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The Goldfinch
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 32 hrs and 24 mins
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Publisher's summary
Audie Award Winner, Solo Narration - Male, 2014
Audie Award Winner, Literary Fiction, 2014
The author of the classic best-sellers The Secret History and The Little Friend returns with a brilliant, highly anticipated new novel.
Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity.
It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.
As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and at the center of a narrowing, ever-more-dangerous circle.
The Goldfinch is a novel of shocking narrative energy and power. It combines unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and breathtaking suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher's calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is a beautiful, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.
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Editorial review
By Sam Danis, Audible Editor
THE GOLDFINCH IS A COMING-OF-AGE EPIC THAT WILL STEAL YOUR HE(ART)
The Goldfinch was one of the first novels I listened to when I started working at Audible nearly a decade ago. I joined the team in September, and with this title releasing in a month’s time, I remember what a very big deal it was that a new Donna Tartt book was forthcoming (she only publishes about once a decade, after all). The plot is gripping: During a bombing at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, two events alter the course of 13-year-old Theo Decker’s life. His mother—the most prominent figure in his life—is killed, and he grabs the painting they were there to see (the titular Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius), thereby becoming an accidental art thief. What follows is a coming-of-age story of epic proportions—about fate, loss, consequences, and the intangibility of home and family. It is at turns sentimental, suspenseful, melancholy, and hopeful.
I watched as the glowing reviews poured in, with no real intention to listen myself. A 32-hour audiobook seemed incredibly daunting when I was new to the world of audio entertainment—primarily, a podcast and short audiobook listener. And this, after all, was literary fiction.
Why did I ultimately decide to pick it up? I can’t recall exactly, but I imagine it had something to do with peer pressure. My fellow editors and I influence each other in the best of ways—nobody wants to be the last one to hear something truly amazing—and I think it was our fiction editor, Tricia, who first sung the praises of this one. So, I buckled in (read: put on my headphones) and prepared for whatever was to come.
Continue reading Sam's review >
Critic reviews
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Psychosis or Syphilis?
- By Vira on 04-02-13
By: Juliann Garey
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Koko
- Blue Rose Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Peter Straub
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 22 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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KOKO. Only four men knew what it meant. Now they must stop it. They are Vietnam vets — a doctor, a lawyer, a working stiff, and a writer. Very different from each other, they are nonetheless linked by a shared history and a single shattering secret. Now, they have been reunited and are about to embark on a quest that will take them from Washington, D.C., to the graveyards and fleshpots of the Far East to the human jungle of New York.
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7 hours in and I am done
- By bionichands on 01-26-12
By: Peter Straub
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High Dive
- By: Jonathan Lee
- Narrated by: Doyle Gerard
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Taking us inside one of the 20th century's most ambitious assassination attempts - "making history personal", as one character puts it - High Dive moves between the luxurious hospitality of a British tourist town and the troubled city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the height of the armed struggle between the Irish Republican Army and those loyal to the UK government.
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Humor? Not Funny.
- By W Perry Hall on 04-10-16
By: Jonathan Lee
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How Like a God
- By: Brenda W. Clough
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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What would it be like, to get absolute power? Would you wear a cape and fight crime? Rule the planet? Or perhaps you would be like Rob Lewis, and watch your world collapse around you. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Rob is going to find out.
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At one point the main character rapes at 13 year old girl
- By Richard Davis on 05-29-21
By: Brenda W. Clough
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
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Great stories but only 5 of 17 are included
- By Terri Kirk on 07-13-12
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Secret Smile
- By: Nicci French
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.
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I want my 9 hours back
- By Ashley on 07-19-23
By: Nicci French
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Stories
- All-New Tales
- By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, Al Sarrantonio - editor, Joe Hill, and others
- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
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Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others
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Tell the Wolves I’m Home
- A Novel
- By: Carol Rifka Brunt
- Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life - someone who will help her to heal....
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worst protagonist ever
- By Danica on 12-19-14
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Burn Baby Burn
- By: Meg Medina
- Narrated by: Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Nora Lopez is 17 during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora's family life isn't going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn 17 and be on her own.
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Couldn't finish listening to this book.
- By Mathis on 12-03-17
By: Meg Medina
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Black & White
- By: Dani Shapiro
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Clara Brodeur has spent her entire adult life pulling herself away from her famous mother, the renowned and controversial photographer Ruth Dunne, whose towering reputation rests on the unsettling nude portraits she took of her young daughter from the ages of three to 14. As Clara charts a path connecting her childhood with her adult life, Shapiro's novel weaves together past and present in images as stark and intense as the photographs that tore the Dunnes apart.
