The Goldfinch
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Is it worth the hype? Is it YA fiction?
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JO
(last edited Jan 31, 2015 08:08AM)
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rated it 2 stars
Jan 31, 2015 08:07AM
I am almost done with this 700+ page book and I am still on the fence. During some parts I just could not put it down and then was quite bored during other sections. I guess with a book this long and involved that is bound to happen? Overall, as of this writing I would give it an overall enjoyable rating (200 pages to go). I have read articles that say it is way overrated. Also, a separate article stating it was really YA fiction. I am not so much into categorizing YA vs non-YA, but I can see the point for the first part of the book. I do like that Theo does not turn his life around and become this virtuous person all of a sudden given what he has been through. It seems more realistic, but we shall see what happens in the next 200 pages. I have not seen any discussions on here regarding this book and that surprised me give the hype, but I don't navigate around much. Maybe there are private group discussions going on.
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YA? Really? The thought never crossed my mind.
No, definitely not YA.
I didn't consider it YA but actually some of the themes andthe writing style are very appealing to the YA audience and I would throughly recommend it to a Young Adult reader. Donna Tartt is amazing.
Nope..not YA. I would not have wanted my kids to read this at a tender age...and currently not either of my older grandkids! They see and hear enough about this kind of self destruction in school these days...no matter public or private as told in this story. There was a LOT of time spent on this portion of Theo's maturing and transition to an adult. It was depressing. Does not need to be glorified or made to seem normal to young people.However, the writing in this book was what kept me going. Did not like Theo one little bit in the middle of the book...understood him more at the end and do see why she spent time exploring this facet. Theo was more likeable and real to me than Boris, as she wrote him. Boris however, had no redeeming qualities AT ALL in my mind! But his character served a purpose, as did Hobie as the antithesis of Boris. Andy's family was really not explored as deeply as I'd have liked, and their role in who Theo became as an adult could be another book!
Proving that the writing was of a higher caliber ...the next book I read, which I shall not name here, was DREADFULLY written... and I struggled to find reasons to finish it. The contrast contributed to my personal appreciation of Donna Tartt and what she accomplished in this novel. Sometimes readers will find a well written book that triggers thought, even after the next book is read and shelved. That is a "good-read" to me. Even if it was hard to keep going sometimes.
If you like drawn out, real characters. It's really not fast paced. And GUUURLLL this is definitely not YA.
Claire wrote: "I didn't consider it YA but actually some of the themes andthe writing style are very appealing to the YA audience and I would throughly recommend it to a Young Adult reader. Donna Tartt is amazing."I doubt it has allot of hard core drug use.
Sorry for being out of touch but what age is YA?I'd say this book is for everyone 18 plus but a mature 16 year old could read it.
As many have said, the language used by the characters and such suggests this is a novel for adults. On the other hand, some pieces of the story are so stupid and shallow that perhaps it was intended for young children.
For me, definitely not YA, but most definitely overrated. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I could not believe it when it won the Pulitzer! Parts of it were appealing, but it just went on for too long and would have benefitted from one more edit.
Having just checked out that Young-Adult fiction is aimed at 12 to 18 year olds, I would say that there's certainly large segments of the book that would appeal to YA, especially when Theo and Boris are living in Las Vegas. But it depends if your looking at it from a parents perspective. If you censor your child's reading then you probably wouldn't want your child to read this. But I don't have children so I wouldn't be able to definitively comment on this matter.I think the book transcends the age bracket and that could be why it was so popular. There's something in there for everyone, YA through to adults.
I'm 39 and loved reading about the very young Theo, the Barbour kids and Boris. Certain aspects brought back childhood memories for me.
I suspect most teenagers would be bored to tears. And any teenage boy is going to be thinking WTF??
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