Book review of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I listened to The Goldfinch through the digital database Overdrive we offer here at the library. I had heard much about it and it has become a movie as well. I am glad I chose to listen to it rather than read it because at times it gives you so much art history and detail it might have been hard to plow through it all. I did learn a lot and I think it is an exciting at times story. It follows the life a young boy who tragically loses his mother to a terrorist attack at a museum. It demonstrates his fall to drugs and alcohol and has a lot to say philosophically about life and family. In a way it is a tragedy with all the issues this boy and young man go through. He had taken a world famous painting from the museum he was at during the bombing and keeps it with him for years. This becomes the main focus of the story that he is telling about his childhood and life. The story takes many unexpected turns and keeps you guessing throughout the book. He winds up living with an antique furniture restorer eventually and you hear and can learn much about that niche market. The people he is living with and friends with are from all spectrums of society like New York rich elites to Las Vegas gamblers and loan sharks. His best friend is a young Russian he meets at his Las Vegas school that he gets into most of his trouble with. Overall I found this a compelling story. I had to keep listening to it till I was finished. It gets much more exciting the further you get into the book. I would recommend this title. R V O’Kelly Memorial Library