The Librarian's Husband's Book Club discussion

Done with The Goldfinch? Time to unpack it all.

How did Theo’s journey through loss, art, and moral gray areas affect you? Did Tartt’s sweeping narrative and detailed settings pull you in, challenge you, or stay with you after closing the book?

Share your final thoughts, reviews, or standout passages here—and please use spoiler tags so everyone can join the conversation at their own pace.

I read this back in 2020, one of my favorite pandemic reads!

Just finished.....very good!

I finished on Tuesday and LOVED this book! I felt the settings were excellent to support the movement of the action and character growth, both physically and emotionally. I did not find the settings to be powerful enough to stay with me but did find Theo's musings and actions to be ones that are staying with me. However, Boris was my favorite character, hands down. At times he even surplanted Theo! ... at least in my opinion. I won't give spoilers at this point but do wish to say that it is well worth reading. I have never read straight through a 4 hr flight to and then 4 hr back before but this book, how could I not?

SPOILERS. SPOILERS. SPOILERS. SPOILERS

I finished this morning. I’m not sure how to review it.

First off, I wonder if his mother hadn’t died at the museum what his life would have been like, even if the events in the museum and the interactions with Welty had occurred, taking the painting and all. What if his mother had lived? How would his life had unfolded? Would he have become an addict? A thief? A lier? A cheat?
His path was filled with sink holes.
I just knew Theo’s life would never be the same when his Dad & Xandra showed up. Though I did think that there was a trust or life insurance policy they were after.
Boris, while a great friend when Theo needed a friend was probably one of the worse things for Theo. The drinking and drugs for so many years triggered the addictive tenancies that were part of his genetics. I think this lead to the spinning out of control-ness of his entire life. Boris was larger than life. I would have gotten lost in someone like him too.
Pippa, well, Theo was attracted to Pippa before the accident. She would always be this unreachable star to him, close enough to grasp but not close enough to hold.
Hobie, gentle Hobie. Bringing to boy out of his lonely loss but teaching him an art in itself, which lead to such demise and deceit. Alas, in the end, Hoby understood in his way.
This book was very much a part of me as I read it. It was skillfully written, weaving the stories together as the changing of events over time that were all interlinked. I dreamed of the great friend albeit wreck that Boris was and the heartbreak of realizing one person can lead you astray, thoroughly astray when you are lonely and list.

I gave this story 4 stars:
I had to think about this rating for a long time. I liked the book, but did not love the book. I felt like it was really long especially in some parts of the book. But I also think some of it was necessary to get the full understanding of the book.

Theo was an interesting character that spent a lot of time being a follower instead of a leader. Boris was a character that was a little more straightforward. But man did my heart hurt for them. These characters were left at such a crucial point in their lives. The love Theo had for his mom and the lack of guidance he had after the loss was gut wrenching.

I liked how the book came together. And I think Boris while not perfect really did Theo a huge favor.

There was a lot of drug use and swearing. I would recommend.

I liked it better than The Secret History, but I wouldn't say Donna Tartt is a must-read author for me. I found this book in a little free library, so I took it home. The story is fine, but it would be a lot punchier if the book was like, 400-500 pages shorter. It only really picks up in the last what, 50 pages or so? But even in the final section of the book, it often feels like we're sitting with the character in real time.

I do like the painting. I work in The Hague and sometimes go to the Mauritshuis. The way she describes it is accurate: it's this tiny little thing, but it's so striking.

My review -

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This was a unique month as both books were 5 star for me.

Kudos to the brilliance of the group's selections :)