The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

My daughter wanted to read The Goldfinch after watching the movie, and we’re both glad she did. The book adds so much more depth and detail to the story. While the film captures the main plot, the novel really explores Theo’s inner world, his grief, and the long-term impact of loss in a way the movie simply doesn’t have time to show. The writing is layered and descriptive, with rich character development that makes the story feel more immersive. The relationships — especially the complicated friendships and family dynamics — feel more nuanced on the page. It’s definitely a heavier, more mature read, but for anyone who connected with the movie, the book offers a much fuller experience. There’s more backstory, more emotional insight, and more complexity surrounding the painting and how it shapes Theo’s life. If you enjoyed the movie, the book is worth reading — it provides a deeper understanding of the characters and brings far more context to the story.

I read the ebook version of The Goldfinch and I can imagine that the print version is heavy! That was a big book! I think I can mention the plot here without giving away any spoilers; tween boy Theo loses his Mother in a terrorist bombing at an art gallery and in the process, gains a priceless painting. His life is then completely changed by this event. The two things in this book that I love the most are the rich characters and the imagery. Sometimes when I read a book I get so involved in it that I take on the moods of the characters, and that was the case with me regarding Theo. His mental chaos and depression was so clearly drawn that I had to take a break from reading now and again and do some happy things to shake off the bad mood. And then we have Boris, who is in his own words "a bit of this a bit of that", not good, not evil, just very pure and earnest even when he is doing the worst things. My visual on Theo's appearance was a big vague but Boris, you can see him, you can even SMELL him, he is so visually rich. The relationship between Theo and Boris is the greatest "bromance" that I have ever read between two male characters without veering into homosexuality (you may argue with me on that, but I agree with Boris that some teenage indescretions are just a passing phase). The women in this book are the only characters who are more two dimensional, but I believe that was intentional as a representation of how Theo's relationships with women are hopelessly at arms length due to losing his mother at such a formative time in his life (they are either on a pedestal or drugged up floozies, no middle ground). I found it interesting that I did not notice until the end that the author is a woman; I had assumed that I was reading a male voice. I think it takes quite a bit of restraint for a flesh and blood woman to write a character of her own gender as flat and actually thats pretty brilliant. But the men... I mean even the dog (who's extended life span was a bit of artistic license in my opinion) had a rich personality! The tragedy in Theo's life made me cry for him, especially when he asks how he came to be a boy on his own with no one to love him. And then we have the imagery and prose. Wow. It was stunning. It took me longer than usual to read this book because at so many points I had to stop and re-read passages because they were so beautiful. There were passages in there that I believe probably took days/weeks to write because they are so technically perfect. It amazes me that a person can be walking around with this kind of imagery in their brain and then it becomes this book. Incredible. You can approach this book from two points of view. For pure entertainment value, the characters as I mentioned are fantastic, the story is tragic and well written and very visual. I believe someone will make a movie of this book, and thats too bad because I already know that it can't be done properly without alot of background narration that would become annoying. And casting Boris acurately, well, good luck with that! The suspense that Theo experiences making it his life's work to hide a painting is very good. The wacky Dan Brown-ish ending with the criminal underworld in Amsterdam was very good too. The plot has one lagging point, when Theo goes through his young adult drug phase in New York. I found myself getting impatient with this part, but in hindsight I think even the lag was intentional, as you need to feel the aimless fog that Theo was in at that point in his life. I agree with the review from Fan that there are some major errors regarding the timeline and existing technology, and for that reason and the lag I removed one star. I did notice a few little plot lines that veered off into nowhere towards the end (what happened to the coat?), and honestly if I was writing this book, I would do it too because I would just be tired! its huge! The other way to approach it is to view it as an author's craft. And I think from a craft point of view, The Goldfinch earns it's applause as a modern classic. It was so, so well done. I would love to know more about how it was written, how long it took, and the research process. Stunning prose aside, there is a ton of factual knowledge in this book that would have taken years to research, such as foreign languages, furniture making, art history, and on and on. As others have mentioned, this book ends with what is basically a manifesto about mortality, fate, morality and art that almost feels like it is separate from the book. It was a great way to end the book because it brings Theo's life struggle full circle and makes you think about the bigger picture. In that moment I realized that Theo and Boris are really representative of two different approachs to managing one's own mortality. I could go on, but I'll just say that you could create a university class around this book and write a really great thesis yourself! So yes, read it, carve out some time, find yourself some happy activities between book segments :-) and be patient. You will love it.

I am so happy to have discovered Donna Tartt, and specially, THE GOLDFINCH. I adored this book. The writing is a masterpiece. The way the author magically blends ideas into words with no cliché at all, is pure beauty. I feel as if I were just discovering the different sensations that words can create. I loved it not because of the story but because of the writing. I am not saying that the story was not interesting. However, the beauty of the ideas, the development of the characters, very specially THEO, BORIS and PIPPA (loved HOBBIE but I feel he was like a pillar, so maybe the only one which we do not see evolving, and that because he had already reached this calm state). I truly believe that ANY STORY has a limit, humanity, individuals, have gone through a limited number of stories sort of. However, the BLENDING of IDEAS, of these mere stories INTO WRITING IS JUST INFINITE. And that is how the same story or stories can be told in so many ways. But only a true genius is capable of going out of himself or herself and view things in such a unique way as THE GOLDFINCH depicts.

Amazing book, loved it

This book enticed me in. Stunningly beautiful prose, the way things are written set the scene both visually and emotionally. The story was a curious one, guarding a painting is almost not the focus at all, but everything that happens around it. I really was touched and cried at many parts, invested as I was in the characters loves and losses. Makes sense as you get to know them so deeply, you feel as if you truly met them at sometime or other. I put this book down stunned, feeling like a simpleton and wishing more than anything I could write half as well as Tartt, just to express how wonderful the book truly is. If you're a worldly curious person interested in the inner dreams and motivations of people unknown, this is for you. If you need to be led to the point immediately, you should probably pass, as this takes you the long way round, but for me it's well worth taking.

I bought a paperback one right after I finished reading it on Kindle as I wanted to understand it better and I loved all the characters in the book. It is worth reading multiple times.

Ainda não li, mas queria mostrar como é a versão econômica