055441 Book of the Year, maybe decade "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The characters in this novel, who grow from childhood to adulthood or from maturity to old age are all rounded people who grow at the same time that the plot progresses. We are given early clues to their later development but are always aware of roads not taken. The descriptions of crowded noisy New York streets, the confusion that follows a bombing, the bright sunshine and vast open spaces of Nevada and the comfortable stability of an antique store are so well drawn that reading the novel feels like a visit to those places. This book is almost as long as 'War and Peace' and can reasonably be compared with that masterpiece.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R17A0VCMX702OW?ASIN=0316055441 Very good aside from the end "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I assume that writing the ending to a book is the hardest part of the process. The Goldfinch was, for me, yet another really good book where the ending disappointed. Unlike other books though, this one trailed off into something that wasn't even in the same voice as the rest of the book. It actually started to go downhill around 85% (per Kindle %) with one ""upswing"" still left and then fizzled. 3.5 stars is a more accurate rating.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RWKS8G6XRQ810?ASIN=0316055441 This was a teeth grinder! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is one of the more unusual books I've read. I had a love hate relationship with it. It tends to become repetitive a times. The author brings you to a point of exhaustion and then a new chapter begins and you find some relief. This continues through the entire book. Her writing is both beautiful and at other times morose I lived in NYC for many years and without a doubt she nails the feeling of the city right into your soul.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19C0R5A8E8S3F?ASIN=0316055441 Eternal Verity "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a fabulous novel--I will never forget it. Our hero, a sometime junkie, hopes to avoid cosmic level pain--he is a victim of terrorism, of lost and inept parents, of peripheral adult involvement. His talisman is the goldfinch, painted over 400 years ago, a bird/prisoner chained to a post, a representation of stablity and permanence in world bereft. Theo is taken in and cared for by a variety of families--some distant, some more lovable. His enduring family is Hobie, an antiques dealer (permanence) and Boris (wacky eternal friend).<br/><br/>The last twenty pages or so are an absolute paean to art and its importance in our unstable world. It moved me to tears. Theo survives; a lover who gets part of what he wants, a successful human being who is only too aware of the fragility of this life, and a thoroughly sympathetic character who will break your heart and then put it back together again.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R8IAR6YC4RH5S?ASIN=0316055441 Please spare me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was truly one of the most overrated books I've ever read. Do yourself a favor...unless you are an art fiend this book has so much babbling I could have edited it down to 300 pages. I have never rated a book this low. I believe it got a Pulitzer simply for the same reason people told The Emperor his new clothes were so fabulous...big words, artsy talk and a sprinkle (albeit a small one) of a story. Ugh...save the hours of your life.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1PZ6S9R0GAA38?ASIN=0316055441 Intricate, intimate, engrossing story telling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is told by an intelligent narrator who seems to remember every detail of the story -- a story which is full of tragedy and drama and self-reflection and great characters and intense description. At times I felt it was just too long, the out of control teen years in Las Vegas, but I couldn't think of anything I would have cut. This is a story that I have never read before -- that's another reason for the five star rating.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WTJF86GAPCSW?ASIN=0316055441 An unexpected treasure "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A long and marvelous read. Unexpectedly addictive. I haven't become so totally involved with a book in years. I simply could not put my kindle down until the last sentence. This is not a perfect book. It has many rough edges and the description is sometimes over the top. Still the characters drew me into their world and held me there. I saw a quote from Stephen King, comparing The Goldfinch to Great Expectations. Of course, NO book is really like Great Expectations... and yet, there were times when I was reminded of my first introduction to Pip or David Copperfield. Ms. Tartt built a world that I did not want to leave.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MLKVM2DJ571J?ASIN=0316055441 This book won the Pulitzer??? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">How did this book win a Pulitzer Prize??? My book club slogged through it with only one person finishing it and everyone else giving up somewhere around the middle. Everyone in the group felt the same way about the book - it was a painful waste of time. The language was lovely, but for crying out loud, sometimes you just need to get to the point! And the characters were mostly unsympathetic. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMCWGWJFEQF7A?ASIN=0316055441 Don't waste your time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">No likeable characters except one, who got screwed. The never ending saga. Pages of useless depiction. Reminded me of the movie the English Patient. Don't know why everybody is so crazy about this read.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3A9K0TJERAF9?ASIN=0316055441 Editing badly needed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Such a major disappointment this book started out great and then droned on and on then got better--then when the ending came it was utterly BORING--pontificating beyond--it felt like a self-help book gone bad! I so love sharing books with friends and co-workers but absolutley cannot do that with this one! In the future I would hope her work would be edited! I cannot attempt to read her now :(<br/>This book left me FRUSTRATED!!!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1NZPOH4GCJ7OZ?ASIN=0316055441 Be in for a long ride..... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Possibly the longest most tedious book I have ever read and I have read many. I found myself skimming a good part of the book and only read it as one of my friends recommended it. Examining each thought that the main character had, delving into each dream and experience he had ever had, became just a long boring book. The basic premise and story line could have been good if it was about 300 pages shorter.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RAW8G6LUCTXCI?ASIN=0316055441 Less Great Than I Hoped "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The beginning of this book was powerful, almost mesmerizing. The characters (the mother, the boy narrator, Hobie) as well as the plot were spellbinding. Although the book has great descriptive and imaginative passages, after several hundred pages the reader wants the story to end. However, more places and many more characters show up and it goes on and on and on. I particularly liked Theo as a child but not as an adult. Enough.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1YCIG66L4N01V?ASIN=0316055441 One Star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If I could give it zero I would. Miserable and melancholic from beginning to end. I feel polluted.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20989Y8T7YZEE?ASIN=0316055441 Great beginning, weird end "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Lost sympathy for the character in the book's transition to adulthood. Made it harder to believe the sequence that led to the final events of the book. The author's exposition at the end about the hopelessness and meaningless nature of life tied nothing together, did nothing to further the character. Liked the first part, which was most of the book, which is why the four stars. I would probably, if able, have given it 3.5.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R8HJ1T5WMELTQ?ASIN=0316055441 The Book Of Life "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Theo Decker's story in The Goldfinch is one that tells us, and beautifully so, that even tragic events are part of humanity and one of the many threads that really do tie us together. Donna Tartt has crafted a profound story that takes readers through Theo's adolescence and adulthood as he struggles to understand how his emotional wounds result in a heart that can still love and a life ,after all, that remains worth living.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OE0LDLC2C9SH?ASIN=0316055441 Drawn out story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I felt the story line was lacking with lots of details about drugs and paintings etc and although there was always a thread, the storyline fell flat for me. It also seemed improbable for a teen to be so heavily involved in drugs and alcohol without much notice from the school system but maybe that shows my naivety of never having lived on the dark side of life but I am a school nurse and I think someone would have noticed.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13FU2D2HG70KA?ASIN=0316055441 disappointed me "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I enjoyed the first two thirds of this book. When it got to the part where our hero is grown and runs into his childhood friend it got so wordy I didn't think we would ever find out what happened to the ""bloody picture."" It seemed like she didn't know how to end her story. And while all the soul searching and introspection is well written I found myself skipping along to get through it all. Not a very good sign.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCQUYYLTRPGQF?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch, a novel. Why a Pulitzer? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was one of the most depressing books I have ever read! It was unending with poor choices and I kept searching for some redemption---not to occur,. It was a good example, however, of why this is a ""fallen world"" in which we live. I would not recommend it to anyone. Perhaps the author meant to show this very thing perhaps? I would love to hear some other comments on it to understand why it received a Pulitzer.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3KJFIUVIB5F9K?ASIN=0316055441 Too Long and Nihilistic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">As well written as this novel is, it suffers from the bloat of any book nearing 800 pages.<br/><br/>Theo is a downer. He's nihilistic, self-absorbed, and directed at the whim of his Mother, Father, Pippa, and especially Boris. Everything happens to him because he makes nothing happen. Boris is easily the most interesting and delightful character with fatherly Hobie destined to be played on the big screen by Stephen Fry.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29LU75KUPQXUP?ASIN=0316055441 Woe is me! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">When Theo Decker and his mother are caught up in a random act of terrorism, Theo's life is ripped apart. The mother he idolised is dead, his father had abandoned them a year or so earlier and Theo is left at the mercy of the social welfare system. Fortunately he is taken in by the rich parents of his school friend, until his father turns up to reclaim him. This is the story of Theo's growth into adulthood and simultaneous descent into a drink and drug fuelled world of cold-hearted socialites and East European criminals.<br/><br/>There's about enough plot in this book to make a decent short story, or possibly it could stretch to a novella. Unfortunately Tartt has decided to drag it out for 771 pages, filled primarily with unremarkable prose and repetitive descriptions of drink and drugs binges, vomiting and hangovers, occasionally interspersed with a bit of random and unlikely violence. Sadly, I got the image in my head fairly early on that Tartt had popped into the local word shop and bought a couple of the huge economy bags rather than going for the more expensive select boxes - fewer words but more highly polished. Having bought them, she then seemed determined to use them - again and again and again.<br/><br/>The title of the book would lead an unwary reader to assume that the plot might have something to do with Fabritius' picture of the Goldfinch - well, it starts there and ends there, but the five or six hundred extremely tedious pages in the middle have little to do with it. In fact, there's very little about anything in the book other than Theo's depressed and depressing descent into his cycle of self-destruction - and unfortunately written so pedestrianly that it failed to move this reader with any emotion other than irritation and boredom.<br/><br/>Then there's Boris, who becomes Theo's friend in his teen years, introduces him to the wonders of drink and drugs and then...disappears for hundreds of pages, before suddenly re-appearing to help tie the thing up all nice and neatly; because that's how life really works, isn't it? Neat solutions and happy ever after - even if as in this case happiness consists of an acceptance of dull depression and hopelessness as the human condition. Tartt's depiction of Boris is so badly done it's almost (but unfortunately not quite) laughable. He goes beyond caricature to cartoon - think of every cliché you know about Eastern Europeans, add the old chestnut of the good-hearted villain and tack on a mock accent that's about as convincing as Dick Van Dyke's Cockney. I'd love to know why, though he lived in Australia and then the US from an early point of childhood, Boris never properly mastered the language.<br/><br/>But then that's not the only inconsistency. Given that Tartt spent ten years writing this, I'd have hoped she could have spared an hour or two to google some of her 'facts'. For example, Theo apparently has an iPod in 1999 - amazing, since it didn't go on the market till 2001. But his mother is even more amazing - apparently she was able to text when Theo was 10 - 1996, by my reckoning, at least 4 years before it began to be a real possibility for ordinary people. Theo worries about the 'shoe bomber' at least a year before that event actually happened - psychic as well as technologically advanced. And finally, would a young man in his early twenties in the US of around 2010 really say that his girlfriend looks like Carole Lombard? Who, for those of you who are too young to remember, was a film star who died in 1942. I googled these little factlets - what a shame Tartt didn't. It might have meant the book, or at least Theo's voice, would have had a little more authenticity.<br/><br/>But I could probably have overlooked these inconsistencies had the plot been more interesting, or the writing less prosaic, or the whole thing about 75% shorter. There are undoubtedly some good passages here, and occasionally the writing rises to a high standard, but these positives are completely swamped by the sheer weight of nothingness that fills most of the book. Since Ms Tartt is not afraid to deal in clichés, my advice to her - less is more. I've seen this book compared to Dickens - while Tartt has undoubtedly tried to take some elements of Great Expectations and work them into her plot, I find the comparison not just facile but vaguely insulting. As you'll have gathered, this one emphatically does not get my recommendation.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R33TTO7BC2MFLB?ASIN=0316055441 Really, really worth reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is amazing. It's epic in scope but it has to be in order to prove its point. And it builds to a compelling point that she succinctly summarizes in the final pages for people like me that sometimes need a little extra help. Tartt's prose is of the highest quality and provides rich and satisfying descriptions of both people and things. Also, Tartt, in my opinion as a guy, nails the first person narrator who begins as a boy and progresses into manhood. Not that a woman cannot write from the perspective of a man and vice versus, but she does it so well it was a little disorientating.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OZGD25NZDVUW?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A very long book (771 pages). While it was a fairly good read, I thought it could have been pared down somewhat. The<br/>main character was a likeable boy, but I really didn't connect very much with him. I'm sure that others may find more<br/>to like about this book, but for me, it was too long and not worth the time it took to read it. I may not have finished it had<br/>it not been a selection for my book club.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NW4SO3SCAAJ7?ASIN=0316055441 Golfinch Not Gold Reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought that since this book had been listed on the New York Times Best Seller list for weeks that it would be a sure thing when it came to pleasurable reading. Was I ever wrong. It was the most depressing book I have read in a long time. I literally forced myself to finish it, hoping to the end that the main character would stop having a pity party. What a miserable excuse for a human being he turned out to be.