A review by vaguely_pink
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think this one just wasn’t for me. Tartt is undeniably an incredibly gifted writer. Her characters leap off the page. The Goldfinch reads like a memoir and I often found myself wondering how it’s possible that someone could pull such real characters out of their head. The audiobook narrator is also masterful in his performance of each one. But part of why I continued to ask myself this was because their lives, and consequently this book, are just so oppressively bleak. Like, I’m a proud Sad Girl™, but this felt like too much sometimes. 

There were also numerous times where I felt like we were gearing up for an ending only to check the audiobook and realize that somehow I still had 13 hours left. As I got to the end, I started to have my usual audiobook thoughts of “maybe I’d like this more if I read with my eyes,” especially with the discussions about the importance of art to the human experience. But I’m not sure I would’ve had the endurance for this book in print. And when it does finally end, it feels very
Boris
ex machina and entirely too quick and easy. I don’t know, man. Maybe all the new adult fantasy I’ve been reading lately is finally rotting my brain. 
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