#17 The Goldfinch

Long time no blog, hope you haven’t forgotten about me.

Although I was volunteering for nearly 2 months in Costa Rica and then trekking across the country, I only had time to read almost 2 books. So, the next two blogs were mentally started many weeks ago but typed and posted upon my return to England.

So I read most of this book whilst living and working in a wildlife refuge center called ‘La Marta’. It is owned by the local university, who employs 6 park rangers to care and maintain the rainforest and all the trails within. Through Raleigh, we volunteers were sent to help with the upkeep and renovation of a few of those trails. When it was raining (most of the time), I would find some cover and take some time to myself.

This book was a Christmas present from my father, but considering it is just under 900 pages long I decided to keep it for this trip so I would save packing space.

This book dazzled me at the start. When a book is that thick you wonder about its contents and how is it going to keep you going for its duration. The opening chapters revealed that Theodore Decker, our main guy, survived a terrorist attack aged 13 when his mother didn’t. The trauma he experienced ricochets through his life and frequently reminds him of his pain and loss.

The majority of the book is the years directly following the bombing. Theo has to face social services and a whole bunch of other obstacles to find his future. This future is a murky one, haunted by a life-changing decision made at a ripe age of 13.

Although I officially started this book on the 8thMarch and just finished it this afternoon, this book has continuously evaded my thoughts, making me determined to finish it. I won’t lie, there were some moments where I questioned Donna Tartt’s plot decisions but at the end, I was left feeling a little a reflective. Theo went through something terrible, and through this book we see him at his suicidal lows and as much as I want to say his highs, there weren’t many. It does make you think about recent and previous attacks and one can only wonder the survivors are doing and coping.

Now if you get round to reading this, or read have read it, you may be thinking “WTF is she on about” but that’s where this book takes my mind to.

Best for a holiday read, but definitely a masterpiece.

Hx