Book Review: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

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Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love – and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph – a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is one of those books that I kept hearing about on a regular basis. I bought it with so much expectation. At times I really enjoyed it, but other times, it was just slow to read with not much happening.

It’s certainly one long book and sometimes that’s ok. I mean I’ve just finished reading ‘the break’ by Marian Keyes, which also happens to be a long book, but it’s an enjoyably long book. Sadly, The Goldfinch was just too long.

At times I wanted to give up on it, other times I couldn’t put it down. I think it’s fair to say that I have a real love/hate relationship with this book!

It starts out well. We follow Theo and his life with his mother. We learn of his home situation which at times with his mother is great, but going back to when his dad was around, it wasn’t so great. Then something happens. A truly life changing disaster and we follow Theo into a world of criminality.

Now the parts of the book that I really enjoyed were Theo’s first interactions with Boris, and the subsequent chapters where Theo and Boris were together and getting up to all sorts of mischief. Mainly getting high! These were really enjoyable chapters, funny and anecdotal, but in between these chapters, the story line just dragged.

For example, when Theo lives and ends up working with Hobie, I felt there was too much focus on the restoration of furniture. I get that this makes up a fairly big part of the plot – spoiler alert – with Theo selling Hobie’s changelings as genuine, original pieces, but do we really need to know the ins and outs of how the furniture is restored? It was almost like filler and it bored me so much that at times I wasn’t taking in what I was reading. I liken it to flitting in and out of a long movie where I was only pulled back into it when I could catch the good, interesting bits.

Also, the ultimate plot, which is about The Goldfinch painting, I just didn’t get. I know how Theo came into possession of the painting. I don’t quite understand why he held onto it for so long and how it came to mean so much to him. Perhaps this book is simply above my intellect!

If you like a challenging read then this book is for you! You can buy it from Amazon here.