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The Goldfinch
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 32 hrs and 24 mins
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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.
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Editorial review
By Sam Danis, Audible Editor
THE GOLDFINCH IS A COMING-OF-AGE EPIC THAT WILL STEAL YOUR HE(ART)
The Goldfinch was one of the first novels I listened to when I started working at Audible nearly a decade ago. I joined the team in September, and with this title releasing in a month’s time, I remember what a very big deal it was that a new Donna Tartt book was forthcoming (she only publishes about once a decade, after all). The plot is gripping: During a bombing at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, two events alter the course of 13-year-old Theo Decker’s life. His mother—the most prominent figure in his life—is killed, and he grabs the painting they were there to see (the titular Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius), thereby becoming an accidental art thief. What follows is a coming-of-age story of epic proportions—about fate, loss, consequences, and the intangibility of home and family. It is at turns sentimental, suspenseful, melancholy, and hopeful.
I watched as the glowing reviews poured in, with no real intention to listen myself. A 32-hour audiobook seemed incredibly daunting when I was new to the world of audio entertainment—primarily, a podcast and short audiobook listener. And this, after all, was literary fiction.
Why did I ultimately decide to pick it up? I can’t recall exactly, but I imagine it had something to do with peer pressure. My fellow editors and I influence each other in the best of ways—nobody wants to be the last one to hear something truly amazing—and I think it was our fiction editor, Tricia, who first sung the praises of this one. So, I buckled in (read: put on my headphones) and prepared for whatever was to come.
Continue reading Sam's review >
Critic reviews
Featured Article: The Audible Essentials Top 100
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Wolff here returns with fresh revelations - about biding one's time, or experiencing first love, or burying one's mother - that come to a variety of characters in circumstances at once everyday and extraordinary. A retired Marine enrolls in college while her son trains for Iraq. A lawyer takes a difficult deposition. An American in Rome indulges the Gypsy who's picked his pocket.
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Great
- By chris on 04-11-08
By: Tobias Wolff
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Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
- By: Juliann Garey
- Narrated by: Dan Butler
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter and for a decade travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years.
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Psychosis or Syphilis?
- By Vira on 04-02-13
By: Juliann Garey
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Koko
- Blue Rose Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Peter Straub
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 22 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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KOKO. Only four men knew what it meant. Now they must stop it. They are Vietnam vets — a doctor, a lawyer, a working stiff, and a writer. Very different from each other, they are nonetheless linked by a shared history and a single shattering secret. Now, they have been reunited and are about to embark on a quest that will take them from Washington, D.C., to the graveyards and fleshpots of the Far East to the human jungle of New York.
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7 hours in and I am done
- By bionichands on 01-26-12
By: Peter Straub
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High Dive
- By: Jonathan Lee
- Narrated by: Doyle Gerard
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Taking us inside one of the 20th century's most ambitious assassination attempts - "making history personal", as one character puts it - High Dive moves between the luxurious hospitality of a British tourist town and the troubled city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the height of the armed struggle between the Irish Republican Army and those loyal to the UK government.
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Humor? Not Funny.
- By W Perry Hall on 04-10-16
By: Jonathan Lee
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How Like a God
- By: Brenda W. Clough
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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What would it be like, to get absolute power? Would you wear a cape and fight crime? Rule the planet? Or perhaps you would be like Rob Lewis, and watch your world collapse around you. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Rob is going to find out.
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At one point the main character rapes at 13 year old girl
- By Richard Davis on 05-29-21
By: Brenda W. Clough
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
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Great stories but only 5 of 17 are included
- By Terri Kirk on 07-13-12
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Secret Smile
- By: Nicci French
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.
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I want my 9 hours back
- By Ashley on 07-19-23
By: Nicci French
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Stories
- All-New Tales
- By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, Al Sarrantonio - editor, Joe Hill, and others
- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
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Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others
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Tell the Wolves I’m Home
- A Novel
- By: Carol Rifka Brunt
- Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life - someone who will help her to heal....
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worst protagonist ever
- By Danica on 12-19-14
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Burn Baby Burn
- By: Meg Medina
- Narrated by: Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Nora Lopez is 17 during the infamous New York summer of 1977, when the city is besieged by arson, a massive blackout, and a serial killer named Son of Sam who shoots young women on the streets. Nora's family life isn't going so well either: her bullying brother, Hector, is growing more threatening by the day, her mother is helpless and falling behind on the rent, and her father calls only on holidays. All Nora wants is to turn 17 and be on her own.
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Couldn't finish listening to this book.
