So many times (when I am reading), I find excessive description boring, and useless. My eyes skim quickly through paragraphs describing city blocks or a certain girl's flowing hair in scrupulous, agonizing, poke-my-eye-out-please, detail. It isn't something I am proud of, I can't help but become bored easily with floods of overly used words and copious adjectives. My least favourite series for details and over usage was "50 Shades of Grey". To me, it was terrible, and if it weren't for the half-intriguing story-line, I would have never read them... But I did, so that's (erm) that. "The Goldfinch" on the other-hand was jam-packed with detail. Small pieces of important information were hidden in almost every sentence, but Donna Tartt does it in such a way, that I couldn't stop reading. I have never seen a style of writing that is so honest, and raw. I loved it. I can only hope that when I do get around to writing my best-selling novel (it will happen!!) that it turns out half as good as this immaculate story with endless detail that doesn't feel like detail at all.
Its not just the description. This book actually makes you (or made me) re-think life. Donna (We're on a first name basis now. No Biggie.) dives deep into your subconscious and makes you question our very universe. She is sublime. To try and show what I am saying, here is a quote from the book that won't give anything away, but is superb in it's own question-enducing abilities.
" -this is a question worth struggling with. What if our badness and mistakes are the very things that set our fate and bring us round to good? What if, for some of us, we can't get there any other way?" The Goldfinch by Donna Tart
As a writer, any book that makes me question life, karma, and the way of the universe in general is a book worth reading. Taking this aspect out, The Goldfinch has some amazing, soulful, fresh characters. My personal favourite was Boris, with his Russian-accented broken English, needy, yet hilarious personality, and willingness to do anything to get the job done. He reminds me of that friend we all have/had that is the "bad influence" according to our parents, gets us into endless amounts of trouble. At the end of the day, this friend though, he/she is always there to help bail us out too. Through thick and thin, good and bad... These people are not afraid to live life to its fullest and embrace the risk factor. All of the characters in the book hold a special place, and truly none of them could be left out or changed. All of them are wonderful, unique, and help to tell the story in a way that seems so very real.
The last thing I want to mention is how seamlessly, and spot-on Donna tells a story of tragedy, heart-breaking fate, and the many sides of addiction. She covers loss, and heartache in a way that leaves you breathless, and longing to fix the life of these fictional characters. She is fantastic in displaying a sense of self, while simultaneously depicting a loss of self. Not to mention the love stories within the novel, which are complex and divine in all sorts of facets. Many times I had to just set the book down, basically to remind myself that the events were in fact NOT happening to me. Deep breaths, Little Laurnie.
I could speak about this story for hours to (and with) anyone who is willing to listen, but for you, faithful readers o'mine, all I have to say is read it. If you do read all 771 pages and you want to talk about it, message me, call me, come visit me, or I will come visit you. I am always down for a coffee and a book club chat.
Next book up: "The Rosie Effect" by Graeme Simsion. My sister introduced me to "The Rosie Project" and it was a lovely book with excellent writing. She (and my mom) were also the ones who directed me to "The Goldfinch", so I have them to thank for my obsession. I can't wait to dive into the next book. See you when I resurface.
Keep reading, keep loving,
Lauren <3
