Shall I persevere with The Goldfinch?

[anothergilmore]

I'm about half way through and I loved it at first but God I can't read any more boring over detailed shite about his drug use! Is the rest of the book going to be like this or does it get better again?

If I should just throw in the towel does anyone have any good recommendations?

Books I love include - wool trilogy, life after life, time travellers wife, outlander series, I capture the castle and also Marian Keyes.

The end is better but I didn't find it completely satisfying, not considering the length of the book. I have recently enjoyed Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult and I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. A Man Called Ove is great - much lighter and a complete antidote. Hope you find something you like.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout is one of my best reads ever! Well worth it. I agree with others that the last part of Goldfinch is much better than the middle. I also second A God in Ruins particularly if you enjoyed Life after Life, and Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series is also fab!

I loved Olive Kitteridge.

First third excellent, middle dire, ending ok.

I liked it overall but I always try to finish a book if I start it even if I don't love it.

Yes it gets better but not sure what the appeal was tbh.

There's a film of Olive Ktteridge!

i adored the Goldfinch!

Excellent summary Best.

The first part was great, the second part was boring and the third part was unreadable. Bin it off.

I loved it, but came to a standstill in the Las Vegas section for ages. I'm glad I persevered.

I gave up way before that point-utter drivel. Life is too short to read boring books.

It wasn't just me then! I too loved Donna Tartt's previous books so was really excited about The Goldfinch! Got it in hardback and everything! I too kept on stopping halfway through then picking it up a few weeks later and reread from a few chapters back, only to stop in the same place. In the end I took it to Portugal last summer and deliberately left it in the apartment I was staying in. Hopefully someone else will get some enjoyment from it.

BestIsWest I couldn't agree more (although I'm tempted to say that the end was only just 'OK'). A good friend leant me the book, unprompted, raving about it, so I felt I had to finish it. As my only opportunity to read is at bedtime, I really began to resent the book. It embodies all I dislike about Dickens...

I love this book and I think I especially loved the Las Vegas time - some of those scenes have really stayed with me. And you need to read it because it gives you an understanding of the relationship between Theo and Boris, which is important. And an understanding of who Theo becomes. Stick with it - it's a fantastic book. I've reread it a couple of times already.

Well I finished it tonight.

Skipped through from 80 to 95% and am glad I found out what happened.

But glad it's finished too.

I thought it was good but a bit preachy. Boris is very deep. Not really something I want from reading what's supposed to relax me.

I found the Vegas bits pretty interesting, it's now he's back in New York and it's either about drug use or furniture that I'm really struggling to continue. I think I'll skim rad it for a bit.

I'm going to be looking up some of the recommendations as well, thank you!

I agree about the furniture! I thought it's great you've done your research Donna but really this bit about the chairs isn't that interesting, sorry...

When in doubt, skip. You'll read the paragraphs you drop now, next time (or the next, or the next...).

Oh I am glad of this thread! I have a copy on my shelf which I abandoned 2/3 of the way through - sounds like I bailed out just before it was about to get better.
I shall pick it up again.

Enjoyed it but as it progressed I thought it was in need of a good editor. It appeared unnecessarily long and would have benefitted from chunks being removed and the plot tightened up.

I skim read/missed whole sections of that book, which I never usually do, Wish I'd never started it.

I normally love a big long book.

I was rather disappointed in this. I loved the first section, but found the plot and characters increasingly implausible. I didn't like the Las Vegas part, and I particularly hated the way Boris's dialogue was written - just made me think of Ali G. And by the end the whole thing was just ridiculous. I loved The Secret History and quite liked the Little Friend one.

I thought it was really really dull too and the ending ... meh.