The Goldfinch

Gute story, aber viel zu lang…

das Buch und die eigentliche Story sind grundsätzlich gut, aber es hat sich viel zu sehr in die Länge gezogen, sodass meine ursprüngliche Bewertung von 4 Sterne auf 3 herabgesunken ist. Schade

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Ich hab die ersten 500 Seiten des Buches geliebt, konnte sehr schnell durch lesen, da es einfach spannend und abwechslungsreich war. Danach ging es eher schleppend voran, das Thema hat sich in die Länge gezogen und mich persönlich leider etwas gelangweilt. Das Ende war auch eher ‚meh‘, aber ich kann auch verstehen, wenn andere es mögen. Für mich war das Buch ein paar Seiten zu lang, die ganzen Party-Szenen hätte man zB einfach rauslassen können, da sie nur kurz angekratzt wurden und dann schon ins nächste Thema gesprungen wurde. Eigentlich ein gutes Buch, aber ein paar Seiten weniger und weniger um den heißen Brei drum rum schreiben, hätte nicht geschadet.

Eine Geschichte, die einen lange nicht loslässt und Lust macht, richtig gute Literatur zu zelebrieren 💛

Dieses Buch von Donna Tartt hat sich ganz schnell zu einem meiner Lieblingsbücher katapultiert und ich habe mir direkt "The Secret History" gekauft. Ich finde die Schreibweise unvergleichlich und ganz besonders. All die kleinen Beobachtungen, die präzise Recherche und die Beschreibung von Schmerz, Verlust, Hoffnung, Freundschaft haben mich gepackt. Das ist für mich wieder eine Geschichte, bei der ich das Schreibhandwerk feier. Man merkt Donna Tartt ihre Liebe zum Schreiben mit jeder Seite an. Für mich war die Handlung spannend, die Figuren lebendig und sogar die Beschreibung von Kunst und Antiquitäten mitreißend. Obwohl ich keine Kunstkennerin bin, hat mich dieses Buch zum Hören eines Kunstpodcasts überzeugt. Dieses Buch hat einen großen Platz in meinem Leserherz. Es war intensiv und einfach richtig richtig gut geschrieben.

5/5 [Donna did it again💌⭐️] Donna Tartt’s „The Goldfinch“ is a deeply moving novel about fate, grief, and the enduring power of beauty (in art).

Following Theo Decker from a traumatic childhood event to a turbulent adulthood, the story weaves through love, crime, and identity with rich prose and intricate character development. Though some parts may feel slow, the novel’s emotional depth and philosophical musings make it a compelling and unforgettable read. Tartt masterfully plants small details early on, only to bring them back later in surprising ways, creating a brilliant effect for the reader (at least imo). I'm happy to say that this is my new favorite book!

As ever, Donna Tartt's way with words is just unmatched.

I was once told not to bother with The Goldfinch as it is supposedly inferior to The Secret History and, after reading TSH and absolutely falling in love, I genuinely never thought I'd pick it up, just in case it tainted my opinion on Donna Tartt. Well! Thank god, so many people read it and raved about it, or it would've sat on my shelf for the rest of time, and i would've been missing out on a genuine masterpiece. The Goldfinch is an epic coming of age story that follows our protagonist, Theo Decker, throughout his difficult life after he survives a brutal accident that has left him alone in New York. The Goldfinch centres around grief, loss, tragedy, and suffering, yet is so unbelievably beautiful, despite evoking real feelings of hopelessness throughout. The central motif is, shockingly, a painting called 'The Goldfinch'. Tartt builds Theo's character around this piece of art, and it ultimately dictates his path in life. The characters are deeply flawed, complex, and sometimes incredibly annoying. I think what separates this from TSH is the sheer depth of the characters. Whereas is TSH we have an unreliable narrator and some of the most aloof characters ever created, we get to know the characters in The Goldfinch on a very intimate level - warts and all. Another impressive work by Donna Tartt.

