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)

Lengthy, detailed and very good.

Great story, a bit long and slow in spots, but I get why she set it up that way.

The narration/narrator is awesome. He did a great job with all of the character.

Amazing

Amazing story and equally amazing narrator. All the voices and accents accomplished by this guy were amazing.

Plus Boris might be my favorite character ever written.

Great story!

I loved listening to the story. It was a good storyline and I couldn't wait to finish it.

Tooo Long But Very Well Written

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

Yes and no. Narration was terrific, spot on. But, after a while Theo's whining was amplified by the good narration.

Would you recommend The Goldfinch to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend but only to someone looking for a good read. Not, for the faint hearted. looking for a beach book.

Which scene was your favorite?

Let's start at the beginning. His time in the museum with Welty and then, trying to get out of the building pulled me in. I could see him as a very young boy being most scared and confused. Again, many of the events becoming close to Boris felt right if, also extremely depressing. I felt the author had command of that period of his life.

Who was the most memorable character of The Goldfinch and why?

I really liked Hoby. He was most real. His care for the two young people in the book was from the heart. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were the best way to describe Theo and Boris.

Any additional comments?

The author gave us a grand tale. I have read Dickens and yes, much like him. However, someone should have edited. Much too long. The last scene in Amsterdam tried to wring juice from a dry orange. Theo's illness and his attempts to leave were bleak and then when Boris showed up, yet another barrage of words. By then if it were not near the end, I would have turned it off. I hope to read more from this author but next time dear publisher, insist on editing.

brilliantly wrote and performed

Great insight into humanity and the human condition. story line is unike any book I've read for a long time. A great book for students to analyse and understand their effect on people around them during their lives. q must read.

Words

If you are a lover of words you will love this book. There are times you can smell and taste the air. This is not a cut to the chase in your face book, it builds and falls down and takes you to a new place. I enjoyed 97% of the book making it one to read again. Theo needs to catch a break...

Bravo!

Such flowing descriptions, well formed characters, depth, meaning and truth all wrapped up in a fascinating story. The narration is extraordinary! My deep appreciation to both author and narrator for this wondrous journey.

Loved it!

An enjoyable read. Will listen again. Narrator is great too! Looking for more like this.

It started off good......

Would you try another book from Donna Tartt and/or David Pittu?

I really enjoyed the narration and would listen to another David Pittu book in a heartbeat. I'm not so sure about another book by this author.

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

I so wanted to love this book especially give the glowing reviews but it just wasn't to be. I don't have a problem with characters with drug problems or other serious character flaws but don't try to make them also portray characteristics beyond any possible capability of such a person. She made the 13 year old Theo, who can barely put one foot in front of the other, into someone with the introspection of someone who has lived a long hard life. He's way too immature for that. At times the character is so stoned that he can barely talk and yet he's able to function in school and at home. There's no way that this character made it to adulthood with the drugs he took and the way he stumbled through decision in his life. Also, the dog lived an unbelievably long time. The book just got way out of hand. It needed some serious editing.

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

The narrator is excellent and is what kept me in the book to the end. He has an ability to put you right in the moment with the character even when the moment is absurd.

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

The book has a good premise and a movie screenwriter could make a great movie from it. Screenwriters know how to edit to get the essence of the story.

Like Enjoying a Good Meal or Mulling Over a Great Cup of Tea

I would like to recommend this audio book to my friends, but alas, they mainly enjoy physical books. And although I have this on Kindle and may read it someday, I am so glad to have heard the audio.

The narrator, as master artist himself, with every nuance, accent and inflection, literally made the characters come alive. The only voice that I didn't like, is that of the main characters mother, but the rest were brilliant.

The author has deftly and graphically written a multi-layered story of what happens after a boy's mother is killed during a terrorist attack, while they are at an Art Museum.. The surrounding events and characters show themselves to be accents which to me, shine brighter than the main character. But isn't it largely those around us who help to make us who we are. A work of art.

Caution, there are quite a few detailed drinking and drugging scenes, but if anything, they make you not want to go there