I started reading Donna Tartt's THE GOLDFINCH a couple of days ago. Today the Pulitzer Prizes were announced, and THE GOLDFINCH won for fiction. Pure serendipity that the winner would be the book I've just dived into.

And pure joy that this is one of those rare occasions when I actually agree with the Pulitzer Prize judges. I've found some Pulitzer Prize winners painful to read--not because they rub my emotions raw but because they're tedious, sluggish, pretentious, or just plain not fun.

THE GOLDFINCH teems with characters I can believe in and care about--especially Theo, the hero at the heart of the story. I read for character, and Theo is a character I want to spend a long time with.

It's a long novel, so that wish will come true!

Congratulations, Donna Tartt!