The Goldfinch...enjoyable and easy to follow?

[tessiegirl]

As the subject says - is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt easy to follow and enjoyable especially as its such a big book?

I hated it .

And you're right, it's loooooooong. I read all if it, just to be sure - but I still hated it.

I loved The Goldfinch and still fantasise about who I would cast in the inevitable Hollywood adaptation. Yes, it is easy to follow and although I was originally intimidated by the 800 odd pages once I got into it I didn't really want it to end.

It's my favourite book of 2014, and easy to read. It's not for everyone though- what sort of stuff do you usually like reading?

I found it brilliant and amazing and about four different 'books' in one...BUT because I could only get to read it for about 20 minutes a day, it did go on and on.

That is not a criticism of the book...she is an incredible writer, it's just I would have liked to have read it over a shorter space of time.

But I def recommend it. One (I think) well worth reading!!!!

I wouldn't say it's easy to read.

It's gripping, but I felt plotwise somewhat patchy, so I enjoyed some parts of it more than others and felt the ending plodded on in a Lord of the Rings film type way ( if you haven't seen it that will make no sense).

It's dull.

IMO

I love Donna Tartt, and have done when I read that obscure first novel as a student. It was years (pre internet) before I discovered everyone else loved her as much as me. I find her very easy to read, and sped through The Goldfinch. The plot is compelling, far more that The Little Friend was. READ IT!!!!

Oh, I'm about to embark on it.
Interesting the differing opinions on it

BOF, have yet to start Fingersmith - bastard RL. Gets in the way of good reading time something chronic

I loved it. Originally read it on kindle so wasn't aware if how long it was.
Agree that the ending was a bit drawn out, but i still liked it.

Boring. Sorry. I wanted to love it and did like the first section in New York but I just couldn't get through the Las Vegas section.

Long boring and a sad disappointment

Marmite, then?

It's a mixture of family epic, a coming-of-age novel, and a pondering on the meaning of love, art and beauty. With drugs and a bit of gangsterism thrown in.

If you don't really look for a bit of philosophical musing with your fiction, then it might not be for you. But if you enjoy lyrical language and pondering the meaning of life a bit, then it's all in there.

One of the best books I've ever read, I loved it and agree with those who said it was easy to read. The prose flows wonderfully and the story is very gripping.

Enjoy

I loved it - although I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second. Enjoy!

I liked it but didn't love it. I preferred her other two novels, which I found easier to read and with more engaging stories.

It is definitely a marmite book, and I came away from it feeling disappointed that I hadn't loved it as much as I'd hoped I would. Maybe I'll give it another go in a couple of years to see if my opinion changes.

I hated it too! Long, boring, turgid and by the end I wondered why I had bothered reading it, but I never read any modern fiction and felt I 'should'! Awful.

Too many words!!
The story was ok but I am not a fan of her writing (first book I have read from Donna Tartt)
I can usually plough through a book in a there and back commute but this took weeks! Definitely a marmite book as others in my book club enjoyed it

BOFster has summed it up well. Wonderful book that has really stayed with me. She's a brilliant descriptive writer and I loved the Las Vegas section - all that starkness so vividly evoked. Yes, the ending is drawn out but I was grateful for that, I didn't want to say goodbye.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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, 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.