The protagonist, yearold theodore decker, survives a terrorist bombing at an art museum where his mother is killed. Frankly i am not sure i would have continued on had the goldfinch not been a donna tartt book, knowing shed spring a sudden surprise on me toward the end. Our book club just finished reading and discussing our latest treasure, the goldfinch, by donna tartt. Theodore theo decker and his mother visit new york city s metropolitan museum of art so she can view the masterpiece the goldfinch. Boris hands theo a great deal of money and tells him that it is his share of the. The goldfinch is a book about art in all its forms. I read the goldfinch before, not as part of this abm book club, but since i always read this blog regularly i hope its ok that i am adding a comment. Theo, bleary from the trauma, grabs the goldfinch during the bombing mayhem and.
Our reading guide for the goldfinch by donna tartt includes book club. The goldfinch part i book club ideas by donna tartt our book club has been looking forward to reading the goldfinch for the past four months let me explain why. No reading group should be without this guide to donna tartts acclaim. Throughout the book, tartt explores the tension between adolescence and maturity. The other hand is an ambitious and fearless gallop from the jungles of africa via a shocking encounter on a nigerian beach to the media offices of. There was nothing redeeming about this book at all and im just mad at. Read the goldfinch absolutely for free at readanybook. The goldfinch is a phony imitation of a prestige drama. Donna tartts the goldfinch is a complex story about theodore theo decker, a young boy who suffers the loss of his mother in a terrorist attack at the metropolitan museum of art in new york city. Book club discussion questions for the goldfinch by donna tartt. In other words, a good book should propel readers from page to page, in part. A dramatic event happens about twothirds of the way in that upends the very foundations that the story is built on.
This 45page guide for the goldfinch by donna tartt includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 12 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Its often a fight club moment, and while fight club is itself a brilliant novel that uses. He never says to his mother, but i wasnt the one smoking. Three things you missed when you read the goldfinch. Confused in the rubble of the tragedy, he steals a priceless piece of art known as the goldfinch. While they are at the museum, a bomb explodes, killing theos mother and traumatizing him. They see each other when pippa infrequently visits hobie in new york city. I literally and i can not stand that word could not put this book down. A guide for book clubs the reading room book group.
A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Obrehts portrayal of a southeast europe corrupted by war yet inspired by legends and fairy tales is both touching and deeply important. He contemplates suicide and starts writing notes to kitsey, pippa, mrs barbour and hobie. Dan, hanna, and meghan love donna tartts big, big novel. The goldfinch is obsessed with intertexts references to other works of literature, music, film and art e. The goldfinch is a novel by the american author donna tartt. The other hand is shocking, exciting and deeply affecting in its evisceration of how one hideous event brings two alien cultures into collision. Little bee, chris cleave the other hand, also known as little bee, is a 2008 novel by british author chris cleave.
Did you enjoy the goldfinch and would you recommend this book to your friends. The characters in this book are so vividly portrayed it is quite possible you will never forget them. A guide for book clubs study guides for book clubs cope, kathryn on. The goldfinch by donna tartt and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Read these two statements and discuss where this place is, what she calls the rainbow edge and polychrome edge. Disoriented during the attack, he takes the masterpiece the goldfinch. It is a dual narrative story about a nigerian asylumseeker and a british magazine editor, who meet during the oil conflict in the niger delta, and are re. The back board of the uk deluxe limitededition has a passage from the book the main character describing his first encounter with the 1654 carel fabritius oil painting, the goldfinch. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and selfinvention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate. On the other hand, theo is engaged to the unfaithful and apparently heartless kitsey barbour. Three things you missed when you read the goldfinch barnes. This is the title page from the uk deluxe limitededition of the goldfinch.
