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Theo survives an explosion in a NY Art Gallery, and smuggles out a masterpiece .. a tiny picture of a goldfinch. His involvement in hiding this art led him to meet other interesting characters who had an impact in his life through the years. I really liked Boris, Theo's friend. The reasoning he uses to explain his actions, all based on impulse, had validity from a drug-induced alcoholic's POV and were really quite hilarious if you think about it. For example ... being so high on Amsterdam pot th
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This book was in need of an editor. It also was excellent writing so I didn't mind that it was gratuitously long. The other fault was the characters did not mature from age 13 to in their 20's.I have heard this called a 'coming of age' story which doesn't match the fact that the characters didn't change. When at the beginning of the book the boy who is 13 years old has not changed or matured when he is in his 20s at the end of the book, it is hard to agree with it being a coming of age story.
Th ...more
Th ...more
Great read, but long and intense. I loved the characters, although they were quite flawed. The middle of the story got pretty depressing for me, but I soldiered on because I really did want to know what would happen. I think this is a sign of a worthy book; despite low points you just want to keep going. I'm glad I did. It was well worth it.
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Although I enjoyed Donna Tartt's writing style and much of the story engaged my interest, I still ended up being disappointed. Like "A Secret History", the ending was not to my liking. The middle section, set in Las Vegas, dragged on and on. I felt like I got the idea fairly quickly and didn't need hundreds of pages to follow Theo's descent in life and to get a read on what Boris was all about.
Hence, I personally cannot give "The Goldfinch" but three stars. Obviously the (Pulitzer) literati see ...more
Hence, I personally cannot give "The Goldfinch" but three stars. Obviously the (Pulitzer) literati see ...more
You don't want to know what I thought.
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I really enjoyed The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - for the first 500 pages. It was not that the last 200 pages were bad, but by the time I got to them I was ready for the story to end. Part of this may be my own fault as I started the book over Thanksgiving vacation and was able to read the first 400 pages voraciously. The last 300+ took me the entire month of December with all of the holiday bustle.
The Goldfinch is a coming of age story about Theo Deckker who comes to possess a famous priceless p ...more
The Goldfinch is a coming of age story about Theo Deckker who comes to possess a famous priceless p ...more
I think this could have been edited down, but I liked the twists and turns. I had a hard time liking the main character Theo, except in his redeeming moments. Not only bad things come from bad deeds and not just good things come from good deeds. The world is not black and white. Good contemporary novel.
Nov 07, 2013
Katrina
marked it as to-read
Nov 15, 2013
Lisa Newton-Smart
marked it as to-read
Dec 03, 2013
Karen
marked it as to-read
Jun 25, 2014
Lilyane
marked it as to-read
