Donna Tartt books - Please share your thoughts and any spoilers here!

[MicheleinMN]

Please share your thoughts and opinions and spoilers and plot hole fillers about her books here!  Please!

 

I've read all three of her books.  Loved the first one, HATED the second one, and have mixed feelings about the third one.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does anyone else have a problem with Boris in The Goldfinch? Can someone fill what I feel is a giant plot hole for me?

 

 

I'm re-reading The Secret History, and enjoying it, but not remembering much from my first reading.

 

 

Anyone else HATE her second book?

 

 

 

 

[plansrme]

Yes!  I am still so angry over #2 that I refuse to read Goldfinch.  Your review didn't make me want to get past my anger. 

 

I also have considered rereading Secret History.  I read it when it first came out--it was one of the first hardbacks I ever bought--and was fairly scandalized (in a gleeful but horrified sort of way).  It would be interesting to see how my impression has changed in the past--cough cough--lots of years.  I handed it off to my 16 yo daughter to read a year of so ago with the warning that it was good but disturbing.

 

Did you wonder, after reading the second book, if TSH wasn't maybe a little autobiographical?  In other words, in light of her apparent completely inability to repeat her success, was TSH maybe not entirely a product of her imagination?  

[Cammie]

Loved, loved, loved the Secret History.  Hated The Little Friend.  I actually enjoyed The Goldfinch - the parts that were set in NY.  Once she got to Vegas...she totally lost me!

 

I agree, it doesn't seem like the same writer wrote the three books.

 

The Secret History was so perfectly written and IMHO flawless that it is hard to imagine her turning out the other two books.

[MicheleinMN]

Spoiler Alert for The Goldfinch!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was the deal with Boris coming and telling Theo about stealing the painting???  Why would he do that?  I'm not sure it even felt right that Boris stole it, but if he did WHY would he come to Theo after all those years to tell him?  I just am not sure I buy that.

[Cammie]

I think she was in a "I need to hurry up and get this story wound up" mode when she wrote that.

 

It felt like the story started strong, went WAY off course and she just didn't know how to get it back on track.

 

I loved the antique store, loved that story line with Theo's relationship.  I wish the book had just stayed there.

[MicheleinMN]

Autobiographical....maybe!  I too was SO angry after reading The Little Friend that I still leave reviews anywhere I can about how much I hated that book.  

 

Another spoiler alert....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But if you are going to write a murder mystery that is classified as fiction, you had better solve it or at least write a MUCH shorter book! 

 

I didn't think I would ever read another one of her books after that, but I couldn't resist the urge to see which way it would go for me if I read this last one.  I'm not sorry I read it, but want to hear what other people like and didn't like about it and her other books too.

[Jenny in Florida]

I really enjoyed The Secret History but couldn't get through The Little Friend. That one was simply too upsetting for me. Because I'm still feeling tender about the second book, I haven't been able to force myself to try The Goldfinch at all. 

[Farrar]

Spoiler Alert for The Goldfinch!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What was the deal with Boris coming and telling Theo about stealing the painting???  Why would he do that?  I'm not sure it even felt right that Boris stole it, but if he did WHY would he come to Theo after all those years to tell him?  I just am not sure I buy that.

 

Because he thought he already knew. I read it months ago so I can't quite remember how they meet up again, but they saw each other again and Boris clearly was on his guard the first time. Then, when he saw Theo wasn't after him, he basically said, thanks for not being angry over that thing where I stole the painting. As Boris pretty much says, they clearly had a really intense friendship which I think maybe allowed for this.

[Farrar]

Did you wonder, after reading the second book, if TSH wasn't maybe a little autobiographical?  In other words, in light of her apparent completely inability to repeat her success, was TSH maybe not entirely a product of her imagination?  

 

But clearly, she did repeat her success on many levels. The Goldfinch was a huge commercial and critical success. Some people feeling that it's not as good as The Secret History doesn't mean it was bad and it was definitely a huge success. It may have even been the most successful literary book of 2014 in the US. I mean, that book was freaking everywhere all at once.