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RQUKUT52KNLOR?ASIN=0316055441 3.5 ... good but not quite there "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">well, now that i am a week past finishing, i do miss it (the characters) a bit. however, while i was up in the middle of it, not so sure, just felt there was something exciting missing. at the same time that there were too many sidestories going on, just a lot of details. it could probably have done with an edit. and the ending was a bit too preachy. besides, the way the story went it wasn't really set up for an end.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R39MP51EMDCIGP?ASIN=0316055441 Book Review of Goldfinch....a big disappointment!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I had such high hopes about this book but was disappointed. It was not evident to me or the 4 other women in our book club as to what qualified this book as a Pulitzer Prize winner. The whole book was nothing but endless prattling from one person's perspective. I never knew that one person could have such intense thoughts and all times and so many of them. We were all a bit disappointed in this book. Thank you.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PN37VZ640W38?ASIN=0316055441 A Beautiful Tale "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was long, like reading two books in a row, but I always looked forward to picking it up again.As may be expected with such a long book, parts seemed to drag a little, but other parts, made me ""soar"" spiritually. The author knows how to tell a good story, how to build suspense and how to peek one's curiosity about where the tale will go next. It is definitely a good read!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NG2JL4CHPTZ5?ASIN=0316055441 Sinks in and stays. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is unlike any other book I've read. I read it slowly, savoring it and, at times, rereading entire chapters. I did this for two reasons; one being that it was so beautifully written that I wanted to take it in again. The other, because I wasn't always certain of what the point was. I would step away from the book, thinking, ""What's the relevance, the significance of what I just read?"", only to have it twist around, spinning and evolving and taking shape in the back of my mind, the centrifuge making sense only when seen from a distance. Even now, it stays with me, heavy and palpable.<br/>I won't bother giving a summary of the plot (I think that's better left to dust jackets and website summaries). I'll just say this in closing: I don't think I'll ever read this novel again, but that's okay. It's a part of me now</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3MBXKM4POK2T4?ASIN=0316055441 Less than expected "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this for a book club. If not for that, I don't think I would have finished it. It was pretty unbelievable that a young boy found a painting that consuming, and depressing how this character could make wrong turns most of his life. Does it compare with real life? I don't know, but his depression, drug use, and dishonesty were all the things his father had been and he had hated. Maybe he was even worse.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RRGLVT6FSJL73?ASIN=0316055441 Would Not Recommend "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch painting was only peripherally related to the story. It could have been any significant painting, which could have been stolen. The real story was depressing -- one sad event, after another -- one more opportunity for a young man to make a bad decision. And tedious! I thought I would never come to the end of the book, but kept reading in the event it would suddenly become worthwhile. It didn't.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BD5NEQ8NCBV1?ASIN=0316055441 Please don't waste my time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Very pretentious writing that strays off topic with needled minutia and fails to move the story forward. I'd rather go to the dentist.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2UZB8P7AJ5PU9?ASIN=0316055441 trapped in a cage of bad prose "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">the writing in this tortured book is horrible; save yourself the time and effort of plowing through this forced and unconvincing saga.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FQWJBOS9WSQ8?ASIN=0316055441 disappointed, and not a book that lived with me ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Reminded me of Prince of Tides. Well-written, engaging, but after a while, it doesn't seem that special any more. I took a fiction writing class years ago, and I'm fixated on the tool/trick for writing that involves taking (unexpected, unanticipated) left-turns. A lot of left turns in this book, but not all of them ring true. In the end, disappointed, and not a book that lived with me very long after I was done.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R83CJ4AACCXIB?ASIN=0316055441 Goldfinch is about human nature not birds "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A long and winding story that takes the reader into a wild cross-section of society. The number of reasons people are who they are are uncountable and remarkable. This story convincingly reminds us that the simple direct line logic on TV dramas ans most popular news coverage is no match for a real life understanding of what makes people tick. Great book. The ending was a little weak. A wimper, not a bang.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2A7SN31BZPQDN?ASIN=0316055441 Stop Reading While You Can!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book came highly recommended and after seeing so many raving reviews on Amazon, I couldn't wait to read it. I was engaged from the first page and settled in for a good, long story. Unfortunately, it was a boring, repetitive and exhausting one. I kept reading with the hope that it would somehow redeem itself in the end. It didn't. The story lines were ridiculous and the drug scenes so over the top, that I don't understand the appeal. I scanned the last 20% just to see how she was going to wrap it up. She didn't. Save yourself over 700 pages of agony. It isn't worth your time.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R254770J9010YR?ASIN=0316055441 Wildly unrealistic! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'd love to see the painting, but you couldn't pay me enough to wade through this overly long and wildly unrealistic book again.I kept reading because there WERE some interesting parts, but by the time I was finished, I was asking myself Why? Why? I suppose there were occasional glimpses of hope that the ending might make it all worthwhile, but turned out not to be so. Would not recommend this book to anyone.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R4P3QNFQH903Z?ASIN=0316055441 Engaging and thought provoking "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am not a critic but an avid reader. There are books you read just to read. They are just a tool which takes you away from the mundane and repeatable tasks that are necessary to survive. But then there are those books that inspire you to think deep and ponder. A book you can't get out of your mind. Always wondering what will happen next and how it relates to you in so many ways. This is one of those books.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R31VX4PFZNAM2E?ASIN=0316055441 I loved Donna Tartt's first book and the reviews for this ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved Donna Tartt's first book and the reviews for this one were so good, I had high expectations. Unfortunately, I agree with those who have posted that they kept reading just to finish the book. Tartt is an excellent writer and describes scenes so that you can really picture them, but, at the end of the day, reading the entire book just wasn't worth my time. I won't be recommending it to our book group.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2C4QEITKU3ZJ8?ASIN=0316055441 Another 500 pages please!!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I felt like I became an ""extra"" character in the book. the author had me hooked within a few pages. Her characters are so fully developed and their dialogue fits each perfectly. what a combination of extensive knowledge of art and language ---beautiful, descriptive prose and a work searching the soul and searching for meaning in life--- . most deserving of a Pulitzer. hope there is a new book coming soon!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJYECEA8DP98X?ASIN=0316055441 Grim, depressing and in need of editing. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am baffled by the praise for this book. Theo is a thief, a liar, a swindler, an addict and a killer; a charmless, humorless human being who elicits no sympathy for the tragedy he has suffered. The painting of the title appears rarely, the author often devoting paragraphs to its packaging and hiding places. There are long discourses on gambling (Theo's father), whether only good results from good or bad from bad (Boris) and a dreary page-after-page ending summation from Theo on the meaning of artists' intents and suffering, oh, and the goldfinch painting.<br/>There is far, far too much description of drug and alcohol use, to the point where I wondered how the author did her research. Points are repeated ad nauseum and meaningless details pepper the book. Parenthetical asides are voluminous and unnecessary. The author appears never to have met an adjective she doesn't like. After about 100 pages, I realized I could skim entire sections of chapters because they were not germane to the story; not a good sign. I would give it no stars, but that's not an option. If you are determined to experience this book, get it from the library. I regret paying for it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2AABT04OVO871?ASIN=0316055441 A disappointing book, even as an intellectual exploration of the mind of a pathetic human. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I had a difficult time even finishing this book. The author was clearly very bright, had a strong vocabulary, and was a clever phase-ologist.<br/>But for every sentence which advanced the story, there was 1 1/2 pages of vocabulary, endless and pointless descriptions. I was reminded of a baby enthralled in sounds it could make. This book literally drooled vocabulary. It would not have been my prize winner.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LMKZKY42BGV7?ASIN=0316055441 One Star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">struggled to finish - lost interest in plot -- very disappointing</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RTB47VKA9QYII?ASIN=0316055441 Too much contains too little "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">At times bloated and boring, at times compelling and engrossing, this book ultimately disappoints because of its trite musings on the value of art. The themes and the plot could have been conveyed with more economy and discipline. This bulky tome tries to match in meaning what it contains in pages and words, but ultimately the work is an exercise in self indulgence that leaves this reader wanting less.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R7SD5O2NAYUIJ?ASIN=0316055441 A Pulitzer Really?? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A tedious combination of ramblings and pretentious nonsense. The basic premise was really wonderful but it was unfortunately stretched into a quest for greatness that never happened. You always know you are in trouble when the author starts speaking directly to the reader near the end as if they are pleading with you to not resent the time you have spent reading this drivel that you can never get back.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6P1DOJGQG99?ASIN=0316055441 A gut-wrenching read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This compelling book is one intensive read. I could not put it down. If you're looking for a feel-good type of read, you probably won't find it here in this book. However it is a book that will make you think and rethink what life is all about. Sometimes good things happen from bad situations and sometimes bad things happen even when you do everything right. You are who you are and life is what it is.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R10FWBPZS29LP7?ASIN=0316055441 One Star "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">When did Pulitzer prizes started weighing quantity over quality?</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1AE006V4J3J0C?ASIN=0316055441 Painful to finish but worth the first 30% "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">At first I could not put it down, and later I could not touch it. I finished it mainly because I kept hoping it would give me something worth hanging on to. Unfortunately it never did. Donna Tartt needs a better editor. It could have been so much more.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3RYV5YDF0KS4Z?ASIN=0316055441 Interesting "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I don't have much to say except that it was a very interesting book. As soon as I started to read it, I couldn't put it down until I finished. The effect it had on me was one of having to know right now how the story would end. Any book that produces that type of doggedness in me has to be interesting. I'll probably read it again this summer in a more laid back, casual way since I know the ending.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R278LDS1ETIQWS?ASIN=0316055441 Not worth the effort. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am not one to write book reviews. I am a voracious reader and it is virtually unknown for me to not finish a book. This one I didn't finish. Captured my attention at first, but lost me in the overindulgent descriptions and lack of forward movement in the book. Lost my attention early, didn't like the main character and just couldn't waste my time with it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2CS8VGA0T458P?ASIN=0316055441 Amazing story! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This novel took me through an emotional roller coaster as Tartt led the reader through Theo's life. I laughed, cried and felt all the pain that I am sure his mother would feel if she were watching what happened to her beloved son after her death. As I was reading it, I felt that every parent should have a will providing for the care of a minor so that Theo's fate would not repeated with anyone!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R55TPGITPZBPR?ASIN=0316055441 Unsettling & depressing from page one "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I decided to purchase this book because it was suggested that those who enjoyed A Light Between Two Oceans would like it. For me, that was absolutely not the case. I found it to be a huge downer. I don't want to spend my time with characters who bring me down down down. I do not recommend it. The writing my be good, but be one heck of an all time happy and up person if you want to read this.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FQG9VD575OD7?ASIN=0316055441 I don't get it!!! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this allowing myself to be influenced by the reviewers of the world and the fact that it's a Pulitzer Prize winner. I have never read a book that I had more trouble understanding the reasons for the raves. Maybe for the most creative use of very adjective in the dictionary. It's 775 pages that could have been 350 without all of the superfluous words.<br/><br/>Not for me and ever again</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RE621PSFI89NQ?ASIN=0316055441 Don't understand the hype "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this because friends were gushing about a new Donna Tartt novel. It is overlong. The endless inner dialogues were tiresome. The main character is sad and as a reader, I felt like shaking him. If you want to get depressed, this is the book for you. That said, the writing is superb and I did read to the end to see if the plot would resolve itself satisfactorily, which, I guess, it did.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MYUUZCYHYODM?ASIN=0316055441 Hard to Manage "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I could not get into the book. This happens when I get lost in what the author is trying to say. The Goldfinch helped try the story together. The language and use of drugs for the entire story was another factor that did not help tell the story. My daughter in law really liked the book. The positive outcome was we have had great discussions. This makes it a good book for clubs to read.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3AYGCELKBHOK5?ASIN=0316055441 STOP WRITING WHEN THE STORY IS OVER "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this book. It is engaging and beautifully written. It's very, very long. And that's great as long as the story lasts. But the last part is rambling philosophy or an attempt a words of wisdom. It's fine to let the reader know how the lesser characters fared but when it's over, it's over.<br/>This book won the Pulitzer Prize over ""The Son."" I liked ""The Son"" better.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R371FYY3DZES5K?ASIN=0316055441 Love Donna Tartt but this book was too long and ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I ate this elephant one bite at a time and while able to move through the story, unfortunately the story did not move through me. The story line was slightly absurd, the characters less than likeable and the writing style wavering between teen fiction and required high school literature. Love Donna Tartt but this book was too long and the end was a huge, overly complicated mess (much like the characters). Truthfully, the only character that I cared about was the dog. Would I recommend the book? Yes. Do I think it warrants the accolades? Not so much.