A – Z Book Reviews

I love fiction novels that show the eb and flows of relationships. There is something about getting to know the characters, with all their faults, and see them develop their relationships through each chapter. Children growing older, marriages on the throws of divorce, friends working through a tragedy… I love the relationship arch almost as much as the story plot itself. I especially love when the relationship arch IS the story plot.

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt, does just that. It brings you so fully into the life of a young boy, Theo, who finds himself alone with no parents after a disastrous end to a trip to the museum with his mother. You get to know him, you feel for him, you long for him to find his happiness. Theo loses his mother, has an absent father, and found himself as the owner (not quite legally), of a very, very valuable painting. This ownership brings him into the (sometimes quite dark and scary), world of the underground art community.

I found myself so engulfed in this book that I almost lost sight of my own reality. I felt like I truly developed a sense of the art culture (not really, I actually don’t have an artistic bone in my body). Though this book brought me into the artistic world and made me WANT to visit museums and build my art repertoire. Prior to reading this book, I never thought much of the art world. But that is the thing with novels; they bring you into a world you never thought you would enter. The sign of a GREAT novel is one that pulls you deep into a new topic, introduces new thoughts, and expands horizons that you thought fixed.

The Goldfinch is a must read. It is always my first recommendation to someone who says they need a new book. Donna Tartt has a few really good ones (The Secret History is my second favorite!). It’s an incredibly disturbing twist to reality but equally enticing and engaging. Donna Tartt has proven to be the type of author that once you read one of her books, you want to read them all.