 

I know I'm in the minority generally, but I didn't love The Secret History (never read the second book she wrote). I can't even remember it that well, honestly.

[Stacia]

Because he thought he already knew. I read it months ago so I can't quite remember how they meet up again, but they saw each other again and Boris clearly was on his guard the first time. Then, when he saw Theo wasn't after him, he basically said, thanks for not being angry over that thing where I stole the painting.

 

I agree. I read this many months ago, but that's what I think I remember too.

 

Fwiw, I've loved all 3 of her books. Completely fabulous, imo. Love her writing.

[Cammie]

The great thing about The Secret History, IMHO, is how you were pulled into this group of students and their lives and this horrible thing that happens.  You feel like you are in that college.  You can understand their motivations, their friendships, their relationship.  You can feel how things are spinning out of control.  I re-read it every few years (and I don't generally re-read books!)  I just love the ....atmosphere she created in that book.

[Grover]

hmm I like TSH, and while I didn't like The Little Friend as much, I didn't hate it.  I'm waiting for Goldfinch for Christmas

[mumto2]

I haven't read the Secret History beyond the first few pages which I enjoyed. Plan to read it when I have time.

 

I also hated Boris. Somehow he completely ruined the second half of the book for me.

[Cafdog]

Adored the Secret History.  I was underwhelmed by The Little Friend and The Goldfinch.  She's 1 for 3 with me.

 

[redsquirrel]

Goldfinch won the 2014 Pultizer, so I'd say that is pretty darn successful.

 

I picked up Little Friend at a used booksale but haven't started it yet. I only bought it because I wanted to read Goldfinch but STILL can't get my hands on it from the library. I thought I would read The Little Friend in the meantime. But then I read reviews and I saw it had an inconclusive ending and I KNOW that will make me nuts so I have been putting it off. 

 

But, hey, in waiting for The Goldfinch I got to read Wolf Hall and The Luminaries (both won the Booker prize) and I really liked those, lol.  And STILL waiting for The Goldfinch I am now reading My Brilliant Friend, which is being called a modern classic.

 

Maybe I will just keep reading fantastic books, but never quite getting to The Goldfinch :lol:

[Cammie]

Goldfinch won the 2014 Pultizer, so I'd say that is pretty darn successful.

 

I picked up Little Friend at a used booksale but haven't started it yet. I only bought it because I wanted to read Goldfinch but STILL can't get my hands on it from the library. I thought I would read The Little Friend in the meantime. But then I read reviews and I saw it had an inconclusive ending and I KNOW that will make me nuts so I have been putting it off. 

 

But, hey, in waiting for The Goldfinch I got to read Wolf Hall and The Luminaries (both won the Booker prize) and I really liked those, lol.  And STILL waiting for The Goldfinch I am now reading My Brilliant Friend, which is being called a modern classic.

 

Maybe I will just keep reading fantastic books, but never quite getting to The Goldfinch :lol:

 

Ok, so talk to me about the Luminaries.  I gave up the first time I tried reading it.  Trying to convince myself to pick it up and finish it this time.  I just could not get into it.  I don't know if it was too many characters, story lines or what.  Am I missing something?

[Ipsey]

Sorry, I'm not reading the whole thread because I'm only 1/3 way through The Goldfinch and I don't want to be spoiled.

 

I loved The Secret History. I didn't read the second one because friends whose judgement I trust really hated it.  I had a bit of a hard time getting into the first of The Goldfinch, but now I'm finding a stride and identifying real hopes I have for the narrator, so I'm feeling more invested and enjoying it more.

 

I hope to finish it over the Thanksgiving break and then chat more. :)
 

 

[Stacia]

Spoilers in my post...

