the Goldfinch

• An excellent review by @francesvickery1

A masterpiece! This novel follows the life of Theodore Decker, who’s life is struck by tragedy after tragedy. With nods to Camus throughout, there are hints of absurdism and existentialism as Theo navigates his way through a turbulent teenage/young adult life of longing, theft, addiction and friendship. Constant questions of what it means to be right or wrong and good or bad all get tangled together in the threads of fate. Our tragic hero, is pulled along a string of disastrous mishaps - unsure of his purpose. At times Theo can seem unemotional but his thoughts are always profound. It seems that in this way there are also nods to Ancient Greek tragedy.

A key motif is the idea of idolatry, adoring an object or something unobtainable in an obsessive way. I would argue this includes Pippa, he’s more in love with the idea of her than the reality of her. Both Pippa and the painting came into his life at the exact moment when his mother died, inexplicably linking them and leaving little room in his life to love anything else. The boundaries between fiction, object and reality are blurred. Theo is both an endearing and interesting character, his vices are somewhat relatable but too extreme to fully understand on a personal level. This is where the power of Tart’s writing comes in, she takes something so everyday like the materialistic love of a painting, and pushes it to the extreme without alienating the readers. I felt like I completely understood Theo’s plight despite it being far removed from my reality…