tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post3354041369640427558..comments2024-03-27T18:53:47.254-04:00Comments on Staircase Wit: The Goldfinch by Donna TarttCLMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03595294217111602231noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-17644986616997591302021-05-01T22:21:12.987-04:002021-05-01T22:21:12.987-04:00This is an excellent review of one of my favorite ...This is an excellent review of one of my favorite books -- although I have to say, it was only my favorite once I reached the end. Most of it made me mad - so many poor choices! so many chances to take a different path! But in the end, I thought it was a beautiful commentary on the truly transformative power of art. Loved reading your thoughts. Suzanne | A Novel Projecthttp://www.anovelproject.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-87463546303331490712021-04-16T20:31:52.014-04:002021-04-16T20:31:52.014-04:00Any book this long, I think there's an argumen...Any book this long, I think there's an argument for it to have been shorter. But, I was wholly and completely content to inhabit that world for as long as there were words to read about it. I remember staying in bed way too long on a Sunday morning, keeping the whole family waiting for breakfast while it was assumed that I was "sleeping in", to finish the last few pages and feeling bereft when I was done. I do remember that there were storylines in it that I enjoyed more than others, but I just ambled on and on with all of them. I'd forgotten about the film (maybe because I just didn't think a film that short could contain all that magic) but I will give it a go. Buried In Printhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00808249065026802365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-23752560716646997182021-04-12T16:37:50.958-04:002021-04-12T16:37:50.958-04:00Constance: Thanks for such a thorough and well th...Constance: Thanks for such a thorough and well thought out review (almost like a legal brief!) I agree that this book is compelling but somewhat short of a literary masterpiece. What makes The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby masterpieces and The Goldfinch merely “compelling”? I suppose that’s in the secret sauce. Having said that, I do think that Donna Tartt is one of the best if not the best contemporary American writers, and I cannot wait until her next book which, if her trend continues, should be sometime in the next decade. Thanks again for your review.Lamar Fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07528722559122138553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-89454953014496040322021-04-09T13:02:00.997-04:002021-04-09T13:02:00.997-04:00Karen, I agree that after pulling it out of the pi...Karen, I agree that after pulling it out of the pillowcase so often in Las Vegas, it is not convincing he would not have looked at it once before putting it in storage. I think she could have come up with some reason.<br /><br />Also, if he wrote to Mrs. Barbour and Andy and Hobie and (I think) Pippa from Las Vegas, he should have sent a postcard to his doormen. If he had left the picture back in the storage room (as I wanted him to), I suppose one of them would have had to open it, assuming they even remembered it was his, given they had deliberately not recorded it in the book. Given they did not have his address, who knows what would have happened to the painting?<br /><br />I don't think going to NYC to see the painting is an extravagant trip! That is one of the reasons people visit New York! I wish I hadn't been so oblivious at the time.<br /><br />Judy, I definitely didn't love this book but I am still thinking about it, a week after finishing it so that is one of the measures of a good book! I am giving my copy to my sister-in-law although she paled when I told her how long it is. Well, if I had three children, I am sure I would read fewer books.CLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03595294217111602231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-20130268370613304982021-04-08T13:13:58.205-04:002021-04-08T13:13:58.205-04:00I liked this one and read through it in just a cou...I liked this one and read through it in just a couple of days when it first came out. I also have a few quibbles -- why didn't he look at it for years? Why didn't he just anonymously return it? And I remember he had a cell phone at 13, back in the early 2000s when that was pretty uncommon for a kid. I also didn't like he ending, all I remember was Russian mobsters. <br /><br />I also love the painting and confess I made a special trip to New York just to see the exhibit (I had vacation days to use up or lose, and airline miles, so it wasn't as extravagant as it sounds). The exhibit also included Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, another painting featured in book I loved. Both paintings are absolutely worth seeing, if you're ever in the Netherlands it's worth the side trip to the Mauritshuis, less than an hour by train from Amsterdam.Karen K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13483190930383406559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-46322547439769509302021-04-08T13:12:26.529-04:002021-04-08T13:12:26.529-04:00When I was leaving a prior organization, one of my...When I was leaving a prior organization, one of my seniors at work gifted me a card, quoting various sections from Goldfinch. Goldfinch has languished on my TBR too since then. I'm guessing the book is more about some wonderfully worded passages/ human insight, than any main plotline itself. This makes me interested but also wary about the length! The movie is on Amazon Prime, in case you want to do a comparison!<br />~LexLex @ Lexlinguahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02251881629769380423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-83078897455836291412021-04-08T11:58:53.894-04:002021-04-08T11:58:53.894-04:00It never fails to add to my store of reading happi...It never fails to add to my store of reading happiness when another person reads and loves The Goldfinch. Judy Kruegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11632346091869688862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-63742109502802274222021-04-07T20:19:57.808-04:002021-04-07T20:19:57.808-04:00As I said in my review, I think the novel is a per...As I said in my review, I think the novel is a perception challenge. I ended up loving it, although like you and everyone else here in the comments, I found the drug-taking-with-Boris section slow going. https://necromancyneverpays.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/the-goldfinch/Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975028272143207826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-30343664447655456652021-04-07T13:08:27.055-04:002021-04-07T13:08:27.055-04:00I have to admit, it's the length of this one, ...I have to admit, it's the length of this one, and some mixed reviews I've read, that makes me hesitate to pick this one up. And if the story meanders, too...I'm not sure I'd like this one.Lark https://www.blogger.com/profile/13777891312147377769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-28302555004581831962021-04-07T08:32:14.503-04:002021-04-07T08:32:14.503-04:00I'm definitely glad I read it but it is an unu...I'm definitely glad I read it but it is an unusual book and it was an odd experience starting it as an audiobook and finishing with the hardcover. I hadn't thought about it before but perhaps part of my goal in switching was so I could skim over the drinking and drugs. Shortly after I had started it, my book group met and I suggested we read it for April because I could already tell I would want to discuss it with someone. Alas, most had read it when it came out. It is too bad because some of the best conversations come when people have mixed reactions to a book, so long as they finish it! Thanks for reading my review!CLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03595294217111602231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3013114232214923198.post-15933479713656755372021-04-07T06:17:40.552-04:002021-04-07T06:17:40.552-04:00Well, that's by far and away the best review o...Well, that's by far and away the best review of The Goldfinch I've read, Constance. I've not been able to make up my mind about reading it, I love the art connection but reviews have been so mixed, plus I'm not great with a lot of boozing and drug taking in books. I could skim over that I suppose. On the whole are you glad you read it? I liked The Secret History but I definitely did not love it to bits. And there's this, I often find I grow more by reading less than perfect books as long as there's plenty there to keep me thinking and pondering. Cathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06371069000185280668noreply@blogger.com