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NAH3KP9UVL6D?ASIN=0316055441 disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">By the end of the book I just wanted it to end. It was hard to relate to the characters. Their life experiences were so surreal they were obviously fiction. I never got swept up into the story and had lost whatever empathy I may have had for the characters by the time the boy had ""found"" a home with Hobie. It's not a book I would tell my friends, "" You have to read this!""</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2X5HMNJJQBGW4?ASIN=0316055441 Gripping but Too Long ... or ... Too Long but Gripping "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch has been highly praised as a wonderfully written and gripping novel, and it is. But I can't help thinking it would benefit from being cut in length by about a third. Much repetition could be trimmed without losing -- indeed with strengthening -- the narrative and its impact. I loved it but confess that I got tired and began skipping pages at a hundred or two pages from the end.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RZMKKT3GUE0VJ?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I liked this story..it was well rounded...a slice of life out of a young man's journey to adulthood. It was well told but for me, it got a little slow and drawn out in areas, a bit wordy, and I found myself getting bored here and there. Then the action would pick up again and I'd get into it once again. But I do recommend it. Stories are all subjective and you might have a different view. :)</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1E70HVPRFS93L?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully written as well as plot driven--an experience in reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The writing style is, without a doubt, both literate and compelling. If there were a category for 4 1/2 stars I would give it that, the reason for the missing half star which would have made it perfect, is the ending, which goes on and on. My impression is that Ms. Tartt didn't want to leave her characters and just went on a bit too long. Having said that, I would highly recommend the book.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21SHUFWFX9OR0?ASIN=0316055441 Tartt's writing is simply beautiful and reminded me of writers such as Dickens "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Yes, the book is long, but yes, the comparisons to Dickens are on point. I was completely swept away by this book and felt a strong emotional connection to the imperfect protagonist. Tartt's writing is simply beautiful and reminded me of writers such as Dickens, Elliot, and Hardy, who are long on detail, but allow you to melt seamlessly into a different world. Destined to become a classic!</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R22ITE3TOOPT3I?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed in The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a very tedious read. there were long flights of descriptive fancy that bogged down the story. The author seemed to be trying to impress us with her vocabulary and her language skills. The last chapter was almost entirely a long negative philosophical essay the presented a hopeless view of life and the world.<br/>What were the Pulitzer judges thinking?<br/><br/>t<br/><br/>t</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NUZA1E692J3M?ASIN=0316055441 Actually 4 1/2 stars "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book was very well written although there were places I felt were a little slow. I think the best part was the last several pages explaining life! It took me quite a while to get thru the book and maybe that it just didn't hold my attention that much. But enough that I did finish the book so it did interest me enough to finish it. Thank you for the book, I did enjoy it after all.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R291FW10FD4UAW?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch - read it all . . . "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found this book to be a swindle! How could it have been judged a Pulitzer winner? Where were Donna Tartt's editors? So many continuity mistakes! A good editor could have refined the telling of this quite repetitive tale down by half. Perhaps I ought to give myself some reflective time - I've only just finished reading it - and perhaps may then feel kinder towards it, but I doubt that.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RPFAUZ4H641SB?ASIN=0316055441 totally captivating "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I agree with all the criticisms of this book being overly long and in desperate need of editing, but I loved it anyway and reread many, many passages just for the beauty of them. The character of Boris is one of the most well-developed, indelible characters I've ever met in a book. He lives on in my head. So many dimensions to this book that it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. Have patience--if it grabs you in the first few chapters, which it will, and then starts to flag, stick with it for great, though sometimes slow, rewards.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1KMDTD29CJZXB?ASIN=0316055441 Well deserved award winner "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I absolutely loved this book. Theo's character pulled at my maternal heartstrings from beginning to end. The writing was so well crafted and kept me guessing as to what would happen next. A coming of age story of a young man put through trial after trial and many missteps. Fortunately there were some positive figures in his life. Anything more would be a spoiler; so just read it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R44M9T2MM3LOU?ASIN=0316055441 A sad story with no winners "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It really grabs your interest from the beginning. The character development is meticulous. Half way through the book you begin slogging through detail with the addition of many characters who end up being marginal. Constant is the mental torment of Theo and his ways of handling the pain.The resolution leaves you feeling a little empty, however a worthy reward after nearly 800 pages.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3JQEZMH288QFR?ASIN=0316055441 who chooses the Pulitzer Prize Winners? why did they choose this one? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was the biggest waste of time I have ever expended on a book! I kept reading because, since it was a Pulitzer prize winner, I thought it must have s-o-m-e redeeming qualities. I can not say I found even one! I did learn how to mix drugs and be awful to others and be crooked and what It looked like when people were high. Is that the purpose? Do not bother reading this trash.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RLNU00LI43HY?ASIN=0316055441 Detailed without Purpose "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I listened to this book for 20 hours of the 33 hour audio book, but will not listen to another minute. It has a few moments where the laborious writing is lifted and a ray of hope appears...but is soon darkened by the rambling disjointed plot and unnecessary detail. The author has written a book with uninteresting characters and plot. Who cares that she can take the mundane and write about it for page after page after...well you get the point. How it makes anyone's top list this year or any year is beyond me. Writing assignment gone bad.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UJZRNBR9B18E?ASIN=0316055441 Long slog to nowhere "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was one long slog of a read. The hero, who is a drug-addicted liar and thief, is hard to relate to. You read on in his depressing story, thinking there will be a turning point. But there's not. What a negative life view, surrounded by a lot of pomposity about art. After a while, you feel like the goldfinch, chained to a book you're supposed to love, but actually find loathsome.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RQ7R4NOLYRKLA?ASIN=0316055441 excellent "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was excellent! I enjoyed the information about the art, but the writing was so well done that not only did you feel the writer was very well educated, but you were transformed into the story and felt you knew the characters. The descriptions were detailed to where you felt,heard or smelled what was happening. Nice story with life lessons to keep you thinking. A must read!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HHWVPKMSFGO7?ASIN=0316055441 Best Book I've Read in Years "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book touches upon so many things. A tragedy, grief, love, longing, despair, addictions, art, beauty, friendship and caring, Told by a boy who tragically loses his beloved mother in an unthinkable explosion while only a young teenager. It follows the twists and turns of his life, forcing us to think about what is important in out lives. Hate to have to sat goodbye to this story.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1TLBV7K6NG7WZ?ASIN=0316055441 Really long.... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book started off very strong. The first third of the book is great, the second third is good, the final third is painful. Tartt needed a good editor; there was no reason for this book to be as long as it is. The last 100 pages are very philosophical and Tartt presents a very pessimistic view of the world. Disappointed I invested the time, even if it did win the Pulitzer.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKLO2W6VW7V8W?ASIN=0316055441 Great Start Interesting Middle Flat Ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really enjoyed the book as I was reading it. The beginning was great and it lead into a very interesting story. As I was getting to the end I set myself up for a really good ending with perhaps a surprise. I was very disapointed after reading page after page leading to the ending and then the ending in my opinion just left you flat. That is the reason for the 3 star rating.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26DY8XYI6G1F8?ASIN=0316055441 Too much hype "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I liked it but the size of the book detracted from the well written parts. It should have been half the amount of pages and then it would be a better novel. I really liked the sections about art but so many parts of the book went on and on and the end was so ridiculous. Also there weren't any female characters that were fleshed out, they existed in relation to the main character.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19ZYXOW92KG6W?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch is an absolute page turner "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt's ability to affect the voice of an adolescent, and then adult, male is spot-on. Her portrayal of loss after the death of a loved one is nuanced and accurate. Her plot is full of deftly executed twists and turn, especially in the last few pages, that she grips you till the very end. I've been waiting a long time for a Donna Tartt book, and this was worth the wait.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1993PTBBK2ZVX?ASIN=0316055441 Pretentious "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was a slog from start to finish. I blame the Pulitzer for my foolish and stubborn commitment to finish this novel. The plot? Bad things happen to Theo, life is grim, hope is elusive, art matters. Maybe it would've been a better read at 500 words. But then again, maybe not. What were those Pulitzer people thinking? Did they stumble onto Theo's stash of drugs before voting? Oh well, at least I finished it; I'll be able to banter honestly with other Tartt readers at cocktail parties. If only I went to cocktail parties . . .</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RUKQGMH6WCAW8?ASIN=0316055441 Fell deeply in love "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Could have spent more time with these characters. The Las Vegas chapters were a blurry, brilliant mess that I wanted to end... and to never end. Never have I been so filled with fascination and dread for/by/of characters. What would they do next? Who would they do it to? Was it unbelievable? Yeah, maybe. But I didn't care because I wanted to believe it. Did it need more aggressive editing? Probably. I still didn't care because I was hooked into their dark, twisted world. One of the few books I intend to read again someday.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3J534FUSV9O25?ASIN=0316055441 Insuffrabe preaching. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Way too tormented for me. This could have made the point in half the length. Way too much Las Vegas. Yes, I understand you were sick in Amsterdam, buy some clothes, get some food, see a Doctor. Addicts are good liars, he could have dealt with the passport issue. This was like a Sunday sermon where the Pastor makes the same points over and over but in different words.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R174CDK1Y7XBBK?ASIN=0316055441 Loved it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautiful story about the complexities of people, relationships and the unique interconnections that bind them and their fates. Not everything is so cut and dry, lines between good/bad; right/wrong in some instances can come down to a matter of perspective from one person to another and at times within ourselves depending at which point in our lives we are seeing it from.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RCJMZWBQDJWK?ASIN=0316055441 disappointing "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first half was so well written and engrossing only to deteriorate in the second half. The beginning is full of drama and heartache, the characters are well portrayed and the writing is so descriptive. But the second half of the book is full of violence, drug use and crime. The likable main character is slowly diminished into a loathing character with an aimless life.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R208CB9GJ3MU2C?ASIN=0316055441 Very detailed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is so well written. Creative and not missing any details. I felt as though I was watching a movie the imagery was so life like. The down side is that it takes a while to read given the amount of details and the plot is just so depressing that at times I just had to take a break. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it but give yourself plenty of time.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2OT73V2N2MJJM?ASIN=0316055441 Epic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Loved Secret History, put down Little Friend early on, pre-ordered The Goldfinch from Amazon. 760-something pages and I read it in 2 1/2 days. Could not put it down. It's shades of Great Expectations, Catcher in the Rye, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It's an epic. The writing is pitch perfect. The characters are fully drawn & you deeply care for them, in all their flawed glory. You will laugh, you will cry, you will not find a better read this year. Buy this book. Maybe on Kindle, because it's as big as your head.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1GVNEHB85C5HT?ASIN=0316055441 Amazingly beautiful writing! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although this book centers largely on the timeless beauty of a painting and its impact on the lives of various characters, the writing itself should be considered a thing of beauty. Tarte is remarkable in her ability to set a mood, describe a setting, or most especially a feeling. And the intricacies of both the plot & characters is fascinating. I couldn't wait to get back to this book each evening ~ I kept it for my reward at the end of each day, and just didn't want it to end. This book is itself a work of art!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MP217ON6KX8K?ASIN=0316055441 Beauty and Destruction, Meaning and Chaos "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Theo Decker survives a terrorist bombing in NYC. As a result of this monstrous event, he acquires a priceless work of art...which, of course, the world wants to see recovered. This is a story of Theo's search for beauty,meaning and Truth in world full of violence, chaos and deception. It is a story of loss and redemption,and the razor-thin line that separates the two.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RFMJT4UCCJA02?ASIN=0316055441 Opinion of the book The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Now I Know why this book was number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Donna Tartt is a brillant writer and grabbed my attention from the start. There's so many books that you have to read 50 or even 100 pages before you ( get into it) . EW are reading this book for a book club I belong to. Even though I have already read it I am anxious to hear the disscussion.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BD8YX98VF40H?ASIN=0316055441 Intelligent Storytelling "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is today's Charles Dickens.<br/>""The Goldfinch"" is a modern ""Great Expectations.""<br/>It is no coincidence that Pippa is similar to Pip.<br/>And, tell me that Hobie with his wood shop and furniture business is not straight out of Dickens' world.<br/><br/>But Tartt takes us places that Dickens never dared to dream.<br/>And we experience both Theo's sorrow and adjusted happiness firsthand.<br/><br/>A very beautiful, but bittersweet, revelation.<br/>My favorite book of the year.