Amazon just picked this novel as "the book of the year." For me it's the book of a decade. I understand that Tartt took ten years to research and write this book...and it shows on every page. Her prose is as gorgeously crafted as it was with her two previous novels, The Secret History and The Little Friend. This time around, however, age and experience are on her side. As Tartt grows older, she shows more understanding of the human condition...right now I hope I live long enough to read her next work.
Amazon picks Donna Tartt's 'The Goldfinch' as book of the year
By Patricia Reaney
NEW YORK
The list, released on Thursday, is compiled by editors at the online retailer. The top choices include fiction and non-fiction works, a collection of short stories, a young adult novel and an account of being held captive in Somalia.
"The Goldfinch" is Tartt's first book since "The Little Friend" in 2002, which followed her 1992 debut novel "The Secret History."
"Our top choice, 'The Goldfinch,' is an emotionally trenchant masterpiece and was hands down our team's favorite book of the year," said Sara Nelson, editorial director of books and Kindle at Amazon.
After reading and rereading the last few pages last night, I'm back to my regular life, tending to the mundane yet still engrossing everyday tasks that make up my routine. I'm accompanied though by a new cast of characters...a 20th century Artful Dodger in Boris, an updated and healthier Little Nell in Pippa, another heartbreaking Estella in Kitsey. Theo will remain with me always...I can't forget him and his love for Carel Fabritius' artistic pun of a painting. Since it weighs in at over 780 pages, some complain that this heavy book contains too many words, claiming it should have been edited to a third of its size, caviling about the lengthy descriptions and inner dialogues. That's like telling Beethoven to take out some of the notes of his symphonies! It's in its details that its beauty emerges. For me this hefty tome is worth its weight in gold. Everything about this novel is golden, beginning with the glimmer on the wing of the brave bird it celebrates.
Now I want to see the painting in person...and it's in New York City right now at the Frick, until January 19. I've not been to New York in a long time, but seeing this exhibition would be worth the effort.
Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis - See more at: http://www.frick.org//exhibitions/mauritshuis#sthash.rNeCl47E.dpuf
Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis
October 22, 2013 to January 19, 2014
The Frick Collection is pleased to announce that it is the final
American venue of a global tour of paintings from the Royal Picture
Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. While the prestigious
Dutch museum undergoes an extensive two-year renovation, it is lending
masterpieces that have not traveled in nearly thirty years.
- See more at:
http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/current#sthash.k9OKCI6o.dpufVermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis
October 22, 2013 to January 19, 2014
The Frick Collection is pleased to announce that it is the final
American venue of a global tour of paintings from the Royal Picture
Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. While the prestigious
Dutch museum undergoes an extensive two-year renovation, it is lending
masterpieces that have not traveled in nearly thirty years.
- See more at:
http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/current#sthash.k9OKCI6o.dpufVermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis
October 22, 2013 to January 19, 2014
The Frick Collection is pleased to announce that it is the final
American venue of a global tour of paintings from the Royal Picture
Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. While the prestigious
Dutch museum undergoes an extensive two-year renovation, it is lending
masterpieces that have not traveled in nearly thirty years.
- See more at:
http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/current#sthash.k9OKCI6o.dpufVermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis
October 22, 2013 to January 19, 2014
The Frick Collection is pleased to announce that it is the final
American venue of a global tour of paintings from the Royal Picture
Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. While the prestigious
Dutch museum undergoes an extensive two-year renovation, it is lending
masterpieces that have not traveled in nearly thirty years.
- See more at:
http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/current#sthash.k9OKCI6o.dpufVermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis
October 22, 2013 to January 19, 2014
The Frick Collection is pleased to announce that it is the final
American venue of a global tour of paintings from the Royal Picture
Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. While the prestigious
Dutch museum undergoes an extensive two-year renovation, it is lending
masterpieces that have not traveled in nearly thirty years.
- See more at:
http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/current#sthash.k9OKCI6o.dpufVermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis
October 22, 2013 to January 19, 2014
- See more at: http://www.frick.org/exhibitions/current#sthash.k9OKCI6o.dpufhttp://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/fabritius-carel-the-goldfinch-1654-744406.html
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I saw Tartt's interview on TV and thought it amazing she spent ten years developing this book. Now, based onyour review, I must have a look.
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