The Goldfinch

By: Donna Tartt

Narrated by: David Pittu

Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.©2013 Tay Ltd.

Critic reviews

Another rich slice of gothic drama (Books of the Year)

Combines narrative grandeur with dazzling detail (Books of the Year)

Sublimely written, with elegant touches of the gothic (Books of the Year)

Really does grip from the first page... a noirish thriller and epic love story rolled into one (Books of the Year)

Runs the gamut from thriller to meditation on loss, and runs it magnificently (Books of the Year)

A soaring masterpiece

The Goldfinch is a triumph... Donna Tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction

Sumptuous, generous and entirely captivating (Books of the Year)

Dazzling. A glorious, Dickensian novel that pulls together all Tartt's remarkable storytelling talents into a rapturous, symphonic whole and reminds the reader of the immersive, stay-up-all-night pleasures of reading

An astonishing achievement. If anyone has lost their love of storytelling, The Goldfinch will most certainly return it to them. The last few pages of the novel take all the serious, big, complicated ideas beneath the surface and hold them up to the light. Not for Tartt the kind of clever riffs which are too commonly found in contemporary fiction. Instead, when plot comes to an end, she leads us to a place just beyond it - a place of meaning

The Goldfinch is a book about art in all its forms, and right from the start we remember why we enjoy Donna Tartt so much: the humming plot and elegant prose; the living, breathing characters; the perfectly captured settings.... Joy and sorrow exist in the same breath, and by the end The Goldfinch hangs in our stolen heart

Lavish and lush in décor and span... The novel lets us see, and feel, the real bird beyond the brush, or rather, the grief, and addictive yearning, behind its cabinet of curiosities. For those who want to share the double vision, to slip attentively between luxurious illusion and overt craftiness, a deeper layer of pleasure awaits in The Goldfinch. In every sense, this is quite a piece of work (Boyd Tonkin)

In the epic range of its concerns with grief, loss, loneliness, fate, and the nature of good and evil, its rich cast of characters, and its broad social canvas, it bears comparison with Proust, Dickens, Dostoevsky and Nabokov. It is meticulously structured and paced, and reading it is an enthralling experience of total immersion in Tartt's vision and voice. A beautiful and important book (Elaine Showalter)

A gripping page-turner and a challenging, beautifully written account of modern life. Moving but unsentimental, funny without being trite, all human life is here. It will doubtless be a contender for one of 2013's best novels (James Kidd)

Miserable story

Struggled to finish this dark, miserable story that only got worse towards the end. Don't waste 32h listening to this prescribed depression. Sorry, I really expected something spell binding after reading other reviews. Only reason I finished it is that I don't tend to quit on books.

Skip

Almost ok until the last few chapters - but after forgiving tons of inappropriate philosophising the terminal torrent with the author inserting herself into her three main characters to indulge is just too much - if M's reactions in Holland had been quicker it might have been bearable.

Fierce yet tender. Finding once middle zone

I will begin to say I loved this book. Ot is a deep search into meaning - the meaning of everything we encounter.
At times I felt the relationships Theo encountered were drawn out- stretched to the maximum, but just before I loose my interest , the storyline changes. I dont know how successful the film could ever be but as in now, I feel that it would be impossible to potray the vomplex and meaningful relationships of Theo and Boris. highly recommended

Review goldfinch

I'm not a great fan of the American accent however the narration was compelling. Couldn't stop listening. Why am I being forced to write a minimal number of words

Evocative performance

If you could sum up The Goldfinch in three words, what would they be?

Rambling, compelling, absorbing

What other book might you compare The Goldfinch to and why?

Although not similar in content, it brought to mind The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, for its rich characterisation, intricacy and detail of plot and extreme differences in locale (possibly also because the bulk of both books is set in New York).

Which character – as performed by David Pittu – was your favorite?

It's a toss up between Boris and Hobie.

Any additional comments?

David Pittu's performance was excellent. The characters all sounded distinct and his voice is very easy to listen to. That, added to Tartt's characterisation, created a book full of rich characters who were easy to picture.