The Goldfich by Donna Tartt - Review & Discussion

Fran · Post by **Fran** » 24 Feb 2014, 10:38

marty1314 wrote:
Fran wrote:IMO the book suffers from a lack of editing and could have been about 200 pages shorter. ..the rest of the book was in many ways tedious reading and I honestly could not wait to get it finished.
I liked the story, I liked the characters but, for me, the book as a whole package suffers seriously from a lack of editing and for that reason I would give it a 3/5* rating.
My exact feelings also. Too long, too much time spent on side plots. Were were the editors?

Delighted to find a like minded reader - I was beginning to feel isloated

Jo Ledamun · Post by **Jo Ledamun** » 24 Feb 2014, 19:26

Hoorah, I've finished reading The Goldfinch!!

The characters in this book are vivid and very endearing - especially Boris. From start to finish the story is character driven.

I think The Goldfinch is a story about families, friendship, tragedy, loss, personal circumstance and perhaps fate. Art isn't the main feature of the story, but the medium that's used to tell it.

Although I found the last few pages of this book very disappointing to read, provided you can stomach a lot of yada yada yada (the editing is shockingly bad), The Goldfinch is a interesting and eloquent story to read.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 & have no intention of ever rereading it.

samuyama · Post by **samuyama** » 01 Mar 2014, 16:50

You know, I think I'm going to check this book out now. Thanks for the positive feedback on it!

kismoody · Post by **kismoody** » 01 Mar 2014, 16:59

It did. This book definitely made me wish I went to the art museum more often. I had a hard time getting into parts of the story, but I loved the characters.

tracy19 · Post by **tracy19** » 02 Mar 2014, 11:45

Adding it to must read book list.

thankyou · Post by **thankyou** » 03 Mar 2014, 02:00

I'll try to read this book in my free time.

kismoody · Post by **kismoody** » 05 Mar 2014, 15:17

As mentioned above, when I read this book I had a hard time getting into it. Like marty1314 said: too much time trying to figure out what was going on with the subplots. It may have been since I tried to listen to it. I've heard mixed opinions across the board at my library as well about it, so it makes me think, like marty1314 said, that it just needed some better editing. Still the art was interesting.

JenniferBoyce · Post by **JenniferBoyce** » 06 Mar 2014, 15:06

I downloaded the audiobook version of this book. I'm extremely excited to begin listening to it. Has anyone else listened to the audiobook?

scriptbunny · Post by **scriptbunny** » 07 Mar 2014, 22:25

I found the book to be fairly meandering. Like many reviewers have already mentioned, the subplots got distracting. My biggest problem with The Goldfinch, however, is the complete lack of realism. Not in the suspension-of-disbelief sort of way, but in terms of how Ms. Tartt portrays teen culture and life in the American Southwest. It reads like an adult trying too hard to be both wizened and hip, luring tweens to gel with fine art using emoticons. Frankly, it didn't resonate with me at all. Which is a shame, because I had such high hopes for it too.

The Bookaholic · Post by **The Bookaholic** » 08 Mar 2014, 10:31

I have never heard of this book before! Now I have something to look for next time I visit my library.

-- 10 Mar 2014, 08:03 --

It looks like an interesting book to read, but there are so many reviews up here with so many different opinions that I am not sure what to make of it. The title is a great one though! I am going to put it on my probably worth reading list.

LisaT · Post by **LisaT** » 10 Mar 2014, 21:22

I really enjoyed this book but didn't like it at the very end when Tartt "waxed philosophical." I also wished it had ended a little differently but won't post spoilers here. And yes, it definitely could have benefited from some tighter editing.

Even so, I rated it a 5/5 and thought it was excellent. I am looking forward to reading Tartt's other books.

Lisa

Jo Ledamun · Post by **Jo Ledamun** » 11 Mar 2014, 00:30

Yes Lisa, I wish the ending had been more too. I thought it was rather disappointing compared to the rest of the story.

thankyou · Post by **thankyou** » 11 Mar 2014, 05:37

@JenniferBoyce - Well I haven't listened to any audiobook till now. But the book itself is good.

-- 12 Mar 2014, 02:40 --

A24 wrote:I started listening to this one on audiobook but the detail was killing me! I stopped after a while and knew I couldn't continue with this one for 32 hours. Perhaps it would've been better by the end of the book, but life is too short to drudge through something I'm not really enjoying.

I never really listened to any audiobooks, but the actual book is quite good.

AMP76 · Post by **AMP76** » 13 Mar 2014, 08:35

As with her two previous books, I found The Goldfinch to be a warm up read, as in, it takes a while for Tartt to warm up tp where this book is going, it is a long slow burn. It was educational, to me at least, as I have only a general knowledge of art history,most of which was gleaned from books, not necessarily from life experiences or great interest, not that I don't appreciate art, I just don't go out to seek art though perhaps I will. I found the story to be engrossing, once it began and like everything Tartt has written, I would recommend this book to others as I enjoy modern literature.