In 2012 I was furious that the Pulitzer Prize was not awarded to any novel. And while I enjoyed the 2013 winner, Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son I was not convinced it was the best novel of the year.
But this year the committee was spot on. The award this year deservedly went to Donna Tartt for her fantastic novel The Goldfinch. Long a big fan of the author, I pre-ordered this book and read it the week it was released. At my age, not a lot of books keep me up reading most of the night but this one did. In addition to the hard copy, I ordered it as an eBook as well. I can truthfully say that of all the books I read this past year (and there were many of them), none held my interest as much as The Goldfinch.
The first book by Donna Tartt was The Secret History followed a decade later by The Little Friend. I had read each of these at least twice so I was really looking forward to this book, a decade after her second novel. I now know exactly how the tweens felt when awaiting a new Harry Potter book. And I wasn't disappointed. This is her best work yet.
The Goldfinch is everything one could ask of a novel. The plot is intriguing and never dull. It is a hefty book with more than 500 pages and I assure you that each page will hold your interest. The characters are well developed, there are many twists and surprises, and the ending is satisfying. This book has so much to offer. Kudos to the Pulitzer Committee for making the right selection this year.
11 comments:
I totally agree with you. This is by far the best novel I've read in 15 or 20 years. I was apprehensive because of the number of pages, but found it to be tragically beautiful in its story, and like poetry in its descriptions. It haunted me for days after I'd completed it....
I love this review! I am always looking for good books, and this one will definitely be on the list. Thank you!
I checked it out for Kindle and thinking I had a credit, bought it. It had a ton of great reviews and yours made me push the buy button. Thanks.
Did I hit the publish button. Yikes. Ok. I'm buying on my Nook
For someone (me) who hasn't read a book in several years, you even make me interested! If blog reading ever disappears, I just may have to get back to reading THAT WAY.
I always have at least one book going, and I'm going to check this one out. Thanks!
Thanks for your comments, everyone.
Kim - I totally agree.
The Goldfinch sounds fascinating, I'll have to give it a whirl. Thanks for the suggestion.
I have it on audio and haven't yet listened to it -- glad to hear your recommendation.
I've downloaded the audio from the library - can't wait to get to it! (I have about 8 books in the queue though - sheesh!)
I really liked this book, too. I haven't read the author's earlier works, but sounds like I should check them out, too.
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