- By Mathis on 12-03-17
By: Meg Medina
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Black & White
- By: Dani Shapiro
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Clara Brodeur has spent her entire adult life pulling herself away from her famous mother, the renowned and controversial photographer Ruth Dunne, whose towering reputation rests on the unsettling nude portraits she took of her young daughter from the ages of three to 14. As Clara charts a path connecting her childhood with her adult life, Shapiro's novel weaves together past and present in images as stark and intense as the photographs that tore the Dunnes apart.
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It was okay
- By Lucy7 on 02-13-19
By: Dani Shapiro
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Shadow Show
- All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury
- By: Sam Weller - editor, Mort Castle - editor
- Narrated by: George Takei, Edward Herrmann, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.
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THE MAN WHO FORGOT RAY BRADBURY
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-27-17
By: Sam Weller - editor, and others
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The Poison Tree
- By: Erin Kelly
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Successful journalist Erin Kelly has electrified readers and critics alike with her debut novel The Poison Tree. In this scintillating work, Karen and her daughter Alice have established a safe, happy life free from the madness of Karen’s past. But when Karen’s former lover Rex is released from prison, her old associations intrude upon the present - and threaten everything she holds dear.
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I couldn't stop listening the book.
- By Gladys on 07-29-15
By: Erin Kelly
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The Wangs vs. the World
- By: Jade Chang
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Charles Wang is mad at America. A brash, lovable immigrant businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, he's just been ruined by the financial crisis. Now all Charles wants is to get his kids safely stowed away so that he can go to China and attempt to reclaim his family's ancestral lands - and his pride. Outrageously funny and full of charm, The Wangs vs. the World is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America - and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way money never could.
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Spectacular
- By Barbara on 10-11-16
By: Jade Chang
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What listeners say about The Goldfinch
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Susan K Donley
- 11-01-13
Survival story of a non-heroic hero
As an artist and museum professional, I have spent my career encouraging people to view things left behind as more than just "stuff" to be trashed or relegated to flea markets. The objects, beautiful or utilitarian, can reveal much about the lives and vales of the people who created, used, or saved them. They have stories to tell to those who will listen.
Such treasured things don't merely "decorate" this book, rather they inhabit it, anchoring wounded characters to the world as they weather unthinkable loss. In the hands of the author, works of artists and craftsman come to embody memories of the past and hopes for a tolerable future.
Don't worry! This is not a book about dusty furniture and paintings! It is a story about survival, but not the heroic survival of nonfiction tales (a genre I love, by the way). This is a case of fiction being "truer" than nonfiction. Only heroic tales earn nonfiction book contracts! It takes a novelist to plumb the depths of what nonheroic Theo (mixed-up but not evil) does when confronted with tragic misfortune.
The story is told in first-person and the narrator did an excellent job as Theo, while distinctly voicing other characters to indicate dialog.
In my personal life at the moment, I'm adjusting to the loss of my own mother (very different circumstances, of course) and the things she left behind, much of which is imbued with meaning and memory for me. So many acquaintances (my friends know better!) counsel, "It's just stuff -- get rid of it!" Not to me. Those things are tangible connections to the people I've loved and lost.
So if you are a collector who others suspect of being One of Those Hoarders, you'll find justification in this book and possibly better understanding of why inanimate objects mean more to you than to others.
You don't have to be a collector to enjoy this The Goldfinch, but you should enjoy long, thoughtful books. Even action sequences, filtered through the Theo's thoughts, take much longer than they would in a thriller, but I was never tempted to fast-forward. On the contrary, I regret reaching the end and wish I could follow Theo further along his journey to see how he fares.
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175 people found this helpful
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- Lesley
- 11-04-13
A lot bigger than one little finch
Plenty of novels that offer great truths about the world are rewarding to read, but unfortunately dry as dust. Reviews for The Goldfinch mention its many themes and messages--consequently I was a little nervous putting it in my cart, especially after I read some of the reviews of the narrator.
My worry was wasted. The Goldfinch really comes through with 32-plus hours of riveting listening.
Theo Decker is only 13 when he loses his mother in a catastrophe at a museum. He survives, and with him is a tiny painting by a forgotten Dutch master, Carel Fabritius. The painting is always in his thoughts as, over a number of years, he is passed from home to home: with a school friend on Park Avenue in New York, with his father and a wiggy girlfriend in Las Vegas, with a restorer of fine furniture in Greenwich Village.
In those places, as he tries desperately to put his life back together in spite of a total lack of preparation for such a disaster, Theo meets some of the more interesting and well-drawn characters I've seen in a literary novel. Some books that purport to be about "quirky" people feel a little forced--in less skillful hands, characters can seem like they're trying too hard to be weird and fun.
But good characters like Tartt's remind you of people you've known in your own life: a frustrating parent, well-meaning school counselors, annoying kids at school, an uncle that's always fussing over you. There are plenty of great examples here, including my favorite, Boris--a guy so crazy and fearless that even a trip to the local Quickie Mart is an epic adventure. (I firmly believe everyone should have at least one person like him in their life at some point!)
