I read the Goldfinch a few years ago now and enjoyed it…but struggled with it more than The Secret History, which I loved. But, my gosh, your post is inspired - and inspiring. You have an incredible talent for this: an in-depth book review that puts traditional literary criticism to one side and engages with the book as it is. And entertaining too 😁
I read all of Tartt's books this year and I'm loving your reviews! I just found your The Little Friend review (which helped me love the book more), and by coincidence this was just posted! The Goldfinch might be my favorite stand-alone novel ever, only rivaled by TSH. Tartt's books always leave me thinking for weeks. I wrote pages and pages of thoughts in a journal and your video still gave me more to think about!
I also read all of Tartt’s novels last year. I really enjoy her style, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. Thank you for watching. So glad to know my reviews were helpful.
The audiobook was wonderful. So many things became clear in a different way than when I read it. The story is one of the few that I recommend to everyone I know. And I know some say it was a bit cliche, but I guess I haven't read enough modern "literature" to notice. Great review! Thanks! I learned a lot.
Every time someone talk to me about this book it's a Love or Hate situation. I really really like The Secret History (this book just grows in my mind since I finished it). And this awesome video just made me put The Goldfinch on the top of my list! Wow! I mean... this discussion... well, more than 'just' a story, this is what I could love in a book. Great... Great video!
Thank you for watching. Let me know your thoughts when you get to read The Goldfinch. The Secret History is my favourite Tartt novel I think, but I do love all her works for different reasons. I can’t wait to read what she puts out next.
I've read 64 books this year, and the two Tartt books I read (the secret history and the goldfinch) are in the top 5 of all of them for me. Have you read them yet? Since your comment was 10 months ago. I find a lot of the criticisms of her work to be really pretentious, while claiming her work itself is pretentious. I wish more people could just appreciate a thing for what it is. Her work has spoken to me deeply, especially the goldfinch. Probably because of the themes of traumatic childhood and addiction etc. Maybe it's hard to see the value without those experiences, idk. I'd love to hear what you thought of them though!
Update. I forgot that I said I would try My Little Friend first. My wife & I were visiting my daughter in NJ and visited the Montclair Community Library, where I picked up The Goldfinch and started to read it. The middle part was a bit tedious, but I think it did deserve the Pulitzer. Wonder if Tartt is into the high degree of drug use that Theo is involved with. He is certainly a very damaged character. But Tartt really gets you thinking about character, morality, destiny. I think The Goldfinch is the best book I've read lately.
Fantastic discussion. I confess to having been skeptical of Tartt for a while partially based on the dark academia memery that goes on around her work, but I figure it's time to give her a real try. Your theory about Tartt playing super high level mind games with the cliches and such is really fascinating.
If you ever read her work I recommend reading it in consecutive order. It’s what I did and it really left me feeling conflicted and a bit confused with the Goldfinch. I’m sure my theory is not mainstream, but Tartt is no hack, so I trust she did it on purpose. There has been a lot of expectations placed on her right from her first novel considering the advance the publisher gave her, but she is reclusive. She only comes out to promote her book during first publication and then she disappears again. I think she is an artist and so I think she is talking to both the reader and her critics in The Goldfinch. But that’s just my opinion. Thank you for watching. Let me know you thoughts if you decide to read her.
Excellent analysis. I found myself wondering if Goldfinch was literature proper about halfway through. Like Secret History, I found myself wanting a greater development of the “big ideas” (eg aesthetics, anti-natalism, beauty). But by the end (like Secret History) I was more than satisfied with how they were treated. Now, I wonder if Tartt had been reading Simone Weil - reading her thoughts about the relationship between beauty and suffering/affliction and how they “unselve” us and in so doing, bring us into relationship with the transcendent.
Like those below, I like your reviews. I was in the library two days ago and picked up The Goldfinch, but decided to borrow Seishi Yokomizo' The Honjin Murders, instead. So I watched your review to see if I had made a mistake, somehow. I am sipping vodka so your interesting discussion is a bit above my head at present, but I am still impressed. I guess I need to see if I can find My Little Friend before I try The Goldfinch. You do amazing reviews.
Awe! Thank you so much. I've never read any Yokomizo, but I looked it up and it sounds good. You will have to let me know what you think of it after you read it. I would love to get more Japanese authors on my radar. I made a spoiler free review of The Little Friend. That's one of my favourite novels but it's quite polarizing. Oooooweee! Sipping some vodka? Wait for me! 😉🙃
@@ItsTooLatetoApologize I went on to read both the Honjin Murders and The Inugami Curse. I realized on starting the later that I had actually seen a screen adaptation. Fortunately, my memory is below average so that seeing the movie did not detract from the reading experience. I would recommend that if you do read Yokomizo that The Inugami Curse is a better choice as it is much more fully developed story. I watched Joe Rose's interview of Tartt and now I definitely have to read something by her. After hearing that interview, I watched your commentary again.