When i asked book readers about the goldfinch, i generally received two answers. The goldfinch donna tartt book club guide refinery29. The goldfinch by donna tartt donna tartt is a writer who takes her time shes published just one novel per decade since her debut in. If you are an avid reader, the goldfinch is the kind of book that you only come across a few times that leaves a lasting impression on you. Winner of the pulitzer prize for fiction 2014 aged thirteen, theo decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. In the modern literary world, no one brings out the lovers and the haters. Among other content, it includes a full plot synopsis. I belong to a small book club that chose to read it adn 4 out of 6 give up on it. It won the 2014 pulitzer prize for fiction, among other honors. In the goldfinch, that moment arrives early on, in the backroom of a greenwich village vintage furniture shop.
The goldfinch by donna tartt, signed abebooks passion for books. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. The goldfinch part ii book club ideas by donna tartt do you remember how i teased you at the end of the goldfinch post part i with this huge empty drivers license. Theo, bleary from the trauma, grabs the goldfinch during the bombing mayhem and takes it home with him. To frame a story about art, love and morality, donna tartt visits two continents and travels across time in a beautifully told if sometimes sagging story. Discussion questions for little bee the other hand. Natalia has returned to her roots in balkan country to lend a hand at an orphanage, and.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Donna tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction stephen king, new york times an astonishing achievement. The goldfinch is a brilliant story with memorable characters and most of the book is incredibly well done and fun to read. The goldfinch is a haunting odyssey that combines vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and breathtaking suspense winner of the 2014 pulitzer prize for fiction her canvas is vast. Many comparisons have been made between this book and great expectations and other dickens books do you see the similarities. During the immediate aftermath, theo meets an old man who is dying from his wounds. If donna tartt is only going to put out a book every decade, i for one am. To ask other readers questions about the goldfinch, please sign up. The goldfinch, by donna tartt the author of the secret history returns with a novel about art, love and loss thats drawn comparisons to oliver twist and the harry potter series. Identify other moments in the novel where language fails. I know that sounds like i just lifted that from the book jacket, but honestly its true. Luckily for all parties involved, either group will be completely enraptured by donna tartts new book, the goldfinch. Its beautiful prose is densely layered and overflowing with richly developed characters.
It also topped the new york times best seller list for paperback trade fiction in 2010. In the first section, the narrator, theo decker, is holed up in an amsterdam hotel, looking at newspapers written in dutch, which. The other hand reached number on the 2009 sunday times bestseller list, and was the only literary title on the list without a richard and judy book club recommendation, a literary award or a film adaptation. Carey is a topnotch writer, and his first hand experience with the new york art scene provides a satire as authentic as a reader could hope for. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the. Questions for book clubs about little bee the other hand. On the other hand, theo is engaged to the unfaithful and. The audio book club steals the goldfinch slate magazine. The goldfinch by donna tartt book club discussion questions.
The goldfinch book club discussion questions arlenes. He reads about a group of people who, during the confusion of the museum. Walden, the idiot, silas marner, spiegel im spiegel, the magnificent seven, and, obviously, the goldfinch, to name a few. Softcover, little brown and company, 2014 you can purchase the goldfinch online at hugo bookstores. Discussion reflecting on the comparison to dickens was fast and. Here, a sadeyed antiques dealer, hobie jeffrey wright, explains the difference between two chairs, identical to the untrained eye.
So as i read i wanted to ferret out what made the novel so compelling to some, while others. Please put your thoughts on the goldfinch book club questions in the comments area below. Nothing makes me happier than a book that will take up loads of my timeits probably as close as ill ever get to flying to the moon damn you, sir richard branson. Book club discussion questions for the goldfinch by. The goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through presentday america and a drama of enthralling power. The huffington post selected the tigers wife for our now discontinued book club in 2011, and with good reason. Alone and rudderless in new york, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Feel free to purchase the goldfinch from the book depository using my affiliate link so i can use the proceeds to buy even more books. Author tartt has noted that the purposeful destruction of the giant sandstone buddhas. The washington post noted its rather mundane ideas. Published in 20, it was tartts first novel since the little friend in 2002 the novel is a comingofage tale told in the first person. As much as i wanted to finish the book i did not want to bid farewell to these characters. Between reality on the one hand, and the point where the mind strikes reality, theres a.
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