Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

30 reviews

tuesdaydg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.0

There is no doubt that The Goldfinch is a thoroughly well-crafted novel. Is it incredibly long? Yes. Is it incredibly slow? Yes. Is the protagonist/narrator insufferable and infuriating? Yes. Yet, I can’t really seem to fault the novel for these elements. There is nothing wrong with a long, slow book with morally questionable characters. What I can fault it for, though, is my own personal experience spending time with the story and existing in the protagonist’s head. So, did I enjoy this novel? No, not really. I attribute this to an amalgamation of factors, from my own personal tastes to false expectations to the feelings Theo’s narrative elicited from me as I read (or listened, rather). I think I expected the “stolen artwork” theme to contribute a sense of adventure or even a fun thrill that would linger on each page. Instead, this theme creates a constant sense of dread and overwhelming stress which exudes from the pages. This, in combination with Theo’s

Spoiler

severe addiction to drugs and alcohol

, made my reading experience quite unpleasant. I have to commend the author for her ability to bring out such emotion, but I felt the the constant weight of this combination of elements seemed to become exhausting, so that the trudge through felt daunting rather than exciting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Grief, Addiction, Drug use, Alcoholism, Vomit, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Car accident

ashleymg99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Overall, I loved the book. The Goldfinch is a love letter to art, and the profound effect it has on us. My only complaint is that some parts are very slow. However, these slow sections often crescendo into one short line that changes the trajectory of the whole story.

Spoiler

these points mimic the explosion that began our journey, often “dropping a bomb” on the reader - and often marks the death of a significant figure in Theo’s life. His Mother. Welty. His Father. Andy and Mr. Barbour. All these deaths are sudden, accidental, and tragic.

. If you like antiques, art crimes, nihilism, and found family, you’ll love The Goldfinch. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Grief, Mental illness, and Addiction

Moderate: Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Panic attacks/disorders

123urmom's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I only know about it’s existence because of the movie. There were some good parts but it was slow and sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Addiction, Death of parent, Child abuse, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident

emmawoodhouse's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Murder and Violence

Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, Trafficking, Vomit, Animal cruelty, and Suicidal thoughts

Spoiler

the dog stops getting neglected early on and lives a long, happy life

kers_tin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Bullying, Blood, Addiction, Misogyny, Injury/injury detail, and Domestic abuse

misterorms's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Car accident, Bullying, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, and Addiction

Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Adult/minor relationship

laurelaurel's review against another edition

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I know it can be wordy or drawn out at parts but ugh idk the writing just sucked me in and no matter how much I reread it I never get bored or feel like it’s too much or too long. I really really really love this book a lot it is so beautiful 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Car accident, Physical abuse, and Cursing

olvrhkl12's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Gaslighting, Vomit, and Gun violence

jazhandz's review against another edition

DNF at 74%. Ordinarily that's so close to the end that I'd push through, but realizing that I still had 200 pages left, and that not that much had actually happened, and that I didn't really care about what had happened, and that whole pages would be filled with cultural references that felt too rich and bougie for me - I just couldn't hack it. I saw the movie a couple years ago and truly thank god I did because otherwise the writing style is so bloated that I wouldn't have been able to follow any of it. I know this book is probably someone's favorite, and I'm so happy for that person. I wanted to be that person. But if you don't like elaborate, flowery description, and deeply specific art references, then you might not like this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Alcohol, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Bullying and Sexual content

WRT death, there's a lot of discussion of drowning.

c_joy___'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction, Car accident, and Cursing