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VTAJ0REH1281?ASIN=0316055441 Pulitzer is going begging these days "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is Dickens without the stuff that makes Dickens great. It's long, very long, and terribly tedious, and there is a dusty old shop. That's about it. No Trabb's boy. No Joe explaining to Pip why he should not return to see Estella, as only Joe could. Nope. Read the whole thing and you've only wasted more time. I cannot imagine what the Pulitzer folks were thinking.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RI1C6TFZLGRGQ?ASIN=0316055441 BIG disappointment "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was 300 pages too long. It was repetive to the point where I found myself skipping pages and wishing it would end. I would not recommend this book to anyone.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2ZT1H2KWHPRSQ?ASIN=0316055441 The first chapters were great, and at the end there was promise of ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Made for Hollywood, not a Pulitzer. The first chapters were great, and at the end there was promise of a well-written conclusion to this journey of a young man. But all the teenage angst and faux international thriller in between were far below great novel material and far above the necessary page count. Maybe cable writers could turn it into something worthwhile.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2C5KFYOA7DY4H?ASIN=0316055441 Could use a good editor "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book has an excellent ""hook,"" which quickly drew me in. Unfortunately, it took a looong time--way more time than necessary--to satisfy my curiosity about it. Ms. Tartt, while displaying a depth of knowledge on many subjects, wastes way too many words sharing that knowledge. In fact, the excess of words gets in the way of what is otherwise an interesting story.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJZ4XGSOI9JKH?ASIN=0316055441 Great writing and character development. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The ending was very strange--very philosophical or something. After reading about intense characters and their internal struggles and external mistakes, the book just seemed to leave the reader with pages and pages of questions. I felt for Theo and even for Boris with all the painful losses they had experienced. It was mainly the ending that I had difficulty with.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RIEBGOJGF9HGQ?ASIN=0316055441 a good beginning, and then it fizzled... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">i am so glad my New Yorker magazine arrived because i couldn't read another word of this book. The beginning was fabulous (story and writing) and i was eager to read more. But then i struggled to read another page! i was falling asleep reading about the repetitive, and borderline abnormal drugging and drinking adolescent antics. When and where was the denouement?</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ZW7UYJQ16FN2?ASIN=0316055441 10 stars out of five "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the best books I have ever read, this epic tale describes the interplay between bad and good, and how what we think of as bad behaviour (drugs, thievery, even murder) does not exist in a vaccuum; that bad can inexplicably lead to good because some of us live under the influence of saints in our midst (though we don't recognize them as such, as we only magnify their flaws).<br/><br/>How good is this book? I don't read with my glasses on, I put them on the floor next to my chair. I got up to get a cup of tea and stepped on my glasses, crushing the chassis. I was momentarily flustered and then returned to the book because I had to know what happened next. Literally this book had me under its spell.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2IED0TBGRVVSB?ASIN=0316055441 Ugh! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I am, I guess, in the minority because I did not like this novel at all. I guess Ms. Tartt is a good writer but I gave up after reading about 2/3 of the book. Only one of the characters was at all likable or a decent human being and the story seemed a dead end. I almost never do this, but I decided not to waste any more precious time on it---so I gave it away!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKGQLWBI6GEHA?ASIN=0316055441 the length is a killer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If I had enjoyed this book, I would not have minded the 775 pages. I made myself read it as I felt it had to be good because of awards it had achieved. The descriptions were excellent, except they went on and on. I found it to be thoroughly boring. I only wished it would end. Sorry, but it definitely was not my kind of book and I would not recommend it to anyone.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RL44EWUZUYVF0?ASIN=0316055441 Enjoyed the read but... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story held interest and characters were believable. The novel might have been two books ...""eight years later..."". Couldn't help but feel the ending was rushed and possibly the publishers trick of leaving room for a sequel. Anyway, enjoyed the read but the ending was disappointing? confused? a cop-out?<br/><br/>I'd still recommend it as a good read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2NW9O9VYVRSTK?ASIN=0316055441 A beautiful book in many ways. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Beautifully written with descriptions that place the reader in the scene so seamlessly. The plot is clever and intriguing; the characters are quirky but real. I loved learning about appreciation for the various techniques that artists use in their paintings. I was sorry when it ended because I love Tartt's writing; her words are wonderful as is her phrasing.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R95UO1VV1SEPD?ASIN=0316055441 Best Book I Have Read in Years "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The first book I ever really loved when I was a kid was Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. When Donna Tartt's new book was called Dickensonean in character, I had to check it out. I love a good tale of adversity and hardship, mixed with somewhat comical moments. Never will I be able to look at another homeless kid the same way again, even if they display unacceptable behavior.<br/><br/>This book isn't for everyone. People who don't care about art, wonder about the true meaning of life, or have difficulty with gray areas won't have the patience to read an almost 800-page book like this. But I couldn't put it down, and I haven't felt this excited about reading a really good novel in many years.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VLULOEZXF767?ASIN=0316055441 I just wanted it to end. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story started out promising. It held my interest, the characters had depth and I enjoyed most of them. I would say a little more than half way through I just was waiting for the end. And the last fifth of the book I was doing my own version of speed reading. It became so slow and boring. I really didn't like the whole book by the time I finished it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21BHUAKNZHWM2?ASIN=0316055441 So wanted to enjoy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was a fan --a big fan of this author's mesmerizing, THE SECRET HISTORY and I have so wanted her to match that first effort.<br/>But she has not. And I am baffled at the praise for this very large and long-winded story that has such a weak center at its narrative core. I really didn't care much for anyone--much less for Theo. I invested a few weeks in this.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R214YWFF7523JI?ASIN=0316055441 lovely surprise "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Take your time when you read this complicated yet prolific story that touches deeply into ones soul. The language alone is reason to delve into its pages but the depth of knowledge in the characters' development seals the deal. While at times fairly unbelievable, at least to my simple life story, it is at once told with such truth that one wants to believe.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1CKFN5JSM770Y?ASIN=0316055441 Long winded "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The start of the book really hooked me but as I read further I felt that the author went off on tangents. The only reason I finished the book was to see what happened to the painting. After page 500 I was wishing this incredibly long book would end. In my opinion Donna Tart could have wrapped this story up a lot quicker and I would have been more impressed.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R36J0U0ENWS44Z?ASIN=0316055441 the author's descriptive language was so beautiful for such a dark story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It never took me so,so long to read a novel! However, the author's descriptive language was so beautiful for such a dark story, that I became raptured by the wording. I found myself rereading paragraphs for the depth of the descriptions. And then I had to put the book down for I was too overloaded with knowledge and shaken up by actions of the characters.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R35MUVO1T7A2M3?ASIN=0316055441 Too wordy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">My book club just finished reading The Goldfinch and we were all in agreement that we liked the story line, it would make a good movie, but was too wordy and you got lost in all the adjectives and excess to the point of distraction. It would have been a great book in about 400 pages. We all concurred we probably wouldn't read it to do over or recommend it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R4G4FP10W2C7E?ASIN=0316055441 Overrated "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book had such promise. But it devolved into stories of wildness and drug use, the main character never seemed to grow at all until the bitter end and the story went from a interesting tragedy-based dilemma to a wild and unbelievable international art recovery. And the lecture on the value of art at the end was far too heavy-handed. I was disappointed.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R29SV880ML2FES?ASIN=0316055441 Outstanding "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is sure to be a classic. Not only is the story captivating, it's told with skill and technical artistry. The characters are as rich and complex as the use of language that brings them to life. The technical artistry and use of complex sentence structure never interferes with the story, but adds a texture and richness seldom seen in modern fiction.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RLNJ0NCQ9EKZD?ASIN=0316055441 indulgent "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">At times, beautiful prose, glints of light on the page, epic storytelling. Unreasonably and unnecessarily long. Indulgent. An odyssey. Get to the point. After all the painstaking detail (SPOILER ALERT), all the love interest gets in the end is a parenthetical. Everything you're told not to do in writing class, and she gets a Pulitzer. Wholly unsatisfying.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6AL2N93DJ785?ASIN=0316055441 ... me for believe ing that because this was a best seller it was worth reading "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Silly me for believe ing that because this was a best seller it was worth reading. I stuck with it through 755 long and arduous pages waiting for something to happen or connect or make sense. I was skipping whole pages and then sections just to get through and kept asking myself what I was missing...the answer is nothing. What a colossal waste of time.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Q9PEK8OZV3ID?ASIN=0316055441 Remarkable story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Theo Decker presented himself as a whiny kid without a clue, and he stayed that way for hundreds of pages, through which we hear his excuses, his weaknesses, and his poor attempts to rise above his situation. It isn't until the very end of these wonderfully written pages does Theo finally emerge a wise and remarkable character. The wait was worth it, the writing beautiful and compelling, and I'm so happy to have been a part of Tartt's story for the weeks it took to finish this lengthly book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30V9B01J5HL20?ASIN=0316055441 Exhilarating and exhausting. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Unlike anything I've ever read, this book was often like witnessing a car crash; tragically terrible, but you can't look away and you have to stay at the scene until they cart away the victims. So compelling, yet so unnecessarily wordy at times that I wanted to skip pages at a time. I'll never forget it, but I'll never read a word of it again. Loved it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1WZ2KOIO32T02?ASIN=0316055441 A Difficult and Long Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Far to wordy. I did not appreciate the excessive commercial fashion naming. (New York posh) The story line was excellent and compelling which of course kept me going. The long phrases seemed incorrect at times forcing re-reads. I should not have bothered. I quite agree with her philosophy on life and death which may pique my interest in her other books.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OU0XMMOTWSFU?ASIN=0316055441 too many drugs "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I love the beautiful style of writing and the story this young boy had to convey. However as he became a man and became involved in so many drugs so many drugs the topics became boring. I liked the story line but there was just too much detail about his drugged state of mind. I would have understood it as well with 100 pages less of his drugged flights.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MFEOOKTZ8NJ?ASIN=0316055441 Wasted my time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">My time should have been spent on something productive, maybe even house cleaning, weeding the flower beds, walking the dog; at least these would have led to accomplishment instead of being depressing. Ms Tartt should have found something redeeming in someone instead of going on and on down the drain. Is this real life? Maybe, but no hope found here.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3BWVI5Z9A2H9M?ASIN=0316055441 dreadful in every way "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Brain dead dialog, poor character development, should have been less than half the page count. Shocked by how truly awful this book was. Forced myself to read to the end because I was sure it was going to get better. Impossible to read every word and survive. Next project is to read why this book received the Pulitzer for fiction. Hard to figure.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RC0008INOW6N5?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I did not enjoy this book. I felt like the author was just using way too many word, sentences and paragraphs to convey a thought just to make the book longer. The ending was disappointing because it was so anticlimatic and took again way too long to say very little.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R33F4AHXCXZZ1?ASIN=0316055441 Waste of valuable reading time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After NPR reviews and a whole lot of hype, I waited for weeks to get this book from my local library. I trudged my way through about a third of the book thinking it had to get better, but it never did. I did not like any of the characters, the never-ending descriptions of drug-induced stupor, and Boris is no Artful Dodger. It is very rare that I don’t read a book to the end, but I turned this one back in without finishing it. What a waste of good reading time. Theo must have shared his trove of drugs with the Pulitzer judging committee.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3G6AW2QW9YSD2?ASIN=0316055441 Great start, but lost steam "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">When I started, and through at least the first half of the book, I thought it was one of the most wonderful books I ever read. And all of a sudden, this cool teenager, this poor kid who lost his mother with whom we empathize enormously turns into this horrid adult, thief, scam artist, drug addict, alcoholic and we don't know how or why. And then he gets involved in even more criminal activity, in unlikely shootouts and I felt that the author was doing everything she could to prolong the book, because she didn't know how to end it. The worst part, in reading through all the ins and outs of where the painting was is that the reader no longer cares..... we are forced to read about this scam and then that scam and then this person has the painting and then that person, and we no longer give a good damn.<br/><br/>Further we are ""treated"" to agonizing long conversations about simply nothing, once such when Theo, Boris and whomever had a shoot out in Amsterdam and we have to read all of their nonsensical conversation in their getaway car.<br/><br/>What was Donna Tart thinking? Did she have such a magnificent idea for a book, but didn't have the whole plot figured out? Did she think she would figure it out as she was writing? Did she start to write a 700 page book and tried to fill in what should have been a book at least 1/2 or 2/3 that length. The book so badly needed editing, and what a shame because she does know how to write and her descriptions can be so poetic.<br/><br/>And, how did this book ever win a Pulitzer? It probably was too long for the judges to read it in full!