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It was okay
- By Lucy7 on 02-13-19
By: Dani Shapiro
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Shadow Show
- All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury
- By: Sam Weller - editor, Mort Castle - editor
- Narrated by: George Takei, Edward Herrmann, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.
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THE MAN WHO FORGOT RAY BRADBURY
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-27-17
By: Sam Weller - editor, and others
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The Poison Tree
- By: Erin Kelly
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Successful journalist Erin Kelly has electrified readers and critics alike with her debut novel The Poison Tree. In this scintillating work, Karen and her daughter Alice have established a safe, happy life free from the madness of Karen’s past. But when Karen’s former lover Rex is released from prison, her old associations intrude upon the present - and threaten everything she holds dear.
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I couldn't stop listening the book.
- By Gladys on 07-29-15
By: Erin Kelly
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The Wangs vs. the World
- By: Jade Chang
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he's just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family's ancestral lands - and his pride. Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America - and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could.
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Spectacular
- By Barbara on 10-11-16
By: Jade Chang
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A Study in Charlotte
- Charlotte Holmes, Book 1
- By: Brittany Cavallaro
- Narrated by: Graham Halstead, Julia Whelan
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Jamie Watson has always been intrigued by Charlotte Holmes; after all, their great-great-great-grandfathers were one of the most infamous pairs in history. But the Holmes family has always been odd, and Charlotte is no exception. She's inherited Sherlock's volatility and some of his vices - and when Jamie and Charlotte end up at the same Connecticut boarding school, Charlotte makes it clear she's not looking for friends.
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3.5 ☆s
- By Ashley C on 01-21-18
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Horrible narration
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February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.”
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"Where might God stand?"
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England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of 20 years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
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Superb narration, but keep a character index at hand
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Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who—from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister—dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukú—a curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA.
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gah!
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10:04
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In the last year, the narrator of 10:04 has enjoyed unexpected literary success, has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition, and has been asked by his best friend to help her conceive a child, despite his dating a rising star in the visual arts. In a New York of increasingly frequent super storms and political unrest, he must reckon with his biological mortality, the possibility of a literary afterlife, and the prospect of (unconventional) fatherhood in a city that might soon be under water.
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Deep and dazzling novel, brilliantly read!
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At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England’s irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn’t quite match her name (Jamaican for “no problem”). Samad’s late-in-life arranged marriage produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal’s every effort to direct them.
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4.68 stars....a modern classic
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Demon Copperhead
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- By: Barbara Kingsolver
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Story
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
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Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
What listeners say about The Goldfinch
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Jennifer
- 12-20-14
This book succeeds in being an amazing work
My interest was captivated all the way through and I loved the thoughtful ending, though also felt that it could be trimmed and polished a lot. There are unrealistic aspects to this book -- like perhaps nearly the entire thing -- and that prevented me from being fully a fan. I recommend it for sure and I won't forget this one.
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Overall
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Performance
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- J. Guenther
- 01-31-14
I was hooked.
If you could sum up The Goldfinch in three words, what would they be?
Thought-provoking, sad, satisfying
If you could take any character from The Goldfinch out to dinner, who would it be and why?
I would like to spend time with Holbie, the kindly furniture-restorer and mentor. He was strong, kind, understanding and humble. His knowledge of furniture was only matched by his ability to open his heart to others.
Any additional comments?
The lengthy passages of wordy descriptions concerning feelings and impressions were at times bordering on excessive. The style reminded me of Stephen King. Right when I got to the point of thinking "enough already - I get it", I realized I needed only stick with it and the intended mood would grab me and suck me in. Indeed it did.
The history of art and antiques was interesting and presented in ways that I could absorb and appreciate. The characters were so well developed that I could now sit and converse with them without preamble. I felt very much like I was a character in the story, able to navigate their worlds without issue. The life of addicts was revealed in a way I could relate to and even feel empathy for - a first for me.
I am still wondering if I truly loved the tale or just stuck with it out of a sense of obligation after devoting so much time to it already. Yet I wanted to know how it all came together, and the ending wrapped things up nicely. Perhaps it ended satisfactorily. I am still befuddled by the whole thing. Yet I liked it and found myself looking forward to returning to it whenever possible. Yes, I am confused by my reaction to the entire book.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Leigh Ann Williams
- 01-04-16
Beautiful story!
This is a beautiful story, but I read and listened to it, and I enjoyed reading it more, probably because this is a tale to be savored, enjoyed slowly, wallowed in.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Javier E. King
- 05-19-17
Very long, but wonderful story
The performance was amazing! I really felt like I knew the characters! The story was a little long, but worth the read.
