A mammoth read that I did enjoy…

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Available via Booktopia for $16.50

Perhaps the first thing to be said about this novel by Donna Tartt, is that it is BIG. My paperback version has 771 pages, which is a mammoth read by most people’s standards. This book won the Pulitzers prize for fiction in April this year, remained on the New York Times bestseller list for seven months, sold a million and a half print and digital copies, and is headed to be a movie or TV series made by the producers of The Hunger Games.

But, I am not a literary snob! It just so happened that I had come across Donna Tartt’s debut novel The Secret History on my trusty ipad and had enjoyed it very much. When a friend said she had just read a copy of The Goldfinch and asked if I would like to borrow it, I jumped at the chance. At this stage, I hadn’t realised its apparent fame as a literary masterpiece. I only read some of the critics’ reviews after reading the novel myself. These reviews cover the full gamut of opinion from the use of “Dickensian” to the description by The London Review of books likening it to a “children’s book for adults” and London’s Sunday Times concluding that “no amount of straining for high-flown uplift can disguise the fact that The Goldfinch is a turkey”

So, having related all of this, I will try to sum up my own reactions to and understanding of this novel. The protagonist of the novel is a 13-year-old boy called Theo Decker when this story begins. His world is rudely changed for ever when, on a visit to the Museum of Art with his Mother, there is a terrorist attack on the Museum in which his Mother is killed. Theo survives, and after a significant interaction after the blast with an elderly man, he leaves the scene of destruction with a very valuable painting – namely The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius, painted in 1654. The rest of the novel covers the next 14 years of Theo’s life where the painting becomes a very precious last connection to his Mother, and a secret burden, which lies heavily on his shoulders. Firstly, there is a stay with the family of a school friend, followed by a very uncomfortable period living with his addicted and unstable Father. His meeting with the elderly man in the museum leads to an important long term association with a mentor and father figure and a career in the collection and restoration of antiques. His struggle through the entire book is with his grief at the loss of his Mother, his unstable teenage years, the influence of a wild and unusual friend, and a constant obsession with a young girl that had also experienced the terrorist attack. Underlying it all is the part that the stolen painting plays in his reality and in his mind.

If you are a little confused by this – I do apologise! But it is a long and quite complex novel. I think the message in the book is about the significance, beauty and lasting nature of art and the part it plays in lives. Personally, I enjoyed the book very much. Now that I have read that some think it is a children’s book for adults, I understand why I may have found it easy to read! It took a while, but I was always eager to get back into it after any pauses. As someone who dabbles in writing, I was just blown away by the author’s ability to keep a story going in what – to me anyway – was an entertaining and gripping way. I found its exploration of grief, friendship, romantic love, addiction, and the love of art fascinating and thought provoking. The novel begins towards the end of the story, and then gradually unfolds Theo’s life from before the death of his Mother until he is in his late 20s. I thought the writing flowed really well but I would not describe it as simplistic or childish.

There were many passages that painted interesting images and ideas, for example “As we walked outside together, into the Christmas crowds, I felt unsteady and sorrowful and the ribbon-wrapped buildings, the glitter of windows only deepened the oppressive sadness: dark winter skies, gray canyon of jewels and furs and all the power and melancholy of wealth.”

Although a book of this length can sometimes be a challenge in our busy lives, I would recommend giving it a go as there is surely something satisfying in getting lost in a long, rambling story, although in retrospect, perhaps it would have been at least physically less onerous to read it in its digital form.

Available via Booktopia for $16.50

Note:

Hello everyone.

I’m having a little holiday, you could say all “booked” out. Maybe I should have left a blank space, because Valerie McCrae’s review of The Goldfinch is so good. Many thanks Valerie, be back soon.  Karen J J J