Reviews

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

selmarx's review against another edition

5.0

After just finishing this book I reviewed that it was mostly "very long", but I find myself thinking about it too often to not consider it a personal favorite.

chill_8's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

vilandra's review against another edition

5.0

Another beautifully written book, mixing the depressing and uplifting. It’s long but doesn’t feel it - it’s like being on a roller coaster, and you find you have such anxiety for the main character and what’s going to happen. A story about the “catastrophe” that life is, and redemption.

ketterd4mn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So incredibly close to a 5-star review. 
(30 minutes later) Yeah lol ignore that, this book fully deserves a 5 stars. Tartt’s writing is just incredible and I genuinely cannot stop thinking about The Goldfinch. It is truly so beautiful and impactful.
My only gripe would be the length - there definitely could have been parts cut out to make the book a little less slow-paced and more fluid in motion. 

“Whatever teaches us to talk to ourselves is important: whatever teaches us to sing ourselves out of despair.”

fiberreader's review against another edition

4.0

This book is beautifully written and very original in its plot. I can remember asking my mother what it was about when she was reading it a few years ago and she had a hard time explaining it to me; now I understand why. The basic synopsis is that it's a boy whose mother is killed in a terrorist attack at a museum and his life in the aftermath, but it's about more than that. It's about life, death, love, loss, friendship, the relationship between parents and children, finding meaning in life, beauty, and so much more. It's hard to sum it up.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and didn't notice the length of it that much, though I'll say that the only reason I didn't give it five stars is because I was troubled by a lot of the main character's decisions (primarily all the drug use) and, to be honest, the last chapter nearly lost me. I liked how the story ended, but it got a little too philosophical for me at the last.

spoop's review against another edition

3.75

i didn’t know the goldfinch was an actual painting until after i finished the book. and to be honest, what i’d pictured in my head was much better.

i’m not sure why this book had to be so long tbh but i didn’t mind. donna tartt sure can write. unfortunately the alcoholism parts were brutal to read- i couldn’t stop gagging, it was like every uni hangover amplified. however that’s my personal problem 🤧

i don’t know how much i’ll take away from this but i did enjoy the immersion (for the most part) while it lasted

elisapurtroppo's review against another edition

inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

handreades's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

jaemie's review against another edition

3.0

This book was great until the final third. The first two-thirds were a great exploration of morality and human nature, then the book droned on for way too long after.

Spoiler

In the last bit of the book, you learn what an unreliable narrator Theo was throughout the story when he sheds light on some aspects of his life that he did not let on earlier in the book. The major disappointment, however, was how the author felt the need to have Theo explain to you the conclusions that you should have come to when you finished the story. This was completely unnecessary and doesn’t allow the reader to glean whatever thoughts about humanity or life lessons that they may have come to on their own. This book was overly long and ended in such a disappointing way.

mackenzie_kb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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