Finally i finished it, and by the end i was impatient to finish it. I liked it but it didnt grab me. Took me a while. I dont like Theo and his decisions were very questionable for such an educated and intelligent and good looking young man. I like Boris but his talking around the bushes unnerved me, specially by the end when i wanted to know what was going on, i suppose that was some comedy relief but still. Theres other things but i dont want to spoil it for anyone. I liked it overall but didnt kill me. The Secret History is in my top ten of all time and am very eager to read The Little Friend. Take care.
If I was judging Donna Tartt’s novels based on just the writing, my ranking would be: 1. The Secret History 2. The Little Friend 3. The Goldfinch Theo made some very poor choices, but he was a very flawed person. Everyone was flawed, which was good. I liked Boris. Lol!! I liked the theme of stunted development that one could see in all the characters. There is what everyone sees and then there is the prisoner inside, trapped in their own world , just like the Goldfinch.
@@ItsTooLatetoApologize Its funny how one of the most memorable things of The Goldfinch for me was Theo's mom. I have such a clear picture in my mind of that beautiful , cool, cultivated woman, trying to make ends meet for his son. How it made me sad thinking what a shame that life was cut short. And loved the humanity of the guys at the building, the doorman, janitor, etc. Theres some great things about this book, it just didnt grab me as i was expecting but still very happy i read it.
@@carlosbranca8080 I agree, I somehow didn’t connect with it as much as I did with Tartt’s other two novels, but I still enjoyed reading it. Those lobby guys felt so real. As if I knew those guys in real life. Same thing with Boris. For all the critics calling those characters cliche, I know those people in real life. So what does that say? Boris gets a lot of criticism especially, but ironically the criticisms of his character and how some would “fix” him would only make him 2 dimensional and more cliché. 🤷🏻♀️
Enjoyed it at the beginning but once it hit the Las Vegas stage and the sadistic Russian father, nausea began to set in and I finally threw the novel in the trash!
I read The Goldfinch, but I don't recall it at all. I don't know what that means other than it must not have connected with or moved me. Deserving of the Pulitzer? That's for others to argue. The Road won and is arguably "genre fiction."
Why is being heavy handed bad? How is the goldfinch cliche? Why is your position on the book being cliche not worthy of challenge or examples? And could it nor be said that a novel which sparks a philosophical debate about the meaning of art...is worthy of the Pulitzer prize?
Many people may enjoy heavy handed writing. I’m not a fan of it myself as it feels as if the writer is trying to speak directly to the reader instead of the story speaking to the reader. The only part I would consider heavy handed in the novel is the conversation Theo has with Boris at the end of the novel. It’s basically Boris talking for 2 whole pages and it shows us what the whole book and Theo’s journey was about. It’s conflicting because while I loved the conversation, it was very uncharacteristic of Boris’s character. He never spoke like that throughout the whole novel.(I think this conversation happens around page 740) How is the Goldfinch cliche? I saw it in the metaphors (I can’t remember the metaphors off the top of my head right now as it’s been a while since I read it) used in several places, but as I said, I think Tartt was being intentionally cliché as all art is a copy of reality. Some critics thought that the characters like Boris and the building staff were cliche also but I didn’t feel that way. My position about this book is not worthy or above anything. I was attempting to defend The Goldfinch against the critics who claim that it’s popularity means that fine literature is dying. I thought The Goldfinch was very self aware and that alone really impressed me. I think The Goldfinch *was* worthy of the Pulitzer as opposed to many of the critics I quoted. The fact that this book was a debate about the meaning of art and that critics refuse to call this book art even though it tackled these topics in very interesting and thought provoking ways is very ironic to me.
I read the Goldfinch a few years ago now and enjoyed it…but struggled with it more than The Secret History, which I loved. But, my gosh, your post is inspired - and inspiring. You have an incredible talent for this: an in-depth book review that puts traditional literary criticism to one side and engages with the book as it is. And entertaining too 😁
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words. They make the effort, writing, and research all worthwhile.
You deserve a more attention and subscribers. By far the best atmosphere for literature lovers out there. Thank you for doing what you love.
Thank you for your kind words and welcome to my channel. ☺️
I read all of Tartt's books this year and I'm loving your reviews! I just found your The Little Friend review (which helped me love the book more), and by coincidence this was just posted! The Goldfinch might be my favorite stand-alone novel ever, only rivaled by TSH. Tartt's books always leave me thinking for weeks. I wrote pages and pages of thoughts in a journal and your video still gave me more to think about!
