I have finished the first book on my shelf - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt!
This was like a month ago!
But i digress…
How This Book Came to Me
The Goldfinch is a relatively recent acquisition on my shelf. I bought it at Target, not the usual place I buy books, on a Christmas shopping expedition, not the type of outing I would normally buy myself a book. I had my to buy list and was checking it twice as they say. Since it was was my sister’s and my first time celebrating Christmas at the brownstone, we were in need of decorations.
After gawping at the rapidly dwindling, overpriced, tabletop sparkle tree section, I remembered my bookclub. We had chosen The Goldfinch and I had yet to secure a copy. After a very focused shopping session, nothing makes me feel giddier then making an unplanned book purchase. As I carried it home along with my bag of tabletop sparkle trees, I felt like I had gotten away with something. What can I say? I live dangerously buying books. ;)
Synopsis
The Goldfinch is a literary fiction novel written by Donna Tartt, published in 2013 by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group. It is 771 pages in length. It tells the story of Theodore Decker, who gets caught in a sudden catastrophic event that unwittingly causes him to find himself in possession of a rare dutch master painting called The Goldfinch.
My Thoughts
It has been over a month now since I finished this book and I still think about it. I loved the Dickensian tone, and the art - it made me want to visit an art museum!
This book is has a classic story of writing and storytelling style that is, as mentioned above, reminiscent of the novels of Charles Dickens. It manages to create a timeless feel even though the book itself is set in the present day United States. It is a longish novel, but it never felt like it dragged. This is a perfect read for January, I think it might have been a bit of a struggle if I had started it in say, June. It’s biggest criticism on Goodreads seems to be that it is too long. The challenge big books face is that by there mere size alone they are asking a lot of the reader. They demand time of their reader and a longer standing relationship, then say, a 300 page young adult novel.
Wrap-up
I gave this book 5/5 on Goodreads. I thought it was fantastically written and would highly recommend. The audiobook is very good as well.
I recently bought 3 new books (I have no regrets!) so my ‘Read’iscovery count, minus The Goldfinch is now at 75. I miscounted in my first post and my actual starting number was 73 books not 70 as I said originally.