Title: The Gold Finch
Author: Donna Tartt
A grand painting has been a fan favorite at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for generations, until a bombing is set off, and the painting presumably vanishes. Many say it must have burned in the fire, others speculate it was stolen by the raiders. However, one person knows the truth, but what he will do with it, he does not know. This person’s name is Theodore Decker, yet the multitude of problems that stem from this singular painting is only a small factor of what ultimately leads him to his downward spiral in life. This all takes place in the coming-of-age novel, The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt, which is an emotional rollercoaster of a tragic hero that constantly messes things up, leading him deeper and deeper inside the drawn-out pages. The character development within the novel was down-to-earth and harshly real. As I read through it I could not help but get frustrated as I watched the character constantly make the wrong decision. Theodore in his older years struggles with addiction, jealousy, and stealing- and without the common story trope, “Deus ex Machina,”* as a reader, you are just constantly drawn back in waiting for a happily ever after. The book tells a cut-dry story that expresses a believable narrative of a boy who turns into a man after being constantly betrayed by the world. Some things I personally could not stand was how drawn out and long the book was, at 771 pages, you are in for an extremely long time investment. The payoff at the end was definitely not a good one either. The language and situations in the novel were also extremely vulgar, and sometimes I was tempted to skip scenes solely on that factor. Other than that, the characters were extremely rounded and well-developed. I felt as if I were actually Theo living his life, and happy story or not- it was extremely well written. Overall, the book was seamlessly written, and for the topic it kept me engaged, for the most part. There were at multiple times while reading the book, that I found it unbearable because the book had a bad habit of going nowhere with the plot. The book is very drawn out, but if that’s your cup of tea by all means I recommend the book. The book has more of a mature audience, and would only be enjoyable to more sociological people who enjoy analyzing people’s character, and do not just read for the plot. So give it a read, even if it is just
for the bragging point of, “I basically read an 800-page book.”
*Deus ex Machina is a story trope that means “God from the machine” and is talking about how an unsolvable problem suddenly is solved by an abrupt and unlikely thing
Carter Corps News 