On a breezy, New York morning, Theo Decker and his mother take a detour to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, not knowing that the choice will change their lives forever. An ill-fated incident leaves Theo motherless at thirteen and in possession of Carel Fabritius’ most famous works, a secret he takes with him through the fog that follows right after his mother’s death, the hapless days wandering the Las Vegas suburbs, then back to New York where, as an adult, he finds himself and his painting at the center of dangerous dealings. 

To be honest, it took me months to finish The Goldfinch. It wasn’t because I didn’t like it—it is beautifully written, strangely addictive, but also just incredibly dense. Each sentence is packed with details and information, so I could only read it in little bits for a long time. 

The novel is broken into five parts. The first four parts follow Theo through the accident at The Met and the first few year after his mother’s death; his life with the Barbours in the Upper East Side, his tumultuous relationship with his father when he’s whisked away to Las Vegas, and his friendship with Boris. The rest of the novel focuses on Theo’s adulthood, including his work at the antique shop with Hobie and the intrigue surrounding “The Goldfinch” as he tries to figure out how to come clean about it. 

Through the first four parts of the novel, I felt very invested in Theo, a child that found himself helpless to his very incredible and sad circumstances and did his very best to survive. I spent a lot of time feeling scared for him, because even if he was doing his best, he wasn’t making the best decisions, from something as small as ignoring advice to take up a hobby from his guidance counselor to his blackout nights after underage drinking and drug use. Through Theo’s journey, I was also very drawn to the gorgeously rendered characters that popped in and out of his life, especially Hobie, the warm and steady vintage shop owner and later guardian, Boris, the wild and charming fellow loner, and Pippa, the seemingly carefree love of Theo’s life. 

As the novel progressed, Theo’s bad decision-making has even bigger consequences, and I admit I found myself more and more disinterested as I kept reading through the novel’s final, climactic events. Theo himself isn’t unlikeable, but I felt as though I wanted more for him, especially in the concluding events surrounding “The Goldfish,” the precious painting that he works so hard to keep safe and agonizes over throughout the novel. The painting has such a strong presence throughout the story, so I was curious about what would happen with it, but when the painting changes hands unexpectedly in the latter part of the novel, I felt as though the resulting events took away from both Theo’s agency surrounding the painting and his long-awaited confession to Hobie.

Even if the ending wasn’t quite right for me, I still enjoyed The Goldfinch very much. I was in awe of Donna Tartt’s incredible gift for perfectly describing the feeling of a certain day, as well as the tangible essence of her characters. The Goldfinch is discomfiting, mysterious, and full of heart. 

You can find The Goldfinch on Bookshop or wherever books are sold.