The Goldfinch...enjoyable and easy to follow?

museumum - Please don't skip a huge chunk of The Goldfinch. Why would you want to do that?

I don't know how some people found it dull and boring. I thought it was a page-turner and stayed up nights with it. The writing is beautiful without being pretentious. The plot is interesting and fast-paced - it is not an action movie but stuff keeps happening all the time and you want to find out what happens next.

loveditloveditlovedit. book of 2014 for me. it did take me a little while to get into but I am so glad I persevered with it. i am now patiently waiting for the day when i have forgotten enough of it that i can start reading it again

I've just finished it this morning.

I liked it and will likely reread it (I love rereading books when I am not longer propelled forward by needing to know 'what happens next?') and I am sure it will stay with me for quite a while.

I am not sure what to make of Boris - loveable rogue? Immoral prat? A bit of both?
Was he a 'good' friend to Theo? Or a bad influence?
Or did both of these lost boys fulfil a need in each other??

I shall ponder.

Kerala1: "I thought it was partly a tribute to the importance of mothers."

Yes. The depth of feeling in the book is so moving - he never stops loving and missing his mother, and that loss at an early age has a profound effect on his behaviour. Having lost my mother as a young adult a lot of that resonated with me. The book is so full of feeling - it seems so real.

I also thought she did a very interesting thing with the character of Andy - he is very clearly dyspraxic but nowhere does she say this, and so he constantly gets insulted and criticised by his own family and others for being clumsy.

Loved it, didn't want it to end. The Vegas housing estate really resonated with me, reminded me of 'sunset on chocolate mountain' can't remember who it's by, but it has the same sense of being on the periphery of normal life.

Beautiful book - just didn't want to finish it. Stunning portrayal of loss..

I thought it was partly a tribute to the importance of mothers

We've just arrived in LA.....really like reading this - but again, life gets in the way so its about 70 pages a week.....

I thought it was wonderful - Tartt is a dream of a writer. Don't miss the Vegas section, museumum - it is an amazing portrayal of lovelessness, emptiness and neglect. It manages to be witty and heart-breaking.

Really enjoyed it and didn't want it to end. I listened to the audio book, and the narrator (I forget his name) was excellent. Can totally ruin a good book if the person has an annoying voice, but he was just right and kept each 'voice' completely true. I was running while I listened to it, and it actually made me keep running longer just so I could keep listening. NB - this is rare unheard of

Loved it as did my (very picky) book group

I think it's worth powering through all of it (if you aren't busy ), because it really gives you the experience of the character's growing up. Even if it does feel like it's happening in real time .

I found it helpful to compare it to something like Dickens or Jane Eyre. You don't need every single word for the 'plot', but you are cheating yourself of the full arc by skipping bits out.

I'm on page 250ish and was giving up but my friend has persuaded me to skip the next bit and restart when he leaves Vegas.

It's taking me ages to read but I'd be happy if it didn't end. Casting - I'm imagining James Franco as adult Boris. I keep seeing Hobie as Bob Hoskins or Robin Williams . And now I've just learned he's tall - Liam Neeson?

I loved it. The scenes in LA still stick on my mind - even though it was very drawn out - as one of the best descriptions of neglect I have ever read. I loved how it was all tied up in the end, but not necessarily a happy ending. It was long and drawn out but I felt it had to be to get across the messages. The only scenes I didn't like were in Europe but I think they were needed for the plot line.

BOF has said all that I feel about the book.

I loved it, but I did read it whilst on holiday so I could read it in two hour or so chunks.

I think it would be a very difficult book to read in snatches eg whilst on the bus or for a bit before bed etc.

I loved it, was captivated from page 1 and despite the length didn't want it to end. The characters were vivid and have stayed with me. It's quite a heart wrenching book and I found myself tearful on the train more than once.
Have started The Luminaries but it isn't grabbing my attention in the same way.

It is not only until page 300 or something it starts really to be interesting. I didn't love it or hate it, but I would have definitely edited out at least 400 pages. The ending is very disappointing!

I loved it until the last chapter. Then I just felt her editors had allowed her to bang on about the point she was trying to make. That would have been fine but I got the message earlier, didn't need the summary thanks.

I loved it. I like a page turner, a can't put it down. It's the former, but not the latter.

I could have easily read another 400 pages of it and was sad it ended. I loved the characters.

I didn't like The Secret History as most of the characters I found hugely irritating.

I loved it, but I found the end a bit tedious like many others.

I found some parts nearly unbearable to read because I have a boy about Theo's age - she captures his sadness too well.

I loved it. I thought the beginning was a bit slow and the ending a little bit drawn-out (and slightly implausible) but the several hundred pages in between are terrific. It's a bit like reading Dickens in that you get drawn into this world of extraordinary characters and events. I think she's an absolutely amazing writer.

I'm about 200 pages in and I don't know if i'll finish the book. The writing is lovely but sometimes I find that it is at the expense of plot and pace and that somehow it could all be tightened up a bit. I have also started the Garden of Evening Mists and enjoying that a lot more as it is so beautiful and evocative.