Some sections of the book were a bit long--there were a few conversations that made me squirm with frustration. I wanted to yell out, "Just SAY it!" But to balance it out there's a great wealth of detail that reminded me of the fun parts of anything by Dickens or Stephen King (to non-readers of King--yes, there are fun parts!).
The detail is particularly worthy when works of art are described. Art history geeks will be in heaven (I was!) but it's pretty easy to find Tartt's references online--I know, because there were a bunch I had to look up. I suggest finding a good picture of The Goldfinch to look at before listening, too--there were places where I wished I had done that myself.
I had never heard of David Pittu before and like I mentioned, I was a little nervous after I read some of the reviews. But again, the worry was wasted. For the great wealth of characters, he managed to come up with different accents and voices, and I always knew who was talking. His Russian/Ukraine accents were as good as his New York society ladies. At some points he seemed a little breathless, maybe even hammy, but it never lasted long and with the length of this book, I forgive him.
If you like art, or literature, or humor, or edge-of-the-seat suspense, or even if you just want to see some of the wide selection of weirdos this world has to offer, I recommend The Goldfinch. It's big--but it's worth it.
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- K Cornwinkle
- 11-03-13
"If we’re just talking story, kid, you got it"
Theo remembers or imagines his father saying this late in the book. And for all else, this IS an intriguing and entertaining story. Picaresque, it ranges from Theo’s coming of age in a forlorn Las Vegas suburb with his inexorable friend Boris to Manhattan and the furniture buying habits of the very rich. Of the many startling but believable coincidences, major and minor, I give one example: The Goldfinch painter and Rembrandt student Carel Fabritius died young in a huge powder magazine explosion in 1654 and, early in this book his painting is in an explosion at the Met in New York. (The painting is amazing and a most elegantly simple masterwork. I want to see it in the Hague someday).
Like complex clockwork, the story needs all of the small pieces that add up to 32 hours. Some scenes could even have gone longer; more could have been said and it would have been okay. There is a delicacy to the detail of description and narrative that I find appealing. I have always loved picaresque novels most of whose plot twists seem far less plausible than these.
The narration is great. I am speak with Ukrainian eccent all the time now I finish book. A good listen.
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- Molly-o
- 02-27-14
This is SUCH a good book
This is not an easy read - the length and the story definitely require a commitment to the story's end and the characters' journey. But what a ride! Donna Tartt's style is riveting - she writes and you are there, caught in the web of her exquisite descriptions. Her characters are so solid, so endearing, at times so frustrating, but ultimately unforgettable. I generally stay away from "dark" books and this one is dark but it isn't ponderous or without hope. It is SO worth the ups and downs because it is such a fine piece of literature.
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- jen
- 11-26-13
Prepare for total immersion
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, but somehow it's too good to pass on to just anyone.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Goldfinch?
Theo's first moments at Pippa's home. He eats his first real meal since the tragedy and cannot help but sink into the comfort and love that this strange new place and it's occupants exude.
What about David Pittu’s performance did you like?
He made three distinctly different Russian accents, convincing but not distracting female voices, and found the perfect tone for Theo.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Neither, but I was totally engaged by the careful way she describes antiques and the restoration process. Also, the clothing interested me. Her characters are all properly dressed for their storyline.
Any additional comments?
Ms. Tartt is a genius- she must be to create something so epic and engaging. Oh I did NOT want it to end.
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- Audiobookaddict1
- 06-30-19
Show, dont tell.
In the art world, there is a term called DOUBLENESS. It refers to viewing a painting close up and seeing the composition of the lines and brushstrokes, the artists fingerprint, so to speak, and then backing up and seeing the painting as a whole piece, the resulting image meant for all to gaze upon. The difference between the two observations can sometimes be worlds apart, one perspective not even slightly resembling the other and both are of the same thing.
In this case the painting is the Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius - from 1654. It depicts a European goldfinch on top of its feeder that is attached to the wall. The bird is sitting on the top ring, to which it is chained by its foot. Imprisoned for life? Is this the only life the bird has ever known, chained to it's perch never to truly know life on the any other way? Will the bird ever be able to to experience flying?
The Goldfinch is a different kind of book in many ways. It is not just a story. Not just a narrative. It's not just about the plot or the characters. It's not just about the painting, It's about the work that has gone into it: the form, the structure, the internal memory of the events experienced by Theo, the resolution of dissonance into sweet tonality only that release is very rarely experienced.
Donna Tartt does not tell us about Theo Decker. She shows us.