<br/><br/>I agree completely with Jean Savitsky's review, as I too was skipping pages at the end. And, worse of all, the end meant nothing. There were just pages and more pages of philosophical thought that meant nothing to no one and there never was an end, good or bad to the book.<br/><br/>It seems the only one who can write a really great long book was Tolstoy. I had the same experience reading Shantarum. For the first 70% (of its 900 pages), it was magnificent. But then, the reader had to, again like this book, see the noble hero be turned into a criminal, living on the shady side of society. Bah humbug!</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RVSMMGPUW52V?ASIN=0316055441 Tell me the criteria for a Pulitzer prize "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The author seemed very willing to let you know that she knows a lot about certain topics. That does not make a story plausible, interesting or captivating. I kept wondering what is the criteria for a Pulitzer prize, because I don't understand why this book was awarded it.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VYKVS79N41FL?ASIN=0316055441 Very disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If you like books about boys stealing, drinking, doping, killing and minipulatng, this one is for you. If this kind of writing is now worthy of a Pulitzer, heaven help us all!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2UFEKC0XXLGLX?ASIN=0316055441 Tough to rate this one... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This was a tough call to make. On one hand, the writing is superb--she truly has a gift for description and words. One would think with such amazing writing that it wouldn't matter how long this book is, you might never want it to end, right? But no, it was torturous and long and really hard to motivate myself to read each night (I had to finish it or could not participate fully in our discussion). It needed some serious editing and something else I can't put my finger on. I'm sad to say that I was disappointed with this book--I was really looking forward to reading it and it obviously has won some major recognition, but I'm just not sure why. What am I missing? Several weeks of my life, that's for sure...sigh...</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1SUAFRYHPAL0I?ASIN=0316055441 the goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">frankly i thought it was tedious...if boris was going to shake his hair again i was ready to >>>>>thankfukly he just left it there...i truly thought Donna Tartts' editor did not do her any justice...all those asides in brackets were overkill...i finally started skipping them...let's face it, she was discriptive enough....Sorry.... you asked . molly</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3QSF0QOMV6W0I?ASIN=0316055441 PHEW I got through it! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This could have been a really good book but being that I personally do not have a drug addiction or do not have an addictive personality and (sorry to sound mean) have no sympathy for drug addicts and I do not care for art or furniture restoration and have no inclination to read about art or furniture restoration or drug addicts, that is what a lot of this books details are about. It took me about 200 pages to finally START getting into the story and even then I still skimmed through a lot just trying to get past the details to the story. Which the story alone is good.<br/><br/>AND THEN after close to 800 pages I felt like the book left you hanging! Yes close to 800 pages and it left me thinking ""but what happened to Boris? and did he ever get married"" etc.. Geez after 800 pages you can at least give us a conclusion.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2WGSUP5VBRRGB?ASIN=0316055441 Had to skip parts of it.... too much detail and not enough storyline. It was REALLY hard to finish! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was REALLY hard for me to read. There was way too many teeny tiny details that were totally irrelevant to the plot. This book was 700 long, boring pages and it was hard for me to sit down and read it. I really wish the author would have just gotten to the point. This book could have done the same job in less than half the length. Also, a lot of the information just didn't add up as far as the time line, the author provides, and I found myself re-reading through and it contradicted itself over and over again (what was written at one point in the book and then later on did not mesh) and most of it was just totally unbelievable. There were certain characters that didn't belong in the story (they served no purpose at all and seemed to be just thrown in there for no reason at all!) I just kept trudging along (it wasn't easy, believe me!) and telling myself the ending MUST be good. The ending was as big a disappointment as the rest of the book. I would not recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2K4ONQ9Z811VO?ASIN=0316055441 overrated "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">did not feel any connection at all to the major character who never felt like a real person.<br/>Last 200 pages were endless and pointless. Same could have been achieved in 50 pages</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VVI8V1XZBOGK?ASIN=0316055441 Powerful, Quirky, Uneven "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What I loved: The beginning, the intrigue, the relationship between Theo and his Mom, Theo and Pippa. P.S. Is Pippa the Goldfinch? The changes of scenery from poor in New York to rich family in New York, the Vegas years, the short bit in Amsterdam. The lady can write.<br/><br/>What I didn't love: The length of the book... too much repetition; too much effortful philosophizing. I didn't realize it had won the Pulitzer Prize, and at first that made me impressed, while eventually it made me surprised. I don't think it was that good. Not on par, for example, with Kavalier and Clay.<br/><br/>What I disliked: A little bit too wacky in terms of plot. Boris is endlessly amusing but so out there it was hard to believe he would survive... and that they'd remain friends.<br/><br/>I only just finished last night, and I read this book over about five days, staying up too late twice, first because I was compelled to read it, and then because I was ""just let's get this finished."" Definitely could have been edited down by 100 pages. Who edited this?<br/><br/>Bottom Line: Lots to enjoy, lots to wish was better. But the most disappointing part is that BORIS is a much more interesting character than Theo. Boris talks (a blue streak) while Theo hems and haws and ruminates without actually expressing himself. Even, finally, at the very end, when he confesses all to Hobie, we don't hear it! We wade through 700+ pages and we don't even get his explanation of it all.<br/><br/>And this is my problem with The Goldfinch. Things HAPPEN to Theo. Even his existential moment, when he takes the painting, only occurs because he is directed to do so by Welty. All of the rest is reaction. People send him here, send him there. Kitsy pushes the engagement on him; Boris pushes the trip to Amsterdam on him. All the time people are literally pushing him. He's a stalled protagonist--until the very end, with the trips to buy back the furniture (scenes we only hear about via telling) Theo doesn't do much.<br/><br/>I think there are flashes of brilliance in this book, and some very good sections, but ultimately it is deeply flawed. I'm a writer myself, and I am not surprised that the original 2008 date for publication of this book slipped by half a decade. Somehow it seems they were attempting triage on this grand, messy, tome. To me, they did not completely succeed.<br/><br/>But read it anyway... for the good parts!</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R6LM1NZD7JRHT?ASIN=0316055441 Too much filler "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Loved the first half of this book and the last chapter. The rest was just more of the same ""ugly"".</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RUC402KHTBVYW?ASIN=0316055441 Underwhelmed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that good in my opinion. I definitely don't get the Pulitzer award at all. It's a really long book about an extremely dysfunctional child/teenager/adult who never seems to get his act together. Stream of consciousness of a drug addict, while I'm sure takes skills to write, is not easy to follow or enjoy. I didn't like any of the characters except Hobie and Popchyk the dog, Pippa OK but very underdeveloped (and considering the length of the book, surprising that was the case). I finished it just to see if it ever got better, and I will say the ending was somewhat satisfying, but overall a completely underwhelming book that took way too long to finish.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2I9VWOJ14HRQL?ASIN=0316055441 Doesn't live up to the hype "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I saw a lot of buzz on this book and knew I had to give it a try. When I saw how many pages it was (Almost 800) I was willing to give it a shot, but I typically do not read books this long. The premise of the book is this: A boy, Theo, finds himself in the middle of a terrorist attack, with dead bodies everywhere. He somehow ends up with a world famous painting, The Goldfinch, in his possession. Should he keep it, return it, give it to someone? This painting haunts Theo but at some point he also falls in love with it. It is the one constant Theo has in his life. You will follow Theo through many tragedies and at points even wish you could jump within the book to give him a hug or a word of advice. This book has almost everything: Love, Death, Drugs, Murder, Money, Etc...<br/><br/>I rated this book 3 stars for multiple reasons. Negatives: The biggest being I felt the author gave WAY too many details and this made the story crawl along. I will admit the author did a fantastic job writing this book but I feel that half the details could have been omitted and you would still have the same book. Another reason I didn't love this book is there were many times I felt myself getting mad at the author because I felt the story was standing still. I wanted more plot or was waiting for the next thing to happen. I felt this way for about half the book. To be honest I was simply bored for majority of the reading and only kept reading for the sake of finishing what I started. I also felt that this book was simply depressing. Read it and I'm sure you will agree with me. Positives: This book really makes you think about how much one event can change your life forever. If Theo didn't get suspended from school or it wasn't raining in the beginning of this book than it wouldn't have started the snowball of events that forever changed who Theo became. It didn't just change him on that day but who he is as a person. Otherwise, He would have probably of grown up to be a normal law abiding citizen. This book makes you think about those events that have forever changed your life to become who you are today.<br/><br/>With that said I haven't heard if this will become a movie or not but I have a feeling it will become one at some point. I also think that the movie wouldn't be half bad either. The story wasn't terrible (although depressing) but if you leave out all those details and the slow moving story line you would have yourself a decent movie.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/REXKQJVIUQMVG?ASIN=0316055441 Tedious! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Zzzzzz - pretentious! I could not wait to finish this book, only because I was told that the ending justified the droll. It didn't.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2J0I2KAF0BY3O?ASIN=0316055441 After 100 pages... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">..l thought this was going to be a really good read. I found her writing style easy, interesting and inviting.<br/>After 300 pages I thought where have all the editors gone?<br/>After 771 pages I thought it could have been a really great book if she gave all her notes and ideas to someone else and let them write the book. And I thought where have all the editors gone.<br/>For me the story just got bogged down in drugs and prosthelytizing, hence the need for an EDITOR. I guess I made my point. I feel like that about many books and movies these days. I ended up giving this book a 3 star, because some parts I thought were 4-5 star; others 1-2 star. If you can deal with that in a book, then it might be worth reading.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2IAJXKCQEDHVR?ASIN=0316055441 Would not waste my time or money on this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is way too long, way too formulaic, and just plain ""meh."" Neither good nor bad, but mostly a waste of time.<br/>The coincidences are too many, there is not one character I liked (the dog Popper comes close and Boris second--at least they were lively). It felt like Jonathan Livingston Seagull for the 21st century.<br/>If you want a book about ""objects"" I highly recommend The Hare with The Amber Eyes--Excellent (reading and writing).<br/> There are too many other good books out there (classics and contemporary).<br/> I feel Ms Tart is counting on name recognition. If you must read it--borrow from a friend or wait till it is available at the library.<br/>I do not recommend-- a waste of time and money.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13U3N1HLGRERA?ASIN=0316055441 Not the feel good book of the year, but incredibly well written "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Theo Decker is a lost boy. He loses his mother, his life as he knows it early in the book. Bouncing from home to home, his story becomes even more tragic but the painting of hte Goldfinch is his constant companion. It's a wonderfully written character story. The characters are well developed. As a reader, you can easily picture each of his living arrangements, each of the quirky people he befriends and you can feel his tragedy growing with each page. I didn't want to put it down, but was not entirely satisfied when it ended, so that's why the 4 instead of 5 stars.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2HOEG1ADESU8A?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointing-I couldn't finish it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">By the time I managed to get halfway through, I realized I could not read another page. The writing was repetitive, boring, the Las Vegas scene went on chapters longer than it should have. The drugs, alcohol, cigarettes scenes were described so many times, it was like copy and paste. The story was so improbable it was hard to get invested in it. Hard to believe it's on the Best Sellers' List.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R22TDBHK35QBHI?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">One of the most depressing books I have ever read. Not a book I couldn't put down. Had a hard time finishing it because I didn't want to!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2B1QKZXFQISLO?ASIN=0316055441 No detail is too small "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Remember when Dickens got paid by the word? Tartt's 'Goldfinch' must surely have been written for as much money as all the words in world could buy. Boring beyond belief. No detail is too small to be left out. By the time she tells her story my children were grown.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RRKX3Q2N2Y4JC?ASIN=0316055441 Cannot understand all the parise "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book was too long and looks as if it had never been edited. The author just kept writing on and on as if she wanted to cram everything in one book. It started out OK but took a turn for the worse.The characers were not really believable. I don't usually skip pages but I did on this one.. I did finish it as I had invested so much time but I do not recommend this book..</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/ROQIT04UFAG9I?ASIN=0316055441 In a word, LONG. Missing word, Good "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I truly do not understand the rave reviews about this book. I really, really tried to like it. If it had been edited to about 1/2 it's length it might have been a good book. The first part of this mammoth book was somewhat compelling and tragic, but once they moved on from the museum, the bombing and the immediate aftermath, it drifts into a story about a boy who makes bad decision after bad decision. It wanders on and on and never takes you anywhere. I put it down 2 different times, then picked it back up to try to finish it. Ultimately, after suffering through what seemed like thousands of pages, I gave up. It was just more and more of the same, the story did not develop into compelling conflict, an interesting moral dilemma or anything that might have made it worth trudging through more of the same. The main character's conflict about the piece of art, which is what the book is named after, is strangely detached from about 95% of the book, so you stop even thinking about the piece of art until it pops back up in a very unlikely way. The main character is not all that likeable and most of the other characters aren't either. Just another view of what appears to be a book given rave reviews based on the prior work of an excellent author.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1Q3GFUI3SFEVX?ASIN=0316055441 Compelling story -a good read with a caveat. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I love an interesting story and The Goldfinch certainly offers that within it's 800 pages. Credible plot? That depends upon your life experience and for me it rang true. Theodore Decker, the main character, is that person you know who blows with the wind, not for lack of intelligence, but perhaps because of an abundance of it. The life thrust upon him and the choices he makes are heartbreaking and exasperating at the same time. Not a teenage coming of age story, but a mini-saga, it presents the idea that any of us are a sum of our experiences, the choices we made and the people we were impacted by along the way. Not 5 stars for me, because along the way the story becomes muddled by the author's need to display her command of high literary prose. Descriptions of scenery, emotions and thoughts running for pages which divert the reader without adding much to an otherwise interesting book. It is worth powering through to regain the thread of the adventure centered around NYC, art and love in it's many variations. For me the ending was neither obvious or astonishing, it was plausible given this character. You won't regret the purchase or the time to read it, if you exercise a little patience with the author's excesses.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RBFKNR55QZB30?ASIN=0316055441 Where is an editor when you need one? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is a writer who can turn a phrase like no other writing today. Passages of The Goldfinch are a joy to read, they almost (but not quite) make it worth reading this way too long tome. The sad thing is, a really strong editor would have made this woman pare this down, keep the good, cut the purple, and it might have been a master piece.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3SO4E1UA56Q7D?ASIN=0316055441 Just wow "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Wow, I have to say this is one of the best books I have read in a very long time. Beautiful narrative, eloquent, and creative. I really could not put this book down sometimes. I haven't been able to stop talking about it since I started reading it! Totally worth every penny I paid for the ebook, and I am even considering buying it in hardback too!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2GD9SQP4TSQM6?ASIN=0316055441 It's Alright! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Super poetic, very beautiful. There's poetry, suspense, action, drama, coming-of-age stuff, it's a lot of books in one. I'm a fan of the amount of travel and the stark differences of landscape. There are moments where it won't stop going on and on, though. And whooooa not much ethnic diversity. But really, towards the end, I couldn't put it down.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R230W4TRIMPBVY?ASIN=0316055441 Wanted to love it but...... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I bought this on January 29, 2014 and started reading. Today is 23 May, 2014 and I have not finished this book and until I saw it come up on items to review I had forgotten I had it. It's not a bad book but so far it is just ordinary and has not grabbed me as I had hoped it would. Also it has been sort of depressing and I sure don't need that.<br/>Update- it is now 27 January 2015 and I have finally finished this book. There was a time that it really grabbed me and I thought I finally found what all the hub-bub was about -wrong. Good story for awhile and then sunk into ""what is life"" crap. Yuck</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2WWTFFURBQ8AW?ASIN=0316055441 Really enjoyed this! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was interested in the main character from the first page. He was very likeable even though he did some more -than -questionable things. I found it easy to understand him.<br/>It was obvious why the author won a Pulitzer for this. Great read for someone who wants a story where the characters are so real.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R234RJV266KUFB?ASIN=0316055441 Started skimming at page 500... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book would have been better with the services of a capable editor. While at times it was completely captivating, at other times it was totally frustrating. From plot elements that went nowhere (think of Welty's exhortation to Theo that he warn Hobie) and to spelling inconsistencies (Popchik vs. Popchyk), the writing needed some polishing.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2E3NKFFY5RKT?ASIN=0316055441 Dear Lord, I didn't think it was ever going to end! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book started off so well, but the farther I got, the more I started losing interest. It took quite an effort for me to push all the way through to the end. During the last 50 pages or so, I started skimming paragraphs and saying ""blah, blah, blah"" til I got to something that looked like it may be important to the plot. I'd say this book could be cut in half and would be way more enjoyable to read. It is incredibly well written, there's just way too much of it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R20XRIAJV3WQNN?ASIN=0316055441 What a sad depressing group of characters! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">What a sad depressing group of characters. The main character was moderately likable but wasted the first third of his life, which is all we read about, on a stolen painting. Besides the people 65 and older in the novel, these other characters are who your mother and father have always warned you to stay away from. Unfortunate waste of time.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13YRCAAHWMY9C?ASIN=0316055441 My favorite book of all time "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">From the beautiful prose to the vivid characters and settings, this book has it all. Theo and Boris became a part of my life for the all-too-brief time that I read The Goldfinch, and I was sad when the story inevitably had to end. As much a reflection on beauty's influence over good and evil as it is a fascinating story, this book weaves death, addiction, betrayal, friendship and unrequited love into a must-read experience. All other novels will pale in comparison for me.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R49ZFRIQBV42S?ASIN=0316055441 capitvating read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I had read Tartt's first book (the secret history) about ten years ago, and I started but never finished ""the little friend"". This was more like her first book; in my opinion. A lifetime long story of a relatable and down trodden Theo makes this story a page turner. If we had never gotten such a detailed time line of his life we would not be moved by the ending. Also as a spoiler alert, and in my opinion an important fact worth noting, the dog doesn't die in the end.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1U3NQLX2U5E97?ASIN=0316055441 Was ready to love this book and did for awhile "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Was ready to love this book and did for awhile. The descriptions of Hobie working with the wood, doing his renovations, were wonderful, but Theo even managed to sully that in the end. So much of the book was drugs and unhappiness. I finished it hoping that some happiness and redemption would come in the end, but they never did. Depressing!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1FEND8DZDC2C5?ASIN=0316055441 Tedious "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Tedious full of endless angst with characters I didn't care about. Takes twenty pages to say what could be said in two. The prose was not particularly inspiring; going on and on and on does not create imagery. I was really disappointed in this book. I quit reading probably thirty pages from the end because I couldn't stand one more minute.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ZZ4BQC1JVHQC?ASIN=0316055441 Read it "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Initially nervous to return to Tartt after Little Friend disappointed so but excited to give the great author of A Secret History another go. Rewarded by the best first chapter in memory. I loved everything about this book, was late to meetings because of this book, called out sick because of this book, possibly lost friends because of this book. The characters in this book are so alive for me that, months after reading, I catch myself feeling I need to check in with them.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3OCDIJMKXKRY6?ASIN=0316055441 Too Wordy! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is a magnificent writer, no doubt about it. She paints pictures with her words, however, she uses way too many words and as a result the reader loses interest. I found myself skimming (which I hate to do) just to get through several pages. I did not, however, give up on The Goldfinch because I wanted to know how this epic ended.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R15NUEDTQIBFHH?ASIN=0316055441 Interesting and Gripping Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Although I am an art historian, I thought the major insight in this book was about the development of character of Theo as he was tossed about in uncontrollable circumstances. Tartt really understands the adolescent male mind. She created an extraordinary young man whose behaviors and attitudes reflect ""the survival of the fittest.""</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R221DFYWNTD3VP?ASIN=0316055441 engaging but author needed to cut to the chase. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The beginning was slow, I almost didn't feel like reading it. The author pulled me in and I couldn't put the book down. Off and on through the book I was similarly affected in a tug of war of not wanting to finish the book and then the need to see it to the end. I would have liked the author to edit at least 200 words to cut to the chase.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2PG7MWHFPHECC?ASIN=0316055441 Amazing story and writer "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It has to be a complex, well-written book to keep me turning 775 pages. The author's knowledge of the intricacies of the art world, antiques world, youth drug culture, international art theft, Russian/Ukrainian-Americans, and the sense of place of New York City, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, etc., is astounding. I was intrigued right up to the end.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RPR5GSBWQI4G6?ASIN=0316055441 Disappointed. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Disappointed. If Theo's great awakening was his summation in the last very long<br/>paragraph, Duh. I learned all that without getting wasted once.<br/><br/>Took a long time to read. Lost interest in Las Vegas and every subsequent time<br/>that Boris reappeared. Lost respect for the protagonist early and never got it<br/>back. Glad it was only $7.50 and sorry I recommended it to my friends. I bought it based on the fact that Charlie Rose had gushed<br/>over it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1BO4WZQU32TOW?ASIN=0316055441 So dark. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really dislike abandoning books, and indeed can probably count on one hand the number of books I've abandoned. So I am slogging my way through this. I thought the premise was interesting at first, but I don't like just rambling, drug-filled, violent, and bizarre stories. Only a few more pages to go and I can pick up something better.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3J011K0BY8UVN?ASIN=0316055441 amazing writing and ridiculous book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">After dragging the reader from pillar to post with more horrible things happening to the protagonist than seem possible, the author ends with about 20 pages of various character monologues (several tedious pages long per character) explaining the deep meaning and mystery of life. Vivid characters and story line, but in the end, it was like being beaten up for several hundred pages followed by a hundred pages explaining the cosmic meaning of the beating. No thanks.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FZBU5YISGPM2?ASIN=0316055441 Destined to become a classic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I bought this because it won the Pulitzer. I didn't expect to be sucked into the story and walk around the house with my nose in my Kindle until I was finished. It's a great read and the writing is ""yummy"" - language as art. When I saw that the author was from Mississippi, I was not surprised. Southern authors are the best.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1UGRANLM82UQX?ASIN=0316055441 The Godfinch Novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I happened to see an interview with people who had traveled a very long distance to see the painting and a remark that it caused instant attention much as the Girl with One Pearl Earring had done some years ago. So I decided to read the book. I could not put it down. It is a very fast paced read. I felt the last section of the book got a bit preachy instead of having the characters act the philosophy. Goes back to advice for writers' guideline: do - not tell.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1HUVR7KTM1G7V?ASIN=0316055441 Amazing! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved every minute of this book! It's they type of book that, when you have to set it down for work or chores, you can't stop thinking about. It was long but I never wanted it to end. I can't imagine what I could follow this book up with. I think I'll need to take a break just to let this masterpiece sink in for a while longer.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3VAQSJP8HPO4?ASIN=0316055441 Longest book I've ever read... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">...and I have no interest in reading another 750+ page book. The story and characters are very well written and well developed. There were twists in the plot I didn't expect - but then there were cheesy parts that were very predictable. I could have easily cut 100 pages from the time with Boris in Las Vegas....that's all I'll say.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R73EIT4DVOVDP?ASIN=0316055441 I got through it but it was a slog at times "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I won't add anything more to what has already been said but just to say, I managed to get through the novel although there were times when I almost put it down. There were some highlights that kept me engaged enough to get to the end but the editor should have pushed more to trim this long tome down. It would have read much better if about 25% had the story had been removed as there are passages that just go on and on and on and felt really unnecessary.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PXAZJNU0KZG6?ASIN=0316055441 You've got to be kidding "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I read this book because of all the hype. I have to say I hated hated this book! The story started with an interesting idea and became a long, boring,ridiculous,and depressing ordeal. I continued to read it expecting something to happen that would enlightened me as to the books ""greatness"". Never happened. Don't waste your time.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2SXDGXALU5IS0?ASIN=0316055441 Tiresome "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The novel dragged on and on--it was exciting in the beginning but as it wore on and on, the characters failed to develop and remained true to their original selves--no learning occurred. There were too many pages devoted to substance abuse and the relationship between Boris and Theo. I kept hoping they would join AA and move on.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RJMWL44XKQIVT?ASIN=0316055441 Never compare to Dickens "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Even though this book has been on the New York Times best seller list for 27 weeks, it is not worthy of 5 stars, if the ending would have come a few hundred pages sooner it may have received more stars. I enjoyed the book only up to a point then it got so tedious that I struggled to read the rest, at times only skimming the pages.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RL91F0TT701JU?ASIN=0316055441 Great read! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I had hemmed and hawed over whether I would like this book, but it was intriguing from the get-go. It really made me think about how one event and/or one decision made early on in life could affect the rest of your life. I loved it! My only complaint, which is so minor that it didn't affect the rating, was the lengthy philosophical ending. In my opinion, that could have been cut short because there was plenty of that throughout the book. Read this book!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26GGHWRY5IP6J?ASIN=0316055441 Tour de Force Novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt creates a tour de force novel, bringing the reader inside the alternate worlds of drugs, antiques, fine art, and their cataclysmic intersections. The characters are so finely rendered as to be 'real' to the reader in all their frailties, faults, and soaring moments of love. To date, I have read and re-read the ending at least 3 times, and plan to read it again and again, as it resonates with all the reasons why mankind strives eternally to create and why we all respond so viscerally to some creation, place, or moment of beauty. Do NOT miss reading this exploration of so many vivid areas of our current world!</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R39SJOO6VQHZDN?ASIN=0316055441 Extremely wordy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Does not get going for 400 pages. Last half well written but a Pulitzer - really????. Extremely dark and depressing. Sorry I cannot highly recommend this book although I am an avid reader. There was so much unimportant digressing it was difficult to discern exactly what was really important. Better editing would have been a plus.