A profound meditation on loss and belonging that doubles as a compelling psychological thriller, a Hollywood adaptation of The Goldfinch, starring Nicole Kidman and Ansel Elgort, will be appearing in UK cinemas later in the year. And this is even less true than in the cases of some other unsummarizable books we’ve shared with you. At 800 pages, it touches upon so many subjects that no summary of its story will ever do the book any justice. It is a journey that will combine love and heartache with police tape and shoot-outs, and confirms its author’s place as one of the great contemporary American novelists. The Goldfinch is a coming-of-age tale told in retrospective first-person narration by its main protagonist, Theodore Decker. This chapter begins with the narrator’s reflections on his relationship between him and his two parents. And thus begins Theo Decker’s descent into crime… Moving seamlessly from the frantic whirl of New York to the twitchy desert heat of Las Vegas, and from the archaic plunder of a downtown antiques store to the bohemian drawing rooms of high society Manhattan, Donna Tartt’s dazzling third novel tracks Theo’s precarious journey through 21st century America. In the first chapter, Theo is reflecting on the time he spends in Amsterdam where he was hiding from authorities. Retrieved by Theo in the aftermath of the blast, somehow he never finds the courage to return it to its rightful owners. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life.’ For the young Theo Decker, left shiftless and alone after the horrific death of his mother in an explosion at New York’s Metropolitan Museum, that life-defining picture is Carel Fabritius’ The Goldfinch. ‘You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again.
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