I also read all of Tartt’s novels last year. I really enjoy her style, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. Thank you for watching. So glad to know my reviews were helpful.
The audiobook was wonderful. So many things became clear in a different way than when I read it. The story is one of the few that I recommend to everyone I know. And I know some say it was a bit cliche, but I guess I haven't read enough modern "literature" to notice.
Great review! Thanks! I learned a lot.
Thank you for watching!
Every time someone talk to me about this book it's a Love or Hate situation. I really really like The Secret History (this book just grows in my mind since I finished it). And this awesome video just made me put The Goldfinch on the top of my list! Wow! I mean... this discussion... well, more than 'just' a story, this is what I could love in a book. Great... Great video!
Thank you for watching. Let me know your thoughts when you get to read The Goldfinch. The Secret History is my favourite Tartt novel I think, but I do love all her works for different reasons. I can’t wait to read what she puts out next.
Oh i loved this. mixing a book review with a "take" on a artistic perspective was so cool. This was really well thought-out and executed!
Thanks, Brandon.
I really need to read Tartt. This video is magnificent. As usual!
Thanks, Micheal. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts if you ever do read some Tartt.
I've read 64 books this year, and the two Tartt books I read (the secret history and the goldfinch) are in the top 5 of all of them for me. Have you read them yet? Since your comment was 10 months ago. I find a lot of the criticisms of her work to be really pretentious, while claiming her work itself is pretentious. I wish more people could just appreciate a thing for what it is. Her work has spoken to me deeply, especially the goldfinch. Probably because of the themes of traumatic childhood and addiction etc. Maybe it's hard to see the value without those experiences, idk. I'd love to hear what you thought of them though!
@@MissSeaShell sadly I still haven’t!
Update. I forgot that I said I would try My Little Friend first. My wife & I were visiting my daughter in NJ and visited the Montclair Community Library, where I picked up The Goldfinch and started to read it. The middle part was a bit tedious, but I think it did deserve the Pulitzer. Wonder if Tartt is into the high degree of drug use that Theo is involved with. He is certainly a very damaged character. But Tartt really gets you thinking about character, morality, destiny. I think The Goldfinch is the best book I've read lately.
Tartt really gets me thinking.
Fantastic discussion. I confess to having been skeptical of Tartt for a while partially based on the dark academia memery that goes on around her work, but I figure it's time to give her a real try. Your theory about Tartt playing super high level mind games with the cliches and such is really fascinating.
If you ever read her work I recommend reading it in consecutive order. It’s what I did and it really left me feeling conflicted and a bit confused with the Goldfinch. I’m sure my theory is not mainstream, but Tartt is no hack, so I trust she did it on purpose. There has been a lot of expectations placed on her right from her first novel considering the advance the publisher gave her, but she is reclusive. She only comes out to promote her book during first publication and then she disappears again. I think she is an artist and so I think she is talking to both the reader and her critics in The Goldfinch. But that’s just my opinion. Thank you for watching. Let me know you thoughts if you decide to read her.
Thank you for the review I really enjoyed it.
I read the goldfinch and I like it, maybe it’s not a life changing story but I think it’s art!
Thank you for watching. Tartt’s novel always make me sit and think about them for awhile.
You think I give a damn about a Grammy?
Half of you critics cant even stomach me
Let alone stand me
OMG! This may be the best comment I’ve ever received. LMAO!! Tartt with the mic drop! Bravo 👏👏👏
Excellent analysis. I found myself wondering if Goldfinch was literature proper about halfway through. Like Secret History, I found myself wanting a greater development of the “big ideas” (eg aesthetics, anti-natalism, beauty). But by the end (like Secret History) I was more than satisfied with how they were treated. Now, I wonder if Tartt had been reading Simone Weil - reading her thoughts about the relationship between beauty and suffering/affliction and how they “unselve” us and in so doing, bring us into relationship with the transcendent.
Like those below, I like your reviews. I was in the library two days ago and picked up The Goldfinch, but decided to borrow Seishi Yokomizo' The Honjin Murders, instead. So I watched your review to see if I had made a mistake, somehow. I am sipping vodka so your interesting discussion is a bit above my head at present, but I am still impressed. I guess I need to see if I can find My Little Friend before I try The Goldfinch. You do amazing reviews.