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- Katerina
- 12-26-13
Left Me Unsatisfied
Any additional comments?
I was immediately captivated by The Goldfinch and found it to be the perfect immersive vacation read. The prose is beautiful, the characters are distinct, and the premise is entertaining, if not a bit depressing.
My disappointment comes from a discordance between my expectations of the book and the actual intentions of the author.
The way the story was written gave me the sense that it was either not fantastical enough or not realistic enough, and Tartt should have chosen which direction to go in more clearly.
The way the plot is built up in the beginning chapters, I was anticipating more of a mystery, more of an interweaving of details that would add up to some bigger meaning in the final pages.
Instead, I discovered that The Goldfinch is much more a story of human desperation, of existential quandary, and the discordance between longing and physical reality.
Had I approached the book with this understanding I might have enjoyed it more, especially toward the end.
My primary criticism of the book, in fact, lies within the final chapters.
After a relatively enjoyable plot progression, in the final portion of the book Tartt suddenly changes the writing style to one of philosophical rambling. I get the sense that she arrived at her book's conclusion and realized that the moral wasn't explicit enough in the preceding pages, and thus decided to hit the readers in the face with what she was actually trying to get at the whole time. It would have been much more effective had she woven those musings into the previous chapters.
Moreover, aside from the plot, I found that there were numerous other loose ends that could have been tied together more elegantly, but the manner in which she attempted to do so felt a bit contrived.
I was addicted to listening to the story and found it to be the perfect companion as I traveled between airports, but I was addicted in anticipation of a conclusion that never came.
Instead I was left with a bored and dissatisfied feeling at the end of the book which tainted my reflection of the whole experience.
Would I recommend this book? Sure, but only to readers who are seeking a study of an unfulfilling and often desperate reflection of human potential (or lack thereof).
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- Abhilasha
- 04-15-16
Great book, Fantastic narrator
I really enjoyed both the content and the audio experience of this book. The narrator was brilliant in his personas and accents.
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- Alisa Jacobs
- 06-24-17
Worth the time invested
I've had this book for three years. I started it soon after getting it but was slow to get into it. Despite gaps in reading, it was easy to remember what had happened when I picked it back up. Once I was roughly half way into it, I got the Audible version and, thanks to several long flights, really picked up momentum with it.
The story is really beautiful. Pathos is the word that comes to mind in reflecting on it.
Additionally, having read half and listened to half, I was really impressed by David Pittu's performance. The varied voices and accents were handled beautifully.
Would definitely recommend this rich story.
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- Dawn
- 09-29-15
The book and the narrator were excellent.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Multi faceted story
Family, Death, Art, Crime, and Money
Who was your favorite character and why?
Potter's best friend. Name is escaping at this moment; reason being from the beginning of his character was thank for what he was given or thankful for what he had taken. He didn't put excuses or embarrassment for what he did each day. He loved most all he met and was able to see the best in everyone ( even if someone wanted to put an end to his life, he would understand and still care for the one who would kill him if given the opportunity.
Have you listened to any of David Pittu’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No but again he was exceptional.
If you could rename The Goldfinch, what would you call it?
I wouldn't . As the story moved along I became more understanding of The Goldfinch.
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- mandel mertz
- 01-16-18
a little too bleak
a little too bleak and nihilistic for me, good ending but the rest of the book felt a little long.
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- Ethan eho
- 04-01-16
Beautiful until the end
The problems with THE GOLDFINCH are
A. It's way too long.
B. It can't make up its mind on what it wants to be
C. The ending is God-awful.
There are plenty of moments in this book that are beautiful and well-written, however the story itself takes forever to actually get started, and then it takes forever to actually end. And once you get to the end, you don't really care. It's a horrible ending too, just sort of lays out everything for you and tarnishes the work laid out in the previous 600 pages.
And don't get me wrong: it's an enthralling tale, just an extraordinarily maximalist one that doesn't have too much to think about, especially once she tells you why she wrote the book and points out the metaphors and themes she wanted you to see, but was too scared to leave to chance another interpretation.
It's much better to listen to this book than to read it. You can zone out on some of the more prolonged and unnecessary parts while you do something else. Reading it was very difficult, especially in the first 100 pages or so. And those pages aren't normal-sized.
Ultimately, it's up to you if you want to read this book, but just be warned: while it has beautiful imagery with very competent writing, it's too long and the end is one of the worst in recent memory. I'd tell Tartt to write pure philosophy, but all of her philosophy is copied.
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