Teenager Theo Decker loses his mother in a museum bombing in
New York, and this event pretty much defines his life. First, there’s the obvious loss of his
mother, and his father is a deadbeat dad, whereabouts unknown. Then there’s the matter of an old man,
mortally injured in the explosion, who gives Theo a ring and some encouragement
to make off with a 17th century painting—The Goldfinch by Carel
Fabritius. Finally, Theo has a bad case
of PTSD that causes him to find solace in drugs and alcohol, but actually he
probably has a death wish. At first, he
can’t quite grasp the idea that he can’t continue living in the apartment that
he shared with his mother. For a time,
he lives with his school chum Andy Barbour, whose family is dysfunctional but
with mega financial resources to cushion the blow. Next Theo finds himself in the Las Vegas
outburbs where he becomes fast friends with Boris, who has also lost his
mother. Finally, he takes a bus back to
New York, painting in tow, along with a small dog, hidden in a paper bag. Theo’s next living situation is his best so
far—with Hobie, furniture restorer and business partner of the old man who died
in the museum. I was not surprised to
learn that Tartt is a great admirer of Dickens, because Theo is basically a
hapless kid, surrounded by colorful but not-so-helpful influences, who finds
his niche in the world by underhandedly selling Hobie’s rebuilt antiques as the
real thing. He gets Hobie out of debt, at
the expense of potentially sullying his reputation. When a sinister character starts threatening
Theo with revealing all of his dirty deeds, including Theo’s theft of a certain
lost work of art, Theo’s world starts to unravel. Our next setting is Amsterdam, where things
really get dicey. Although most of the
novel takes place in New York, sort of a safe haven for Theo, the seedy and
contrasting backdrops of Amsterdam (dark and watery) and Nevada (sunny and
desolate) make for perfect locales for a variety of criminal activities and
reading pleasures. Certainly the length
of this book is a bit of a downside, but I never felt that reading it was a
chore. On the contrary, I had to find
out if Theo could get his head on straight, despite Boris’s unexpected
intrusions, luring Theo back to the dark side.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt
Teenager Theo Decker loses his mother in a museum bombing in
New York, and this event pretty much defines his life. First, there’s the obvious loss of his
mother, and his father is a deadbeat dad, whereabouts unknown. Then there’s the matter of an old man,
mortally injured in the explosion, who gives Theo a ring and some encouragement
to make off with a 17th century painting—The Goldfinch by Carel
Fabritius. Finally, Theo has a bad case
of PTSD that causes him to find solace in drugs and alcohol, but actually he
probably has a death wish. At first, he
can’t quite grasp the idea that he can’t continue living in the apartment that
he shared with his mother. For a time,
he lives with his school chum Andy Barbour, whose family is dysfunctional but
with mega financial resources to cushion the blow. Next Theo finds himself in the Las Vegas
outburbs where he becomes fast friends with Boris, who has also lost his
mother. Finally, he takes a bus back to
New York, painting in tow, along with a small dog, hidden in a paper bag. Theo’s next living situation is his best so
far—with Hobie, furniture restorer and business partner of the old man who died
in the museum. I was not surprised to
learn that Tartt is a great admirer of Dickens, because Theo is basically a
hapless kid, surrounded by colorful but not-so-helpful influences, who finds
his niche in the world by underhandedly selling Hobie’s rebuilt antiques as the
real thing. He gets Hobie out of debt, at
the expense of potentially sullying his reputation. When a sinister character starts threatening
Theo with revealing all of his dirty deeds, including Theo’s theft of a certain
lost work of art, Theo’s world starts to unravel. Our next setting is Amsterdam, where things
really get dicey. Although most of the
novel takes place in New York, sort of a safe haven for Theo, the seedy and
contrasting backdrops of Amsterdam (dark and watery) and Nevada (sunny and
desolate) make for perfect locales for a variety of criminal activities and
reading pleasures. Certainly the length
of this book is a bit of a downside, but I never felt that reading it was a
chore. On the contrary, I had to find
out if Theo could get his head on straight, despite Boris’s unexpected
intrusions, luring Theo back to the dark side.
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1 comment:
Sorry I didn't like this book at all. I found it tedious and trite in it's attempt to be cohesive. Could not wait for it to end.
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