Publication
date: 19 June, 2014
You
might remember Donna Tartt from such masterpieces as The
Secret History and
The Little
Friend.
If you do, you are in for both a treat and a surprise. The
Goldfinch
is another masterpiece, but is written in a style quite different
from her previous novels.
The
Goldfinch
spans the life of Theodore Decker. When
the novel begins, Theodore is
13 and his
mother is killed in a “terrorist attack” on a museum in
New York.
Theodore is
one of the only survivors, but he complicates
matters further for himself when
he is
convinced by a dying man to steal
a painting – his mother's favourite. It is The
Goldfinch
by Fabritius, and it will haunt him forever as he risks life and limb
to protect it. The novel focuses not only on Theodore's life but also the art and antique world.
After
his mother's death, and Social Services' attempts to find his father
go unanswered, Theodore is left with the wealthy family of a
friend.
Although he is grieving deeply for his mother, he has stability and
is able to follow through on the dying man's wish for
him
to visit his business partner, Hobie. He also finds Pippa there,
another
survivor
of the attack on the museum. Theodore falls for her but Pippa is soon
sent to Texas to live with her aunt.
Eventually,
Theodore's deadbeat father comes to claim him, replete with trashy,
coke-snorting girlfriend. Although his friend's family had been about
to adopt him legally, Theo is whisked off to Vegas and his life spins
out of control. He makes
one
friend, Boris, and the pair binge on drugs and alcohol instead
of going to school until
Theodore's life takes another twist, and
eventually he is hurled into the world of art crime.
Tartt
crafts the narrative in such a way that every aspect, every event of
Theo's life has immense repercussions later. Her
language is rich, descriptive and immersive, and the novel is hard to
put down as you are sucked in to Theo's hectic world.
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