I also was able to do the audio as Overdrive had it available.

I've had this on my tbr for awhile but because of the length, I kept putting it off, but with the tag 2013 and also a category of book about art on a bingo card, this was the perfect opportunity to get this one read. There is also a movie based on the book coming out this September- so I'm quite excited for that! I was also incredibly partial to the character of Boris: the amoral, drug-addled Russian/Kiwi ex-pat, who has an ambiguous but all-encompassing relationship with Theo.

It explores themes of moral responsibility, grief, survival, legacy, and the role art plays in the course of history and memory.Ĭonsidering the history of Carel Fabritius and his work, I like how the Goldfinch is used as a metaphor for unlikely survival and a testament to legacy. Theo and the painting change hands over the following years, with this event profoundly affecting the course of his life. 'The Goldfinch', follows Theo Decker from childhood to young-adulthood after his mother dies in a terrorist attack at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he escapes with the titular painting by Carel Fabritius. I think it may be because these books are essentially exactly what I would have wanted to read as a pretentious teenager, and I'm allowing myself to indulge in that.

I can see how these elements may be grating to some people, but I enjoy them immensely. I previously loved 'The Secret History', and I enjoyed this Tartt novel for many of the same reasons: the allusions to art and philosophy, the intrigue of crime, the amoral and grandiose characters, the combination of ennui and unfulfilled glorious purpose. This is one of the new 2018 editions to the list, and I feel like it was a justified addition. I couldn't find this book in the index list or when searching previous discussions: so I guess I'm making it now! (let me know if I goofed on this, so I can move this to the right place :)):

Goodreads the goldfinch