The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Excellent)

As the book begins, Theo Decker is 13 years old and lives in New York City with his mother, Audrey Decker. They have been abandoned by his alcoholic father, Larry Decker. Theo loves his life with his mom, who enjoys being with her son. They spend a great deal of time together doing many things throughout the city.

One day, Theo and his mother run into an art museum to escape a thunderstorm. A bomb explodes and damages many parts of the museum. Theo survives, but his mother is one of the many casualties. 

Before the explosion, Theo's attention is directed toward a red-haired girl named Pippa, who is at the museum with her guardian Welton "Welty" Blackwell. 

After the explosion, Theo awakens from unconsciousness, and befriends Welty to try to comfort him in his distress. Welty gives Theo a family heirloom ring with instructions for him to visit his business partner at Blackwell & Hobart. 

Theo eventually makes his way out of the museum crawling through debris in the darkness. Theo does not make it out of the museum alone; he leaves with the world famous painting, The Goldfinch. The choice to take the painting leads Theo down a road that he never saw coming. 

I rated the book 4/5 stars for being an excellent piece of modern day literature. It is a bit long and wordy at times, but is a great read.

“Caring too much for objects can destroy you. Only—if you care for a thing enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn’t it? And isn’t the whole point of things—beautiful things—that they connect you to some larger beauty?”  - The Goldfinch

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