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3O29JYNEKX333?ASIN=0316055441 A book that will hold up for years to come "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I cannot recommend this book more highly. Donna Tartt has created a whole world with fully realized characters. The prose beautifully describes every setting, dropping the reader at turns in the rainy streets of New York, or the glare of the Nevada desert, the blast of icy air conditioning, the feverish dreams of Theo Decker, and the safety and comfort of Hobie's workshop. Her craft is evident in the choice of language, the syntax of dialect, the color of descriptions, and the authenticity of every character, each multi-dimensional and complex. It's a long book at almost 800 pages, and I was so sad that it had to end.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1CT5OOTUUAR2D?ASIN=0316055441 Review of THe Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought the book was very slow in places and there were many loose ends left at the end. I'm sorry to disagree with finer minds than mine, but I didn't think it warranted a Pulitzer (and neither did my book club). It could have been about 400 pages instead of the length of 700+ and I think it would have made for a better book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FGNGUN8RGJPH?ASIN=0316055441 too much drugs "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Having seen people with drug problems I'm not sure any one could take that many and mixture without having more side effects than the main character. It seems like the whole book was pseudo intelligential or just didn't ring true to life. Having said this I have talked to people who loved it. Maybe just not my typed of book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R26STSPOETCUZ6?ASIN=0316055441 I loved this book! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Donna Tartt is a wonderful writer and this is a great book. My regret is that after spending so much time reading (it is over 800 pages in length), getting to know and enjoying the characters, I felt sad that I'd finished and had to let go of them. I've reread the last 20 or 30 pages of the book at least three times. I love the philosophical conclusion, I love this writer's work. And, the price was great, the timely delivery of the book as well.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R182NMOB10EQ4W?ASIN=0316055441 such a sad story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Just a character study of a traumatized and mentally unstable man who never finds a way out of his funk. The story had great potential, but never quite reached it. I hoped for much more from this book. Would definitely NOT recommend it to anyone as it was just a colossal, depressing waste of time. Pulitzer Prize? Really? Sigh.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1O0Q3XQQLTZWU?ASIN=0316055441 Long & Boring "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I'm so glad I'm done and so sorry I finished this rambling, alcoholic, drug infused story! Could anything be more boring? I'm sorry I wasn't one on the 'nonexistent readers' Tartt refers to in the ending chapters. The hopelessness and destructive characters are anything but riveting and interesting. Very depressing and slow.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R35CVBOVTQ54YL?ASIN=0316055441 excellent prose- disjointed but interesting novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved the story of the painting and learned to love the painting itself. The characters were well drawn , and there was suspense. Unfortunately the suspense was interrupted by hard to follow sometimes philosophical and sometimes wandering and meandering stream of consciousness. Would not recommend this book energetically.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2Y39IKCT28IFZ?ASIN=0316055441 self indulgent "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The best thing I can say about his book is that it reminded me of Catch in the Rye.<br/><br/>But The Goldfinch is so self indulgent and pompous. And sooo looong. My God! I cannot remember the last time I had to speed pages and skim ahead through pages and pages of verbosity.<br/><br/>I'm glad it's over. Never again.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LAJ0P7PSEBGA?ASIN=0316055441 A disappointment "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">With the high ratings I saw, I expected this to be an engaging long read. Part one seemed to promise just that, but once the story moved to Las Vegas it devolved into page after page of alcohol and drug abuse with little story, plot, or movement. The book could be summed up in a quote near the end, ""life is catastrophe."" I finished the book hoping for something to redeem it and make it worth the hours spent reading it, I was disappointed.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1M3V0SE6G2FNI?ASIN=0316055441 long and boring "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was very long, overly descriptive and extremely slow moving. A psychological study of a young mans struggle though life which I found boring.It is very well written which I presume is why it won a Pulitzer, but I found it was easy to put down and not rush back to read. If I had trouble sleeping I would pick up this book</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RC0EQ0AIBDZF8?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch--A little too long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">While I have read rave reviews of this book, I have another take. The first 300-400 pages were fascinating and fast reading. The last one hundred pages were also excellent. However, in between, there were several hundred pages that lagged. Perhaps the book was just too long, like a movie that lasts a half hour too long.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R19OYB42ORMG8F?ASIN=0316055441 If there was a no-star, I would give it that. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Simply, this book is a waste of time and money. What could have been a good and interesting story is boring and long-winded. I've been skimming and skipping just to get to the end, but it seems endless. How did this book win a Pulitzer? Maybe the judges were on the same drugs and alcohol mentioned endlessly in this book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LPLQKCU2HALE?ASIN=0316055441 A gifted author, well written book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I don't often give low scores. I liked the style of writing, but the story was so miserable and mournful with such temporary, brief moments of happiness that I decided it was giving me a sadness inside and, as a melancholic, I really don't need that. I know it's a bestseller and many will love it, but it's not for me.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGIPKXCCY67Y2?ASIN=0316055441 Fantastic "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book was hard to put down. Really well written with great characters and a story that was exciting and fun, while also heartbreaking and uncomfortable at times. What stuck with me the most was seeing this sweet, innocent kid's life turned upside-down on one tragic day that spiraled into a difficult childhood, then watching him become a fairly awful adult. It made me wonder how he would have turned out if that day never happened.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1J0SX9HVZZ57C?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch a novel that kept me interested until the last few chapters. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I throughly enjoyed this book, the twists and turns of the life that the main character lived through was amazing and his will to live was even more-so! However by the time the final chapters came along, I was very very disappointed with the ending, or nonending. It was a real disappointment to have it end so flatly.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1I1MMVYM8NKQH?ASIN=0316055441 Absorbing Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was totally caught up by the richness of characters and themes when reading The Goldfinch. From the opening chapter to the final pages, Donna Tartt carries the reader through questions of loss, choice and the consequences of actions. Are we controlled by our choices or by the circumstances into which life and fate thrust us? This is one of those rare books that offers many issues for thoughtful discussion. I highly recommend it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R36OYN92STRX78?ASIN=0316055441 Where was the editor? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The endless and overwhelming descriptions of almost everything almost made the plot disappear. Over done in scene description, over done in drug use description and underdone in character presentation. Wolfe's editor could have made this a truly great novel instead of a merely passable one. Too bad. Great idea.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2O4CDJL3DTUM3?ASIN=0316055441 Greatly Over rated. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">BORING.....I found myself flipping and skipping numerous pages. How many pages does it take to tell us Theo (Potter) and Boris are drug addicts, sniffing and snorting, popping pills and vomiting? Same thing over and over, page after page. Boris reappears as an adult - again I'm skimming, skipping pages. I read on and on just to say I read the book. I was so happy to finally reach the end!<br/>A Pulitzer Prize winning novel???</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1MXATYY1KI89F?ASIN=0316055441 Just ok for me... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I didn't hate the protagonist as much as some other critical reviewers, but I also didn't see what was the fuss. The story did not seem original or particularly interesting. The writing was fine, but nothing close to mind-blowing; there was nothing particularly revealing about the art form or the subject matter.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2GLZO1YU94EJB?ASIN=0316055441 Incredible story! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really liked this book. It's a modern day saga filled with unique characters, especially Theo's friend, Boris, and kind Hobie. The story is a vivid trip following Theo's life from when he was thirteen to about 28 years old. There were happy times, but sadly more difficult times. I was hooked from the first page with this enthralling book, it's a long read, but it doesn't drag. Donna Tartt is an outstanding storyteller!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3N66I1YW3G8GC?ASIN=0316055441 Brilliant Writing. Lazy Ending "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch follows a motherless teenager through a druggy and alcoholic haze into a seemingly endless loop of bad decisions and heart-warming redemptions. In the opening chapters, I worried that Theo Decker would turn into yet another pathetic Holden Caulfield, stumbling through the usual misunderstood boy in private school situations. However, as the story migrates from Manhattan to New York and Holland, Theo's story transcends the cliche. Though the writing is almost sublimely brilliant, a preachy, overtly philosophical final 50 pages was like an scratch across a masterpiece.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3UWSCJNWRA8TO?ASIN=0316055441 Painful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was so excited to see this book released, ""The Secret History"" is still one of my favorite books of all time. I honestly must admit that I am doubtful that I will finish this book although thank merciful God we left Las Vegas finally. I'm so glad others enjoyed reading this book, I cannot endorse it.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1U2LKF26TWTU5?ASIN=0316055441 This novel is brilliantly written--the descriptions were so vivid I could see the ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This novel is brilliantly written--the descriptions were so vivid I could see the scenes clearly in my mind, and really got into the main character. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that it is difficult for me to handle all the stress in such a dark story even though there were a few lighter parts.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LBV6TDLT7FC4?ASIN=0316055441 Story of a Hop-Head Without Brains God Gave Him "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Our hero Theo took advantage of people who took him in, couldn't pass up the drugs and couldn't figure out the right thing to do with the title painting. The final blow to this reviewer was the last few pages where Theo set forth the philosophy he didn't follow at any time in his life. I did not like this book.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RMYDUZJRSVKKX?ASIN=0316055441 vivid "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Incredibly vivid and accurate portrayals of many of life's best and worst feelings through the eyes of the main character . Tart has an amazing ability to bring any scenario to life, make you feel you are right there in the moment.<br/><br/>Page-turner, thrilling, but depressing in an addicting kind of way.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R170R6T6T5RAC8?ASIN=0316055441 Page after page describing what it is like to get high "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Depressing story of a young man's drug addiction due to tragedy of losing is mother. Page after page describing what it is like to get high, what is like going through withdrawawl, and then repeating the cycle. This is coupled with a teenager stealing a famous painting. Hard to believe this book won an award.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2KQGK2BRXHH0Z?ASIN=0316055441 Worthy of the Pulitzer Prize "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought the book was masterfully written. It was our book club selection and caused a spirited discussion. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is quite lengthy but moves quickly and one shouldn't start skimming as you will miss the author's wonderful prose and intricate storyline . I loved reading it.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R18GXCDVK7UI5M?ASIN=0316055441 It's a long story "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A bit too long, and the descriptions went on forever. Our hero's grief and obsession often became tedious. However, beautifully written, wonderful plot, well drawn characters, and philosophican musings that really left me thinking. As other reviewers have noted, it's hard to miss the Dickensian overtones.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2FRGQMGWEJ0R7?ASIN=0316055441 mixed feelings "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The book held my interest until near the end. I did not like the endless philosophy of life coming from Theo nor did I like the way the questions about the fate of characters that we had come to know intimately were not answered. I feel that I invested emotionally in the book and came away unfullfilled.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RPSSA67R1RPH5?ASIN=0316055441 The audio version is FANTASTIC "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">34 hours of excellent reading out loud! The reader captured the accents, the teenage nuances, and was well worth the extra fee for audible! This was our book club's monthly choice. I bought the kindle version and then clicked on the audible button. Easy. An excellent book to discuss with family members.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3W33ZQOH4PZ46?ASIN=0316055441 Great Read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I love really talented writers who craft a great story. After reading so many books that are like Captain Crunch for the brain, this is a pure pleasure to read. Beautifully structured by making you at once laugh and wince, rejoice and ache. To occasionally have to look up the meaning of a word is a delight.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R13PSFFMY5XRUY?ASIN=0316055441 Best most expressive fiction in many years "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The story of Theo Decker and his custody of an invaluable painting is extraordinary. The richness of description (the terror scene which effectively opens the story is remarkable, and only the start. The strange and wonderful characters he meets along his path, especially the bizarre and fascinating Boris are sad, beautiful, and hilarious.<br/><br/>Best read of contemporary fiction I can remember in a long time.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2XCZDFR3YH9W4?ASIN=0316055441 Exceptional Novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch was recommended to me by a friend who loves books and she did tell me that it was a long read. Yes it was, about 740 pages but certainly well worth the time it took to read it. This is a very special book and so detailed and the author most be congratulated for writing an exceptional novel</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RKKSVEA3T2ZQW?ASIN=0316055441 Excellent Read ***** "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This is a fantastic read. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the storyline, and found myself wanting to get back to the story every time I had any free time. MS Tartt has done a remarkable job of telling a story as a 13-yr old boy that grows into adulthood. I would highly recommend this book to all.