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What Members Thought
This novel deserves all the hype. It's impossible to categorize but it's all wonderful. We follow our narrator and protagonist Theo Decker from the time of his adolescence to his young adulthood. He's not quite Holden Caulfield but he is indeed a lost and searching soul, anchored only by an event, a painting, and a few tenuous relationships. Despite all of that, this isn't a standard coming-of-age novel. This also isn't a plot driven novel but it never gets boring. The characters are richly draw
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Wonderful. No novel is perfect, but this, despite its length, has enough twists and turns to be continually engaging. I had the impression that she's lived more, knows more, and gets more than I do without flaunting it outright. Loved the novel for being as much Catcher In The Rye as an art-themed murder-mystery. Worth the read, ignore the critical hyperbole.
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Parts of the novel are filled with beautiful prose, juxtaposed against horrendous circumstances. My concern and sympathy for the main character waned over time. Finished quickly because I had to know what happened to the goldfinch, but many of the over 700 pages were a drawn out, depressing, numbing read.
Not bad, reminded me of infinite jest in a lot of ways (drugs, lonely kid narrator, esoteric-ness and scope) but not as fun. There were funny parts, but I feel a little let down by the ending. Not a bad book by any means, but my immediate reaction isn't very impressed.
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I loved the writing in this. The descriptions were so vivid. I really felt like I lived in those places with these people. Sometimes, this was a drawback as characters made choices that made me want to yell at them. This book made me anxious. Not sure if the landing quite stuck it, but the first half especially was amazing.
Loss & emptiness now that this one's done.
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Jan 04, 2014
Tia
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May 25, 2015
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Oct 17, 2015
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Dec 14, 2015
Bobbie Weaver
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