The Goldfinch

By: Donna Tartt

Narrated by: David Pittu

Length: 32 hrs and 24 mins

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)

Not what I expected. Loved it.

Reading descriptions for this novel definitely gave me a wrong idea, so when the book took its first major turn I felt I was on a ride I didn’t sign up for. Reviews seemed to coincide with this feeling.

Thank god, I pressed on. This book is amazing. It speaks a lot of masterpieces, and of works that will stand the test of time. This is among the few. If I had to put human experience into the confines of a novel I’d be hard pressed to find a better one than this. While it’s not an easy read, and you’re made to feel a lot of the uncomfortable things felt by the main character, the messages in the book ring vibrantly at the end, and it is as satisfying and tangible as anything.

With all that said, I would be remiss to not say there is a huge problem with the narration. Each character is given a different voice. In the case of the main character and his best friend, this was wonderful. But every single female character, whether they’re loved or hated by the book itself, sound just wretched. Hard to not hate characters, even if I know they’re lovely in the story, when their voice mak

Great story that gets bogged down in details

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the book. It has a great story line and with all the detail, great character development.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Less details... the book was not a page turner, even though the plot was a page turner.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked the storyline in general of Theo's childhood in Vegas.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes. Hollywood will shorten the book from a 32 hour read, to a 2 hour movie.

Any additional comments?

The book had a great story to tell, and I am a much more informed "art critic"- LOL!- after reading it. I found the ins and outs of the art underworld very intriguing! The narrator of the book was outstanding. He took on the personalities of each character flawlessly. I am so glad I decided to listen to this book through audible vs. reading it because there were lulls in the book that would have made me loose interest, but because the narrator captured the personality and essence of each character, I was able to finish the book and overall, I am glad I did.

Incredible.

I listen to audiobooks a minimum of an hour a day and sometimes a lot more. This is right up there with the top two or three ever. The storytelling is immense and epic, but also finely wrought. The characters are completely real. I need a lot of plot. I'm genre-neutral, but there must be a real story being told. The Goldfinch satisfied that need at the deepest level. The reader is GREAT. There are some audiobooks I listen to again and again. I know this will be one of those.

astonishing

a must read. kept me captivated. would totally recommend. come out as a movie please

Story could benefit from some editing

What did you like best about The Goldfinch? What did you like least?

The overall premise of the story is very good. However, the writer uses way too many similes in her writing style so that they lose their effectiveness and detract from the telling of a good story. This book could have been edited down significantly and made more entertaining had a little restraint been used in this area. Ms Tartt also spends way too much time describing the drug and alcohol use of the main characters rather than developing a stronger plot. I kept thinking, all right already, we get the picture. Let's get back to the real story.

Would you be willing to try another book from Donna Tartt? Why or why not?

No. I am not fond of her writing style and I find her plot development too scattered. The build-up of the story was great but the story lost its 'oomph' halfway through and the ending was very disappointing. In general, character development was weak and there were too many lost opportunities to write a much more impactful ending and to tie all of the elements together in a more satisfying manner.

What about David Pittu’s performance did you like?

Mr. Pittu's performance of the different accents helps make the book more enjoyable to listen to.

Could you see The Goldfinch being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This would not be something that I would want to watch. Too many drug and alcohol related scenes that are not necessary. Sometimes less is more, as they say.

Any additional comments?

I will not be recommending this book to anyone.

Great read

Very good book. Great narration and character portrayals, several with foreign accents. Intriguing from beginning to end.

Great adventure

I didn’t think I would want to continue hearing about Theo “Potters “ life but after a few chapters I couldn’t stop listening and figuring out what life had to offer for Potter . I’m glad as the world does it came for circle for him

Story telling at its best

Donna Tart manages to paint with words vivid characters, and a compelling story. Beautifully read by David Pittu. I have listened to more than 100 Audible Books over the past 5 years, The Goldfinch rates in my top five. exquisites writing.

A Bit Overrated

I liked the story initially, but the reader was not as good as the very first book that I had listened to which was the Nightingale. I thought the book was very overrated and unnecessarily long. Additionally, I am anything but a prude… But sound the overuse of profanity unnecessary and it began to lose the effect that it was intended to have. Personally I do not feel like this story was all that was hyped up to be.

One in a thousand books are this good!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Goldfinch to be better than the print version?

Yes! I always feel that the book is better than the movie, but incredibly, the audio brings extra life, texture, to the extraordinary story. The renderings of the inward, struggling narrator and the wonderfully unbound Boris are absolutely stellar! I actually miss Boris.
Really. It's that great.

What did you like best about this story?

First, the story is unbelievably original, unpredictable, fantastic. Starts in excruciatingly
slow detail, always interesting though, but necessary as the circumstances and events
to follow are all contingent upon the beginning.
Second, the narrator, Mr Pittu, delivers a so real and addictive performance,
no way to stop listening -- I have to find out what happens to these wonderful, damaged
characters! Seriously, I miss them. You get in very deep and I feel the loss.
Stellar story and performance.

If you could rename The Goldfinch, what would you call it?

Perfect name, no change.

Any additional comments?

Loved this, story and reading. So good!