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The Goldfinch

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The Goldfinch

By: Donna Tartt
Narrated by: David Pittu
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About this listen

 Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.©2013 Tay Ltd. Coming of Age Contemporary Fiction Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Fiction Inspiring

Critic Reviews

Another rich slice of gothic drama (Books of the Year)
Combines narrative grandeur with dazzling detail (Books of the Year)
Sublimely written, with elegant touches of the gothic (Books of the Year)
Really does grip from the first page... a noirish thriller and epic love story rolled into one (Books of the Year)
Runs the gamut from thriller to meditation on loss, and runs it magnificently (Books of the Year)
A soaring masterpiece
The Goldfinch is a triumph... Donna Tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction
Sumptuous, generous and entirely captivating (Books of the Year)
Dazzling. A glorious, Dickensian novel that pulls together all Tartt's remarkable storytelling talents into a rapturous, symphonic whole and reminds the reader of the immersive, stay-up-all-night pleasures of reading
An astonishing achievement. If anyone has lost their love of storytelling, The Goldfinch will most certainly return it to them. The last few pages of the novel take all the serious, big, complicated ideas beneath the surface and hold them up to the light. Not for Tartt the kind of clever riffs which are too commonly found in contemporary fiction. Instead, when plot comes to an end, she leads us to a place just beyond it - a place of meaning
The Goldfinch is a book about art in all its forms, and right from the start we remember why we enjoy Donna Tartt so much: the humming plot and elegant prose; the living, breathing characters; the perfectly captured settings.... Joy and sorrow exist in the same breath, and by the end The Goldfinch hangs in our stolen heart
Lavish and lush in décor and span... The novel lets us see, and feel, the real bird beyond the brush, or rather, the grief, and addictive yearning, behind its cabinet of curiosities. For those who want to share the double vision, to slip attentively between luxurious illusion and overt craftiness, a deeper layer of pleasure awaits in The Goldfinch. In every sense, this is quite a piece of work (Boyd Tonkin)
In the epic range of its concerns with grief, loss, loneliness, fate, and the nature of good and evil, its rich cast of characters, and its broad social canvas, it bears comparison with Proust, Dickens, Dostoevsky and Nabokov. It is meticulously structured and paced, and reading it is an enthralling experience of total immersion in Tartt's vision and voice. A beautiful and important book (Elaine Showalter)
A gripping page-turner and a challenging, beautifully written account of modern life. Moving but unsentimental, funny without being trite, all human life is here. It will doubtless be a contender for one of 2013's best novels (James Kidd)
All stars
Most relevant
Loved every second of this richly detailed book. Fell in love with every character. An impressive audio production. David Pittu gets top marks

Another Donna Tartt work of genius

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I very much loved this book. so engaging a hard read to put down.

An awesome read

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Transported me - fell in love with the characters, so well read David was great with accents. I was disappointed when finished - will miss Theo and Boris.

Amazing story - a brilliant narrator

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Spot on narration enhanced the experience of this incredible book. Loved it and would recommend

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED ❤️❤️❤️

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A friend recommended this to me and promised me i would go "on a spectacular adventure", and The Goldfginch did not disappoint. I loved Secret History but avoided this one for years because it was about art theft, a topic which didn't interest me. From the moment I started listening I was hooked. The story and characters are utterly absorbing, but I have to say it was the narrator's voice which sold it. I guess he must be an actor because he did all the different voices - perfectly - and it's the first audio book where I felt he was 100 percent in character (a boy who grows into a young man). I loved this book so much that I shed tears at the end. Partly because it was so beautifully written, partly because it was over.

My favourite book of all time - perfect narration

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