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)

Listened twice, just as wonderful the second time

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

I loved this book the first time. It's SO long, and I'm embarrassed to say I didn't stay engaged the entire time for the first listening but when I listened the second time, i was hugely affected by the story. It exposed me to emotions I'm not sure I've ever felt, and taught me about people that I'd never have known about. The underlying message about the beauty and importance of art only scratches the surface of what this book says of humanity and the mark that we leave on the world. I actually can't wait to listen to this book again. It's truly a masterpiece.

I dont want it to end

Where does The Goldfinch rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top story, top characters, top narrator.........

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hobbie, his gentle way about him

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

Borris, great accent

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many

Any additional comments?

Great all around

Most talented reader I've ever heard

What did you love best about The Goldfinch?

I loved the narrator! His voices are amazing. He can do so many different voices, for so many different characters and he even does accents. I'm not quite done with this book, but I'm liking it and I'm enthralled with the versatility of the narrator's voice. I hope I can find another book that interests me that he has narrated.

slow starting but don't give up it's a great book

it took me a few tries to get into the storyline. My husband really enjoyed it too!

Best book ever

Best book I've ever read. Totally entertained the entire time.
It was so long and yet I was sad when it ended.

The Goldfinch soars

I read the print version when it was first published. The audio version gave me a better sense of the characters, hearing their voices as spoken by the narrator. I admire the author's craft in developing the story line through dramatic events while simultaneously revealing Theo's inner life. There are insights that speak to me in ways I could not otherwise articulate.

Couldn't put it down!

What did you love best about The Goldfinch?

Donna Tartt paints this story with incredible skill and in language that stays with you. The characters are painfully genuine ...no caricatures here... and you leave off trying to save them from themselves early on. They have set their feet on a unconventional path and will reap what they sow whether you like it or not. Extraordinary!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Goldfinch?

The moments in the museum...from beginning to end...are so real, you can feel the grit in your teeth, and hear the ringing in your ears.

Have you listened to any of David Pittu’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No...I was unfamiliar with his work until now. Will absolutely look for him in the future.

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

I wouldn't change a thing about the book...let alone the title.

Any additional comments?

I'm off to read another Donna Tartt book....I'm hooked!

WOW and more WOW

Would you listen to The Goldfinch again? Why?

Absolutely! The reader was wonderful. Not only did he do a great Russian Boris, but was able to convey the sophisticated Hobie as well as the up-town Mrs. Barbour and the charming Pippa.

What did you like best about this story?

The diversity of characters was Dickensian, as was the plot twists. I - who read all the time - kept asking myself questions about "what's going to happen next?" and laughing aloud when my predictions came true ....or not.

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

The diversity of voices and. thereby, characters.

Any additional comments?

So good...haven't felt that connected with a work in a long time. Every time i finished reading, it was like resurfacing. The last day, all I wanted to do was read. Impatient with everything else. Can't remember feeling that way for many years! :)

Mental/Emotional suffering galore

I liked the depth of character development, the vivid detail and storyline. The chapters describing the main character's suicidal suffering were too long, tedious and difficult to listen to

Great Story-Ending too much of a surprise

What did you like best about this story?

Loved the story. Towards the end I Thought the musings of the main character were becoming a little overdone for boy his age. The ending wasn't in tune with the story. How could his story have been told with no mention of what was obviously a major part of his life.