THE GOLDFINCH Paperback – 25 June 2014

This is one the greatest book of all times. A book so deep, so meaningful that leaves me craving for more. A book with great literature giving me joy and shocks all in moments. A book which leaves me in deep thoughts all over again and again.The plot, the characters, the narration and every other thought in Theo's mind is just written perfectly, just apt. It was one of those books which makes you feel every emotion with the characters. With such beautiful description of Theo's mindset, I was speechless and in shock all in a single moment. The way Tart describes New York, Vegas and then Amsterdam is just so mesmerizing. Theo's connection with his mother, his hatred for his Dad, his longing for Boris left me in utter silence.The book covers so many aspects - ranging from mother-son relationships, art and its power, teenage friendship, guardianship, childhood bullies, true friendship, drugs, the criminal world dealing with arts and many more. How Popper remembered Boris when he had seen him after almost a decade, this is just one of those few emotions which can never be expressed in words completely. How the chemistry between two teenagers which remains unaffected even when they haven't seen each other in years is written in such a fascinating way representing true bond. The way Theo craves for The Goldfinch, not because of his love for art completely but rather like the only thing which holds the connection with his mother. The way he touches the painting, how he wants to safeguard the painting from the outside world, and the way he looks at the painting gives me a chill. The description of love is so pure, especially the part when you love the wrong person and you still can't stop loving her is so deep. The way Theo hits off completely with Hobie in a couple of meetings despite the age gap and how he felt more safe there and not at the Barbour's, how Hobie treats him like a normal person and not like a person who just went through a tragedy. The time when Hobie supports Theo when he ran away after his Dad's death brings back my faith in humanity. The moment when Theo is hanging in there trying to end his miserable life and how his mother(or just the illusions) ultimately stops him from doing so was a touchy moment for me. In that instant, when he knew he can talk to his mother only through the mirror and can't even turn around to have a look at her was simply spell bounding.I give complete 5stars to The Goldfinch as it deserves it and nothing less than this.

I remember in the middle of reading this book I sent a message to my friend that why all good books are sad? and he replied because life is not rainbows and sunshine. It hurt a bit but summarised why fiction is fiction.All the while reading it I was hoping that there would an important part played by the protagonist's mother. It did not disappoint me. Protagonist's mother's presence is similar to the presence of Rebecca in Daphne du Maurier's famous work. Her presence is felt and to an extent influences the thought process of various characters.We see the protagonist dreading a PT meeting and later, he realises that things can be lot worse than he could imagine. We walk through 2 cities in this novel, NYC & Las Vegas and see the difference between the lifestyle and norms of the people residing there. Our drug addicted protagonist has met several influential people in his lifetime but the one thing which has made him who he is, is the constant presence of the Goldfinch. The plot at the end feels hurriedly completed, but covers all the important plot holes.As I finished the book another thought came to my mind why is all the major action involves protagonist friend from Vegas. It puts a damper on things. All in all great book, I read it as fast as possible, couldn't put it down.

Great book. Must read at least once in a lifetime. Both entertaining and thrilling. 880 pages seems a bit less for such a great story. The way Tartt uses words, it seems as if she herself is the protagonist. She uses words to create such intricate detail that the reader finds himself immersed. A very hard to gain achievement. The last 100 (not the last 25) seem like a stretch, but that is OK.

~This book felt like a fever dream full of emotions & annoyance & a punch in my gut…..an endless long journey overflowing with friendships, love, grief, trauma, regrets & depression & not to forget about smoking, alcohol & drug abuse.~i loved reading the teenage life of Theo & his life in new york & LA but can’t say the same thing about the adult life of Theo.~the most unique & haunting part of this book is Theo’s relationship with his mom…..it was fascinating & i was truly sucked into this book cuz of Theo’s evocative grief & love towards his mom.~i hated adult Theo & his actions…..he was so flawed in an unlikable way. all his doings & thoughts have annoyed me very much throughout the second half of the book & until the very end !!!~ Most of the characters were very unappealing & unsympathetic for example Boris & kitsey & their relationship with theo….specifically kitsey & theo’s relationship was odd & sickening. Boris actions throughout the book left me disturbed & annoyed the heck out of me. i just wanna slap him so effing hard on his face.~Hobie, pippa, andy & andy’s mom were likable characters according to me cuz they were the supportive pillars in theo’s life ever since he lost his mom & all the way until the end of the book in his adult life.~i loved the writing…..it was very good but i also felt like it was a bit of a drag considering it’s a book over 600 pages.~i didn’t like the way author portrayed boris & theo’s relationship……like the whole ending was so unsatisfying cuz boris & theo never bothered to explain things to each other & it was just left like that as if nothing really happened. not gonna lie it was a bit boring in the second half of the book cuz theo annoys you to the point that you wanna give up on this book.~And as far the plot goes with this goldfinch painting is intriguing & the plot twist which i didn’t see coming made it even more interesting & at the end things just happened way too fast in an confusing way which i’d to read twice to comprehend what was going on.