“The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt – An Adventure with No Destination

Theo is a young boy of thirteen years of age when his mother dies in a terrible accident. Not long after, he is left all alone as his father simply bails on him.

Thankfully, Theo did have a friend there to help him out, leading him to move with a wealthy family far above his own social class, becoming absorbed in their lives all while harboring feelings of complete alienation.

Theo desperately clings to a precious painting, the one and only memory left of his mother on this Earth, which eventually sets him on a collision course with the fabulous world of underground art, shaping his life forevermore.

Such is the premise of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (it was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction), and it basically tells us in the form of numerous short stories Theo’s life, from his adolescence all the way to his adulthood, as he embarks on a globetrotting adventure, alongside his Ukrainian friend Boris and his other eccentric friend, Hobie, in search of that missing painting that was left to him by his mother.

The Goldfinch is certainly a controversial book; on one hand many people seem to adore it and it did win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction… but on the other hand, many people seem to intensely dislike it with rather interesting, and at times even convincing criticisms. In other words, you are either going to hate this book or love it.

On one hand, the story is nothing short of unique and intricately-developed, the pace, flow and structure of the whole thing will drag you in and keep your eyes glued to the pages, while the characters all have something to add to the enjoyment, especially the protagonist and his sidekicks, all three of them being oddballs and, for lack of better words, unique specimens.

On the other hand, there are clunky sentences here and there, seemingly wanton and questionable descriptions of drug abuse, a lack of research in regards to various official procedures and the mental capabilities of children, and storylines that seem to end up nowhere. Though these do sound like important problems, I believe that knowing about them beforehand can really help one to enjoy the book.

If this book has the kind of story you are looking for, one that explores the human mind, love and friendship all while offering an exciting, urgent and at times humorous adventure, then I highly suggest you check it out despite its flaws.

Yes, some parts of the book are indeed cringe-worthy (at least in my humble opinion), but if you can look past them you will find a novel with a lot of interesting ideas and heartwarming entertainment to offer.

There is a lot in here about the human condition, motherly love, the importance of true friendship, the nature of art, how deceiving appearances can really be, the impact our memories have on us, our propensity to think about “what could have been”, and more.

All in all, The Goldfinch is a superb book that in my opinion is right up there with the other Pulitzer winners of the past, and though it has its flaws, the patient and open-minded reader can easily overlook them and draw from this book everything it has to offer. I can do nothing but recommend it to those who think they can get past those small hurdles.

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Donna Tartt Donna Tartt is an American author who is known to take her time to weave long, large and complex novels, with her better-known ones including The Little Friend, which win the WH Smith Literary Award in 2003, and The Goldfinch, for which she was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.