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R39PMO4I5GXGFY?ASIN=0316055441 a decent story with too much moralizing at the end "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Overall, Goldfinch is very well written with interesting characters and a well-drawn, if a bit fatalistic, plot. However, the author spent the last 5% of the book spinning out her views on life and death, and that part dragged. It would have been nice for that to develop more naturally in Theo's thoughts.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3XY3ZXN2L2U3?ASIN=0316055441 Be thankful for libraries! "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">i got this book from the library and am very glad I did not spend any money on it. It started out well, but around the time Theo heads to Las Vegas would have been a good time to quit. Unfortunately, I didn't. The book is way too long and rambling. I found myself skimming more and more. A waste of time.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1XEBZK8N2FE2Y?ASIN=0316055441 It is a good tome but falls off at the end "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I thought the book was good but it seems somewhat confused to me. It is this grand story and then it falls into a bit of a cliche suspense book and then it spends the last 30-40 pages lecturing with no solutions. I really liked reading it but I felt a bit low after finishing it and was not satisfied.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R30YICN16IY2B4?ASIN=0316055441 raw and real "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">No sugar coating here. Life is where ying and yang exist, joy and despair exist. There's no getting away from it. The characters are lovable, raunchy and charming. Each are beautiful and ugly at the same time. At times the story drags, but so too does life. Overall, well written and a thoughtful read.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1GLDKG79QQ2D3?ASIN=0316055441 Poor Little Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Seven hundred and seventy one pages of drugs, f...words, unlikeable characters, overly written passages, and improbable plots.<br/>The only reason I finished it was because it's for our bookclub. Should make for a good discussion. I know there are those who liked it. This remains a mystery to me.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2ZBW7JZ6JS6RX?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch started out great! The story was so interesting and the writing ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch started out great! The story was so interesting and the writing was excellent! I enjoyed many of the characters, especially Boris. However, toward the end of the story I was sick of the drug abuse and the poor choices made by the protagonist to the point I almost abandoned the book.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2ZTQ5XBZSV7AS?ASIN=0316055441 ponderous and self absorbed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">thoroughly unappealing characters. ponderous and repetitive, long and labored descriptions of drug induced states. improbably plot line. made me tired just reading it. ending was pedantic and annoying. I would not recommend this book to anyone, unless they were looking of a jump start on depression.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1J83MG29TL7OA?ASIN=0316055441 ... found parts of the novel to be affecting and beautifully written, but overall felt it could have been ... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found parts of the novel to be affecting and beautifully written, but overall felt it could have been much shorter. So little happened in much of the book, and the protagonist's inner monologue became repetitive instead of illuminating. Over all, it seemed a bit like a long road to a small house.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1RG6T46ZC0H7B?ASIN=0316055441 Long and wordy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Long and wordy. Too involved and hard to read.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1S6VIE97ZIRM8?ASIN=0316055441 Way too wordy "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I wanted to like this book and I did, in parts. But some of the scenes went on and on and on. Exhausting! I saw it through and finished it, but sorely disappointed in the verbosity. Found myself skipping through parts that became overkill. Expected much more and resent the time I spent on it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RL4LN8GP5JGIX?ASIN=0316055441 A classic in the making "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Future generations will certainly be assigned this book in English literature class - I loved it, and those I have recommended it to did also. It is long, it is a mystery, the characters of beautifully drawn, and the book is beautifully written. Incidentally, it recently won the pulitzer prize --</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R95XI6KRXI0KW?ASIN=0316055441 disjointed, bleak, does not ring true "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Interesting philosophy. Some good thinking points. Way too long for content - too wordy. Best skimmed - otherwise a serious waste of time.<br/><br/>Lots of hanging facts, improbable events. Huge money gift from doormen? Why? How? Starts with "" I killed my mother."" Then no backup.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3EWZ4X5LC9JE5?ASIN=0316055441 The Goldfinch "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I was enthralled by this story.The characters are people we all know or know of and who inform our lives in some way and so are their stories.The book makes promises that the story keeps almost to the end.Dissapointingly the end is not committed to the same and I<br/>felt let down and lied to.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1TWC8AMTRXF7M?ASIN=0316055441 Not so great "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I really enjoyed the first quarter of this book. The story of the young boy dealing with the death of his mother was very moving. But the rest of the book left me cold. Too many drugs, alcoholism, and creepy people. I lost interest. Tartt writes beautifully, but the plot didn't work for me.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RY1U1IWCI757F?ASIN=0316055441 A LONG novel "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This novel is interesting and engrossing. I really cared about Theo. The furniture refinishing details were fascinating. She needed an editor; many descriptions, e g drug using in Las Vegas, seemed endless. It inspired me to visit The Goldfinch at the Frick, and it is indeed a perfect painting.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3FUX3FONKUK1?ASIN=0316055441 Good book but not as good as the reviews had led me to expect. "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I enjoyed this book but must admit I think it was really over-hyped. I had seen it compared to the likes of David Copperfield and Dickens it is not. The characters and story are interesting but not memorable. Worth the read but not one I'm ever likely to reread like so many of my favorites.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1ZAK0675IOZ0A?ASIN=0316055441 One of the best books I've ever read "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book is long! But stick with it, it's worth it. The reader follows The Goldfinch painting and its perilous journey over many years. The friendships that develop throughout the book and the strength of the main characters made a good read. It's a wild ride but one well worth the journey.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3PPVN7WU2HTBO?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Great insight into the concentric and ever-expanding ripples that grief makes when dropped into a child's life. Secrets, unfillable voids, trauma, furniture restoration, the redemptive power of love are turned over like stones along a path in this book. Also wonderful a examination of the futility of drugs to medicate the existential dread that we all having lurking beneath our regular lives.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RR3GV6GQGEGUB?ASIN=0316055441 Could Not Wait for It To End "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">If you want to surround yourself with a cast of thoroughly unlikable and mostly nihilistic characters for 800 excruciating pages than you're more of a masochist than me. I have absolutely no clue what the Pulitzer committee was under the influence of when they voted to give it their prize.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2S8A82PM1DSY?ASIN=0316055441 Weary... "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book's plot was very interesting but the length was way too long. I just skimmed the last 1/3 of the book to finish. Everything was described to the nth degree -- reminded me of 'An American Tragedy' which I just finished the same way -- skimming the last of book to get to the end.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NO62NFBMJUBC?ASIN=0316055441 Very well written with fully drawn characters "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I kept wanting to tap on the literary window and whisper, ""Don't believe him! No, not that way. You've SMARTER than that!"" But like all good fiction, the protagonist ignored me, the reader, and occasionally chose exciting over smart. He gets himself into the proverbial briar patch more than a couple times and you just root for him to find a place where he once again is truly loved.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2DMPY49EAXH8S?ASIN=0316055441 A little too much "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I choose to read this on the opinion of another. The beginning grabbed me but the middle lost me. To many ideas flowed out of the pages. The author lost in his own words. It took me a long time to finish but I was in too far to give up. I don't think I would recommend this to anyone.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RGPEJQ3MRTOZ?ASIN=0316055441 Why the Pulitzer? "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Can't understand what the fuss was a about this book. Dragged myself through it as I thought it would get better. I asked the opinion of several friends who also read it. Four our of six agreed with me while two raved about it. I was never able to like Theo or Boris. Perhaps I'm too old.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2MOUDBYZ00E9W?ASIN=0316055441 I found the beginning of the book to be great! It drew me into the story quickly "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the beginning of the book to be great! It drew me into the story quickly. Reading on I found the story dragging and so much about the drug world that it turned me off. I did however finish the book to its philosophical ending. Can't say that I would recommend this book to friends.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1VCT9AXAOVR8B?ASIN=0316055441 Wonderful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved this book, and didn't want it to end. I wish it was 700 pages longer. Donna Tartt is a beautiful writer, and her characters were so well drawn. I was rooting for Theo every step of his journey, and wanted so much for things to work out for him. It was a wild ride, an amazing book.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2D0Q1HKO596XG?ASIN=0316055441 Did not live up to the hype "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I can usually read a book in 2-3 days. This book took over a month because I COULD put it down. The author goes on page after page with one description of something. The story itself was ""okay"" but it did not hold my interest. I did finish the book, but would not recommend it.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2IWQ8ZH384JYZ?ASIN=0316055441 very intensely personal and insightful "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This story pulls you into it with very raw emotion and brings the reader back to childhood and then grows I to adulthood before your very eyes. I loved the book although, for the ending after such a dramatic climax, I wanted a bit more personality along with his generalities about life.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3NUC4LVZMBAFD?ASIN=0316055441 Everything else in the interim was beyond boring. I do NOT recommend this book "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">This book drags. I only continued reading it because I'm one of those people that 'if I start a book, I need to finish reading it'. The book was slightly interesting in the beginning and then at the end. Everything else in the interim was beyond boring. I do NOT recommend this book.</span>" | |
| 4.0 /gp/customer-reviews/RB55FVFZVQR64?ASIN=0316055441 Beautiful prose "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">but....bogged down in places where brevity would have been preferred. Her characters were well developed, and exposed how frail and imperfect is man. Tartt's ability to create visions from metaphor and beautifully phrased rhetoric is astounding. Understandably a Pulitzer Prize winner.</span>" | |
| 1.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3HGQAVNQ2RZ01?ASIN=0316055441 Beautifully Written "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch is beautifully written prose about the life of a young man as he deals with many hardships. It is a long book but soon one becomes part of his life. It was slow toward the end but it was still hard to put down, although depressing at times. I have recommended it to others.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2PX442TBLCRBC?ASIN=0316055441 what a disappointment "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">The Goldfinch started with the promise of a rich and deeply satisfying story and ended in a stamina battle to slog through to a bitter ending. To add insult to injury, the author felt a schoolgirl obligation to hammer home her moral insights and homilies at the conclusion over and over.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R38IYRHF6R5XX2?ASIN=0316055441 Stunning "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I just finished this book seconds ago and never wanted it to end. I'm not even equipped to describe it but words like masterful and profound, which I rarely use, come to mind. This book is even better than Secret History, which is saying a lot. It's unfortunate that Charlie Rose had clearly not read this book when he interviewed Donna Tartt recently - he left so many questions unasked!</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R1OB1N1Q9V015?ASIN=0316055441 two books in one "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Loved the first half - lost me the second half. With all the hype I was really looking forward to this read, but after page 400 the book turned from an amazing story of growing pains from a very real character to a cops and robber story with a character so unbelievable it was comical.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R18ZLEXPHWYM4X?ASIN=0316055441 Clever Premise "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I loved it and couldn't put it down--always a good sign for me--even though I often wanted to shake Theo!<br/>The European escapade in the latter part of the book was rather improbable...but then again, this IS fiction after all!<br/>I'm now interested to read more from Donna Tartt.</span>" | |
| 2.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R7A7FMOY83GXK?ASIN=0316055441 THE WHOLE RAVE THING IS TRUE "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A most unusual story, a tad wordy at 775 pages. I would say that about 675 are captivating, enthralling and poignant. If I awakened in the night, I would grab my IPad and read for a while. I was ridiculously hooked!! I am awaiting a sequel, hoping that the end is still being written.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R3LHWR8FI5UKWP?ASIN=0316055441 Way to long "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found myself skimming through the chapters. This book could have been a lot better if half of it had been edited out. It rambled on, beating a scene to death. After committing all the time it took to read I found the ending to be a let down. The basic story was interesting though.</span>" | |
| 5.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R11QO1D1AA73VV?ASIN=0316055441 Ho Hum "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">Maybe I'm not the targeted audience - I found the book a bit tedious. Repetitious descriptions of drug and alcohol abuse... boring!<br/>Some of the museum and furniture repair stuff was interesting. I'm thinking that I'm not the right reader (I was alive in the 60's, 70's and 80's).</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R27SXC6CRYH1FP?ASIN=0316055441 A little disappointed "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">I found the last 100 pages difficult to power through. I went from a feeling of can't put this book down to wondering if it were ever going to end. I kept hoping my Kindle page counter was off--sorry to say. Maybe I had expectations for a Pulitzer Prize winner that were unrealistic?</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R21W3I65IS0KI5?ASIN=0316055441 I Hated It "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">It was a book club selection, not my personal choice. The writer had diarrhea of the pen! I would d skip pages to get on with the darn story Over 700 ppm,for what? I found no redeeming qualities of main character. It was painful and fulfilling to read this book to the bitter end.</span>" | |
| 3.0 /gp/customer-reviews/R2WD9IUNHFZ6ST?ASIN=0316055441 Remarkable "<span class=""a-size-base review-text"">A young boy's tragedy follows him through adulthood. The choices one makes and does not make. How an object, a moment, a relationship frames wh |
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