The Goldfinch in Bookmarks Subscribers

Nov 17, 2013 Sera rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literary-fiction, own, kindle, 1st

I finished this book last week, and since then, I have been struggling with how I want to write my review. This book represents something incredibly special to me. I have so much love for it, that nothing that I write here will give it its due.

What's it about?

It's about the loss of family and the relearning of what that word means.

It's about unrequited love.

It's about beauty's relation to the individual.

It's about the moral complexities that we face when there are no black and white answers.

It' ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Dec 26, 2013 Beth Knight rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-it, absolute-favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There's no way my review will ever come close to doing this brilliant book justice. Nothing I say will be anything that hasn't been said before by the numerous people who've read and loved this book. All the things I've been thinking will come out sounding cliche. This book was written so beautifully that I found myself rereading passages a few times over. The way she captured the essence of the grief that is felt over losing one's parent really resonated with me since I just lost my own mother There's no way my review will ever come close to doing this brilliant book justice. Nothing I say will be anything that hasn't been said before by the numerous people who've read and loved this book. All the things I've been thinking will come out sounding cliche. This book was written so beautifully that I found myself rereading passages a few times over. The way she captured the essence of the grief that is felt over losing one's parent really resonated with me since I just lost my own mother four months ago. Tartt put into words exactly what I've been feeling but have been unable to express.

Well before even thinking about reading it, I knew The Goldfinch was about the mother of a young boy dying. This made me think that maybe I shouldn't read it. I then noticed that my friend Caroline was reading the book so I started paying closer attention to her updates. When I read this quote Caroline had posted: "It kept being a shock every time I remembered it, a fresh slap; she was gone. Every new event--everything I did for the rest of my life--would separate us more and more: days she was no longer a part of, an ever-growing distance between us. Every single day for the rest of my life, she would only be further away" I knew I had to read The Goldfinch because this described exactly how I felt, especially after giving birth to my youngest son, four years after the death of my father. I remember all I could think was, "he had another grandson and will never know it. " I knew that I would be facing this all over again with the recent death of my mother.

Even though I was an adult when both my parents died I identified with Theo and what he felt. It's been so hard to come to terms with the loss of my parents I can't imagine going through it as a child. I had so much empathy for Theo and, later, his friend Boris, that I couldn't feel fully disgusted for the lifestyle they led. They faced such insurmountable hardships at such a young age so it's understandable that they coped by numbing themselves with drugs and alcohol. And they were basically left to their own devices since the remaining adults in their lives were frequently absent. As Caroline and I discussed, these things are a reality.

This book made me think and feel so much. I was amazed at Tartt's knowledge and her way with words. I think The Goldfinch will become a classic. The book is filled with so many themes to discuss that I think it will soon become part of university curriculums. I think every budding writer should read it as an example of writing at it's finest. The Goldfinch will forever be with me. ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Nov 24, 2013 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorite, _own-home-library, _own-ebook, fiction, read-in-2013, from-publisher, arc-copy

This isn't going to be a comprehensive review of this novel because I just don't have the time to put one together. BUT, I highly recommend this one! Donna Tartt is such a great writer! This is definitely one of my favorite books in 2013 and well worth the time it takes to read (since it comes in at 700 pages). Although it's long, I can't imagine where Tartt could have cut back on the story. It's such a well layered narrative with interesting characters. I love the themes it explored and how wel ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Aug 12, 2013 Linda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: chcpl, own, botns, uu

How fantastic is this book? I read every. Single. Word. of the 771 pages. The writing was delectable. The story unrolled like a dropped ball of yarn on a hill. There many times I wanted to cringe because I knew Theo Decker, the protagonist was making unwise choices, but I stayed with him and hoped for the best.
I think I'm going to find Ms. Tartt's other two books to savor. ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2013 Gayla Bassham rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, 2013-reads, to-be-read-in-2013, 2014-tournament-of-books-longlist, 2014-tournament-of-books-finalists, 2014-bailey-s-prize-longlist

The Goldfinch It is terribly disappointing to dislike a book that you expected to love. To be fair, I didn't exactly dislike The Goldfinch--there are captivating moments and characters and scenes. But Tartt has a tendency to meander, and there are long stretches of the novel that just aren't particularly interesting. And then the last several pages (I read it on my Kindle, so I can't say exactly how many) consist of Donna Tartt taking her many plot strands into her hands and desperately trying t ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 20, 2013 Barbara rated it really liked it

Mixed opinion on this one. While parts of this novel were engrossing and the characters compelling, at many points the storyline went off on needless tangents where I lost interest and skimmed. Cutting this book down by a 3rd would have worked wonders.

1 like · Like · see review