I don't know if the people that are raving about this and I have read two completely different books but this was the most boring book I've ever read. It didn't even make me angry or something like the books I rate 1 Star usually do. It was just really boring. Nothing happened for 860 pages and the first 200 pages...am I supposed to feel sad for this kid that lost his mom of whom we know nothing about because we don't even know Theo??? There was just zero emotional attachment and tbh his life past those 200 pages was barely exciting. I liked some sections and obviously Donna Tartt is a good writer but this could've done just as fine with 300 pages less. . I would only recommend this book to those people that enjoyed Sir Henry's sections in The picture of Dorian Gray because honestly same amount of fun. . . . To the people that lied to me and said this book is Dark Academia: I hope your favorite book gets water damage.

2.5 stars (will there ever be .5 stars?) I wanted to like it. Maybe I wanted it a little to much. After sitting on my shelves for years, I finally picked it up this summer and it took me forever (it’s World Cup and I love football so I’m watching as many games as possible, but still, if I’d been into this book as much as I hoped I’d be, there’d be no way of putting it down). It took me a while to figure out why I didn’t like it, even though it features so many characteristics I love (descriptive, slow writing; art and therefore all sorts of cross-cultural references; Bildungsroman, which is probably my favourite genre of all time). My theory: I didn’t like Theo. At all. Either he’s passive (SO passive!!) and prone to all kind of bad influences or he’s making bad decisions. Or a combination, as in he lets himself be talked into making bad, stupid decisions (hi there, Boris!). Even the eventual wrap up is mostly the doing of others. My reading experience as well as my dislike for Theo reminded me of Oliver Twist: I like the idea, but couldn’t enjoy it because of the protagonist. I could write a whole thesis on this, but I already spent so much time working my way through 864 pages. That’s enough. (Except: I’m debating with myself whether to remove The Secret History from my to-read-list...?)

Oh, what a ride it's been. I usually don't read books that long. I first heard of The Goldfinch because of friends, who later recommended it to me. And to be honest, I was taken aback because of the 850ish pages. I read this book as part of a bookclub read-along, 30 pages a day - something that was hopefully manageable. I had a little bit of a hard time at first and with some slow-paced passages, but the further along the more I started reading in one sitting. This read was somewhat a surprise for me, in the kind of sense that I often have a hard time when I don't sympathise with the protagonists. Unfortunately, that was the case for most of the characters. BUT even though I disliked some, they interested me so much, made we want to know what's going to happen next, that I continued reading. It wasn't the kind of dislike that would make me put the book down and never look at it again. For example, I couldn't sympathise with Theo, neither understood most of his actions, but I got it. The characters seemed human, having difficulties and problems of their own. They're not or rather far from perfect - and that's what I liked. It was a nice change to the books I read with lovely characters, who are just awesome. Because life is not always awesome, right - so why do fictional characters have to be?! It's most likely thanks to Tartt's writing style, which is exceptionally beguiling and different from what I'd typically read, that I enjoyed the reading process. I dare to say it's one of the top well-written books of my book collection. Without a doubt, Hobie is my favourite character. It might be because, to my mind, he's different than the other characters. I love the way he's portrayed in the book; the caring and loving person for Pippa and Theo. His talent and work are so beautifully described. The story of The Goldfinch, the real-life painting and meaning behind it and how that was included in the plot, is so fascinating to me. As an art student, I knew about the painting, and I loved how the author embraced the artistic part of life. I can't emphasise enough how much I enjoyed this book because of Donna Tartt's talent in writing. Still, I do think she could've shortened the book here and there, especially in the middle parts of the book, since it was sometimes hard to stay focused. One of my favourite parts is probably Part V. I kind of did and kind of didn't expect an ending like that. Honestly, I was waiting for a massive catastrophe to go down. The way the author concluded the story didn't disappoint—the last bunch of pages stuck with me, even after putting the book away. ⠀