Awe! Thank you so much. I've never read any Yokomizo, but I looked it up and it sounds good. You will have to let me know what you think of it after you read it. I would love to get more Japanese authors on my radar. I made a spoiler free review of The Little Friend. That's one of my favourite novels but it's quite polarizing. Oooooweee! Sipping some vodka? Wait for me! 😉🙃
@@ItsTooLatetoApologize I went on to read both the Honjin Murders and The Inugami Curse. I realized on starting the later that I had actually seen a screen adaptation. Fortunately, my memory is below average so that seeing the movie did not detract from the reading experience. I would recommend that if you do read Yokomizo that The Inugami Curse is a better choice as it is much more fully developed story. I watched Joe Rose's interview of Tartt and now I definitely have to read something by her. After hearing that interview, I watched your commentary again.
Watched every single second.. thank you
Ultimately became completely impatient with the book
That’s understandable, it’s pretty slow going there for awhile.
Finally i finished it, and by the end i was impatient to finish it. I liked it but it didnt grab me. Took me a while. I dont like Theo and his decisions were very questionable for such an educated and intelligent and good looking young man. I like Boris but his talking around the bushes unnerved me, specially by the end when i wanted to know what was going on, i suppose that was some comedy relief but still. Theres other things but i dont want to spoil it for anyone. I liked it overall but didnt kill me. The Secret History is in my top ten of all time and am very eager to read The Little Friend. Take care.
If I was judging Donna Tartt’s novels based on just the writing, my ranking would be:
1. The Secret History
2. The Little Friend
3. The Goldfinch
Theo made some very poor choices, but he was a very flawed person. Everyone was flawed, which was good. I liked Boris. Lol!! I liked the theme of stunted development that one could see in all the characters. There is what everyone sees and then there is the prisoner inside, trapped in their own world , just like the Goldfinch.
@@ItsTooLatetoApologize Its funny how one of the most memorable things of The Goldfinch for me was Theo's mom. I have such a clear picture in my mind of that beautiful , cool, cultivated woman, trying to make ends meet for his son. How it made me sad thinking what a shame that life was cut short. And loved the humanity of the guys at the building, the doorman, janitor, etc. Theres some great things about this book, it just didnt grab me as i was expecting but still very happy i read it.
@@carlosbranca8080 I agree, I somehow didn’t connect with it as much as I did with Tartt’s other two novels, but I still enjoyed reading it. Those lobby guys felt so real. As if I knew those guys in real life. Same thing with Boris. For all the critics calling those characters cliche, I know those people in real life. So what does that say? Boris gets a lot of criticism especially, but ironically the criticisms of his character and how some would “fix” him would only make him 2 dimensional and more cliché. 🤷🏻♀️
I have a love/hate relationship with Donna Tartt.
Where exactly are these cliches?
Enjoyed it at the beginning but once it hit the Las Vegas stage and the sadistic Russian father, nausea began to set in and I finally threw the novel in the trash!
Thanks!
Thank you so much.
I read The Goldfinch, but I don't recall it at all. I don't know what that means other than it must not have connected with or moved me.
Deserving of the Pulitzer? That's for others to argue. The Road won and is arguably "genre fiction."
I can't argue what deserves a prize and what doesn't but the critics always make me wonder about their process.
Why is being heavy handed bad? How is the goldfinch cliche? Why is your position on the book being cliche not worthy of challenge or examples? And could it nor be said that a novel which sparks a philosophical debate about the meaning of art...is worthy of the Pulitzer prize?
Many people may enjoy heavy handed writing. I’m not a fan of it myself as it feels as if the writer is trying to speak directly to the reader instead of the story speaking to the reader. The only part I would consider heavy handed in the novel is the conversation Theo has with Boris at the end of the novel. It’s basically Boris talking for 2 whole pages and it shows us what the whole book and Theo’s journey was about. It’s conflicting because while I loved the conversation, it was very uncharacteristic of Boris’s character. He never spoke like that throughout the whole novel.(I think this conversation happens around page 740) How is the Goldfinch cliche? I saw it in the metaphors (I can’t remember the metaphors off the top of my head right now as it’s been a while since I read it) used in several places, but as I said, I think Tartt was being intentionally cliché as all art is a copy of reality. Some critics thought that the characters like Boris and the building staff were cliche also but I didn’t feel that way. My position about this book is not worthy or above anything. I was attempting to defend The Goldfinch against the critics who claim that it’s popularity means that fine literature is dying. I thought The Goldfinch was very self aware and that alone really impressed me. I think The Goldfinch *was* worthy of the Pulitzer as opposed to many of the critics I quoted. The fact that this book was a debate about the meaning of art and that critics refuse to call this book art even though it tackled these topics in very interesting and thought provoking ways is very ironic to me.
The film wasn’t bad.
I haven't watched the film yet. I'll have to hunt it down.