 

In The Goldfinch, I loved Boris. No, he's not a stellar person, makes a lot of mistakes, does a lot of terrible things. Otoh, he's not all bad, was sometimes a good friend, & was committed to living life to the fullest despite what circumstances/life threw his way. In a way, he felt like the most real character in the book (along with the doormen in NYC). I, of course loved Hobie (how can you not love Hobie?), but he almost seemed like a slightly mysterious character -- a symbol of goodness & kindness -- but almost existing in another plane. Boris was here, though, in all his over-the-top excess & glory. I think that Theo lived in such a dream-like trance for years that most people in his life were like ships in fog... there, but drifting in & out of clarity & focus. Boris was so intense that he just burned through the fog and was so bright & alive & 3D.

 

I adored/was in awe of Tartt's writing, especially in the part about Theo in the museum right after the explosion. Just incredible description, making me feel the shock, awe, unreality, confusion, weirdness, horror of such a situation.

 

Theo's Dad was the character that made me the maddest.

[MicheleinMN]

Because he thought he already knew. I read it months ago so I can't quite remember how they meet up again, but they saw each other again and Boris clearly was on his guard the first time. Then, when he saw Theo wasn't after him, he basically said, thanks for not being angry over that thing where I stole the painting. As Boris pretty much says, they clearly had a really intense friendship which I think maybe allowed for this.

 

But Boris went to the shop looking for Theo first.  That's the part I don't understand.  

 

I can buy the rest of it, but I can't figure out any reason why Boris would have gone to the shop looking for Theo.  (Or am I mistaken that the guy asking for Theo at the antique shop was Boris?)

[MicheleinMN]

hmm I like TSH, and while I didn't like The Little Friend as much, I didn't hate it.  I'm waiting for Goldfinch for Christmas

 

How do you not hate The Little Friend?  I guess it wasn't so much that I hated it, as it made me so blasted angry that I never wanted to read anything Donna Tartt wrote ever again.  (As you can tell, I got over that part of being mad.)

 

Did you appreciate the writing?  Did you feel she wrapped up the story line?  (And if so, could you show me where?)

 

Just curious, and no worries if you don't have the time or don't feel like answering. :)

[MicheleinMN]

Spoilers in my post...

 

In The Goldfinch, I loved Boris. No, he's not a stellar person, makes a lot of mistakes, does a lot of terrible things. Otoh, he's not all bad, was sometimes a good friend, & was committed to living life to the fullest despite what circumstances/life threw his way. In a way, he felt like the most real character in the book (along with the doormen in NYC). I, of course loved Hobie (how can you not love Hobie?), but he almost seemed like a slightly mysterious character -- a symbol of goodness & kindness -- but almost existing in another plane. Boris was here, though, in all his over-the-top excess & glory. I think that Theo lived in such a dream-like trance for years that most people in his life were like ships in fog... there, but drifting in & out of clarity & focus. Boris was so intense that he just burned through the fog and was so bright & alive & 3D.

 

I adored/was in awe of Tartt's writing, especially in the part about Theo in the museum right after the explosion. Just incredible description, making me feel the shock, awe, unreality, confusion, weirdness, horror of such a situation.

 

Theo's Dad was the character that made me the maddest.

:iagree:

 

Theo's dad...yep, what a guy, right?   :cursing:

[redsquirrel]

Ok, so talk to me about the Luminaries.  I gave up the first time I tried reading it.  Trying to convince myself to pick it up and finish it this time.  I just could not get into it.  I don't know if it was too many characters, story lines or what.  Am I missing something?

 

I really liked it. Yes, that first section, which is 350 pages and so a whole book unto itself, is long. And at first you don't know what is happening and there are a lot of people. I kept flipping to the front to identify the different people but pretty quickly I figured out who was who.  I am glad I didn't have it on a kindle, because any kind of flipping around on a kindle makes me NUTS. If I couldn't have gone back to that cast of characters about 1,000 times I would have been lost. But, just so you know, at the end of that whole first section, as the meeting draws to a close, there is about a four or five page recap of who and what and where that I found helpful.

 

And once you get the people all figured out things start to move quickly. I was amazed that she kept my attention for the entire..what? almost 900 pages? But there were several times that I was super excited to see what was going to happen next. There were twists and turns and ups and downs and I am pretty sure I still don't have a firm grasp on everything, lol.

