• The Goldfinch

  • By: Donna Tartt
  • Narrated by: David Pittu
  • Length: 32 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (41,246 ratings)

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The Goldfinch  By  cover art

The Goldfinch

By: Donna Tartt
Narrated by: David Pittu
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Editorial review


By Sam Danis, Audible Editor

THE GOLDFINCH IS A COMING-OF-AGE EPIC THAT WILL STEAL YOUR HE(ART)

The Goldfinch was one of the first novels I listened to when I started working at Audible nearly a decade ago. I joined the team in September, and with this title releasing in a month’s time, I remember what a very big deal it was that a new Donna Tartt book was forthcoming (she only publishes about once a decade, after all). The plot is gripping: During a bombing at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, two events alter the course of 13-year-old Theo Decker’s life. His mother—the most prominent figure in his life—is killed, and he grabs the painting they were there to see (the titular Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius), thereby becoming an accidental art thief. What follows is a coming-of-age story of epic proportions—about fate, loss, consequences, and the intangibility of home and family. It is at turns sentimental, suspenseful, melancholy, and hopeful.

I watched as the glowing reviews poured in, with no real intention to listen myself. A 32-hour audiobook seemed incredibly daunting when I was new to the world of audio entertainment—primarily, a podcast and short audiobook listener. And this, after all, was literary fiction.

Why did I ultimately decide to pick it up? I can’t recall exactly, but I imagine it had something to do with peer pressure. My fellow editors and I influence each other in the best of ways—nobody wants to be the last one to hear something truly amazing—and I think it was our fiction editor, Tricia, who first sung the praises of this one. So, I buckled in (read: put on my headphones) and prepared for whatever was to come.

Continue reading Sam's review >

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Solo Narration - Male, 2014

Audie Award Winner, Literary Fiction, 2014

The author of the classic best-sellers The Secret History and The Little Friend returns with a brilliant, highly anticipated new novel.

Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity.

It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and at the center of a narrowing, ever-more-dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a novel of shocking narrative energy and power. It combines unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and breathtaking suspense, while plumbing with a philosopher's calm the deepest mysteries of love, identity, and art. It is a beautiful, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.

©2013 Donna Tartt (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

Narrator David Pittu accepts the task of turning this immense volume into an excellent listening experience. Pittu portrays 13-year-old orphan Theo Decker with compassion, portraying his growing maturity in this story of grief and suspense…Pittu adds pathos to his depiction of the troubled Theo as he deals with addiction and finds himself in a dance with gangsters and the art world's darker dealers. ( AudioFile)
"Dazzling....[A] glorious, Dickensian novel, a novel that pulls together all Ms. Tartt's remarkable storytelling talents into a rapturous, symphonic whole and reminds the reader of the immersive, stay-up-all-night pleasures of reading." ( New York Times)
"A long-awaited, elegant meditation on love, memory, and the haunting power of art....Eloquent and assured, with memorable characters....A standout-and well-worth the wait." ( Kirkus, Starred Review)

Featured Article: 10 Great Contemporary Fiction Authors


If you like well-written novels that prioritize compelling timely storylines with artful prose and structure, then this is the genre for you. So, why is it called "contemporary"? Because it’s fiction set in the real world, in times contemporary to the date it was published, and the stories deal with real-world issues. Representing a diversity of backgrounds and nationalities, here are our picks for the best writers of contemporary fiction over the last 50 years.

What listeners say about The Goldfinch

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  • Overall
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Best narration ever

What does David Pittu bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

David Pittu made this story come to life. I listen to a book a week and he is, far and away, the best narrator I've ever hear. His grasp of accents is miraculous!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible Narrator

The narrator in this story does a great job channeling the different voices of the different characters. It's a sprawling, epic story following the tragic life of a young man who survived an accident when he was in his early teens.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Ending was rushed

Great story but I felt like the ending was rushed and a big let down. Worth the read though. Book

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Rapturous, Hilarious Profundity

This novel is Truth told in a sweeping and gloriously entertaining way.

Without a doubt, the best fiction I've ever encountered.

The reader deserves a Pulitzer for his performance.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Phenomenal Story!!

What made the experience of listening to The Goldfinch the most enjoyable?

The story, the narration.... so good!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved that it's a million hours long and seems like hardly a minute... great story!

Which character – as performed by David Pittu – was your favorite?

Maybe Boris - Maybe Hobie - love Hobie..... it's a toss up.

Any additional comments?

"Read this book" you won't be disappointed!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wow wow wow

Any additional comments?

Someday this will be classified as a truly great writing in the same league as Gone with the Wind. Some may laugh at this but mean it from the bottom of my heart. The author is a genius with words and characters.

There is hidden meanings throughout the story. The Goldfinch art piece could represent many things in life that we hide and carry with a burden. These burdens of life move us down many avenues and push us into people and circumstances.

If you haven't experienced this story you are in for a big surprise. If you gave read the book in text get this audio. It is an experience you don't want to miss.

If I could give it 10 stars I would.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable but repetitive

I agree with most people that it's very descriptive and the story is interesting. The performance by David Pittu was also really great!

The book though, is too long for what happens. Towards the end of the book, I felt myself feeling like I was following Theo on a journey where I am constantly frustrated by him. The beginning and middle of the book are great but at some point, I want the main character in the story to make a choice - be good or be bad, not be passive and let the world force him into situations.

While I enjoyed the book, I wished for it to be more subtle about the themes and for Theo to be more active in his own fate (even if it's meant to be pointless and existential), at least he should try.

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Excellent writing. Excellent narration

The author, Tartt, develops interesting and flawed characters you care about, develops them masterfully, and tortures them in fascinating ways. Stellar writing.

The narrator of the audio version, David Pittu, is a matter actor who breathes life into the universe Tartt has created. Both of them have a new fan.

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Just missed the mark

TERRIBLE ENDING. My god. The story had so much potential, but the author decided to prove a philosophical point. Ridiculous.

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Obsessed

Love this book so much! Beautiful thick description. I had moments where I hated the characters, but I still couldn't put it down.

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