Reviews

There's a lot going on here: Bildungsroman, art history, true love, family tragedy, and international crime. Theo, at the core of all of these story lines, never quite succeeds in controlling the life he cobbles together, but he does improbably survive. Knowing a character so completely is a rare treat.

It was a great book, but I didn't read the last page and think "amazing." Certain parts were absolutely beautiful, other parts could have been shortened even though they were perfectly worthwhile.

yyyyyy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nerdwyrm's review against another edition

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2.0

Sad, mournful and depressing. I went into this book hopeful and excited based on all the positive reviews but ended up in a miserable, months long slog to finish. The writing and wordplay was masterful and I can see why it won all those awards but the main character is totally unrelatable, at least to me. Every decision he made made me scream for him to do the opposite because it was so clearly the wrong choice. Over and over again I had to stop listening for weeks at time to undepress myself from his self-harming and ill advised decision making. What I thought would be and exciting story about art theives and forgery was ultimately a unending saddening monologue. I know that was part of the point, that life is worth living even in the event of awful things but I don't live that way and I pity anyone who does. Please look for a happier book before you read this one. Please remember to smile and that there are pleasant things that make life worth living if you do choose to read it.

emilieonthemove's review against another edition

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4.0

I got lost in the first third of this book. It was mesmerizing with its unique descriptions and tragedy. Then, I got a little bored. Somehow it ended up reminding me of the Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling. Maybe it's just difficult to write about teenagers with drug problems in a way that allows the reader to truly feel compassion for them. From the middle to the last quarter of the book was a real challenge - I had to talk myself into reading it every day. Near the end, when particular behaviors are revealed to the narrator, I felt like I finally reconnected. Perhaps Tartt did this on purpose; the narrator was living in denial, self-medicating, self-destructive for a long period of time so the reader does not find out what's really been going on until external characters reflect the narrator back to himself. At almost 800 pages, revelations could have come sooner. I also felt that Tartt spent more time crafting her prose at the beginning and end of the book and that the middle was neglected. Had her interesting descriptions prevailed throughout the book, perhaps it wouldn't have ended up being such a marathon through the middle.

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