Without giving anything away, Donna Tartt has carefully composed the literary equivalent of a grand symphonic work. A structure of composition that repeats upon itself several times, bringing back context and themes without belittling or underestimating to the reader.
So many ideas are spoken of in this book:
Doubleness - (looking at a thing close up vs viewing from a distance).
The love of Beauty
What is true value
Poor decisions and positive outcomes.
Immortality and timelessness
Imprisoned and chained (metaphorically speaking)
Loss and how it's dealt with.
The form of the book is ABA plus a CODA - to use musical terminology. What's so impressive about this is that Tartt used the form as a tool to write her story and still could create a work of art that does not sound arbitrary or academic in anyway, quite the opposite. The characters are carefully developed and the relationships created are natural and sincere. Her writing is beautiful and inspirational. Her prose are brilliant and smart.
I have become a little obsessed with this book, even before reading it, because of the attention it drew. What was so unique about it? Why is it so special?
Is it the best book I have ever read? NO, but it ranks.
Is it special? YES.
I am not completely done thinking about this book. I may, after several weeks of pondering, have more to say.
I hope my review gives some insight to the novel and encourages someone else to take the plunge and start the book.
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- CR
- 12-08-13
So tedious I had to shut it off
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I guess I am in the minority on this too. I listen to audible while I am working out or in the car. I need a compelling story. I love a well written book though. Not one for simple minded literature BUT I tried and tried to stay with this one getting frustrated and shutting it off. I only stayed with it because of all the good reviews, but realized today that life is too short. The author goes into so much detail with her descriptions that I found myself day dreaming. Scary thing is when I realized I was day dreaming I hadn't missed a thing. Looking for a new book today. God I am so glad to have this book out of my life now.
What do you think your next listen will be?
Anything but this book.
Was The Goldfinch worth the listening time?
No
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- Jack Foster
- 11-07-13
I loved this great book
I loved this book. The narrator, who we meet when he is 13, recounts the often amazing story of how he, by chance, comes into possession of a priceless work of art, and over the many years of his life his connection with it and the often unseen control it exerts over his life.
The story itself is well plotted, a large (though not sprawling) machine with many cogs that work in wide, eccentric arcs; but what makes the book great is the deep insight into human connections and the often breathtaking quality of the prose, especially as it relates to those above mentioned connections.
I give nothing away by revealing the central character of the novel, Theo, loses his mother early in the book and the passages about his grief and longing for her are painfully, concisely accurate and movingly expressed. After her sudden and painful departure, Theo's life becomes a study in various kinds of deeply felt loneliness, but, by contrast, in a way the book is about the connections we make; the starkness of his isolation makes the glow of the love and friendship he finds and struggles with all that much stronger. In particular the central relationship is the one between him and the painting itself and even the simple physical descriptions of the painting are informed and radiant. And, of course, since it's a Donna Tartt novel there is a dream sequence that is absolutely electric, I don't know if it's fair to call this a trope of hers but it's something she writes exceptionally well and you spend half the novel looking for it and when it arrives it does not disappoint.
I have read all three of Donna Tartt's novels ( I really loved 'the Little Friend' ) and I would have to say I think this one may be my favorite.
The narrator does an excellent job, he has consistent voices for each character, he has a great instinct for delivery and his voice is a great match for this story, it's hard for me to think of Theo and not hear his voice.
I would just like to say, one more time, this is a great, great book. It starts strong, and goes and goes and mostly does not disappoint. I don't leave a lot of reviews but every now and then, and I'm sure you've had this experience, you read something so good you just want to tell everybody. great book, please go and enjoy.
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- Amy
- 12-29-13
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!
Would you consider the audio edition of The Goldfinch to be better than the print version?
I would have enjoyed reading this book as much as listening. I couldn't stop listening. The story was incredibly compelling. The characters are still in my head, and I finished it a couple of weeks ago. The paths and choices of the main characters all rang true psychologically, and the ending was perfect.
What does David Pittu bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The narrator was perfect. I was living in the story, and the different voices became different people as I listened.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I wish I could listen to it all over again not having read it before.
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- Sara
- 03-04-16
The best book I'll ever read
Would you consider the audio edition of The Goldfinch to be better than the print version?
David Pittu makes the characters come alive
Who was your favorite character and why?
Xandra... she's awful, but I can picture her so clearly, and the rendition of her voice is comical. I feel like everyone knows a version of her.
Which scene was your favorite?
Can't pick. There are too many. It's like 4 books within one. This is the real way to write a book- not dragging it out into an unnecessary trilogy!
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The last 5 minutes. Holy hell. I need that quote on beauty and art tattooed on my arm.
Any additional comments?
Life changing book. It takes a little bit to get into, but once you do....done! I'll forever recommend this book. so many great layers
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