 

It really is a masterpiece of structure. She has the 12 sections, each about half the length of the section previous. Each section takes place approx. one month later than the once previous, except when she takes you back a few years. And each section has chapters. There are the chapter headings, which are sort of enigmatic, but make sense once you finish the chapters. But, then as the sections get shorter so do the chapters themselves and the chapter headings get longer and actually give you more information than the short chapters. By the end, the sections are pages long and the chapters are paragraphs long and the chapter headings are longer than the chapters. Everything is waxing and waning. But by then you also know everyone so well that the little she gives you makes perfect sense. Frankly, I was left in awe of her discipline. She had a story, a simple one, and old fashioned one, but entertaining, and she had a framework, a way of telling a story and she made them work together.

 

It does have a rather abrupt ending, and there are bits of ...magical realism? supernatural elements? I don't know how to characterize it. And I feel like we ended at the beginning, but I was fine with that. I was still very impressed with what she had achieved. I can absolutely see why she has won awards.

[Cammie]

I really liked it. Yes, that first section, which is 350 pages and so a whole book unto itself, is long. And at first you don't know what is happening and there are a lot of people. I kept flipping to the front to identify the different people but pretty quickly I figured out who was who.  I am glad I didn't have it on a kindle, because any kind of flipping around on a kindle makes me NUTS. If I couldn't have gone back to that cast of characters about 1,000 times I would have been lost. But, just so you know, at the end of that whole first section, as the meeting draws to a close, there is about a four or five page recap of who and what and where that I found helpful.

 

And once you get the people all figured out things start to move quickly. I was amazed that she kept my attention for the entire..what? almost 900 pages? But there were several times that I was super excited to see what was going to happen next. There were twists and turns and ups and downs and I am pretty sure I still don't have a firm grasp on everything, lol.

 

It really is a masterpiece of structure. She has the 12 sections, each about half the length of the section previous. Each section takes place approx. one month later than the once previous, except when she takes you back a few years. And each section has chapters. There are the chapter headings, which are sort of enigmatic, but make sense once you finish the chapters. But, then as the sections get shorter so do the chapters themselves and the chapter headings get longer and actually give you more information than the short chapters. By the end, the sections are pages long and the chapters are paragraphs long and the chapter headings are longer than the chapters. Everything is waxing and waning. But by then you also know everyone so well that the little she gives you makes perfect sense. Frankly, I was left in awe of her discipline. She had a story, a simple one, and old fashioned one, but entertaining, and she had a framework, a way of telling a story and she made them work together.

 

It does have a rather abrupt ending, and there are bits of ...magical realism? supernatural elements? I don't know how to characterize it. And I feel like we ended at the beginning, but I was fine with that. I was still very impressed with what she had achieved. I can absolutely see why she has won awards.

 

Ok, you convinced me!  You are right...I didn't make it past the first 350 pages.  Never got to the end of the meeting...will go back this weekend and reread!!

 

[redsquirrel]

Ok, you convinced me!  You are right...I didn't make it past the first 350 pages.  Never got to the end of the meeting...will go back this weekend and reread!!

 

 

I can totally see why you didn't. I got a bit lost, but personally never felt like quitting. But, I can understand why many do. As I was reading I thought that if anyone bailed, it would be then.

 

I think there is so much going on with structure in this book, and that is not for everyone. I don't know the first thing about astrology and obviously that is a Very Big Deal to the author. I ended up ignoring that, and probably missed some stuff, but I can live with it, lol. And there was something about gold's atomic number being important to the author..? I have no idea.

 

Like I said, I was very impressed with her work, but no everyone will be. And I loved reading a novel set in New Zealand, I've never read one before. I feel like everything I read is set in the US or the UK..it's nice to read about different places. Right now I am on my second novel set in Italy, also a first for me. And the second novel is the first in a trilogy, so it is looking like I have two more to go, lol.   I am reading Half a Yellow Sun next so off to Africa.

 

And maybe THEN I will get my hands on The Goldfinch, lol.By the time I get there, we'll have a new Pulitzer winner to read.