Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch

Birds and paintings. Both beautiful and watchable for hours on end. Deadly combination for a reader like me when put together in a book. Donna Tartt has made this painting come alive for me and seeing it here has just made me want to see it for real. Like Tartt says in the book, there is something about it that haunts you and wins you over. Making you want to gaze at it for as long as you can. How I wish I am in frosty New York instead of sunny Cali just so I can take a look..

The boy who lost his mother in an accident at the museum and his life around the painting is the main thread. Tartt is extremely skillful in portraying the complicated curve of Theo's life. Almost Dostoeviskyan I'd say when it comes to telling us the thoughts that churn in his mind. While I loved all of it, I too was after the painting just like Theo. Harking after it on all pages and happily settled so long as it occupies the center spot at the reading point. Despite my soft corner for paintings, the author's excellent penmanship gets top grades for making me love the painting sight unseen! I didn't get a chance to google the painting until after I finished the book and when I finally set my eye on the bird I was surprised to realize how much I had already loved it.

My mom loves animals and birds and whenever she visited us she would spend her time getting to know the birds. As soon as we got home in the evening she would give details of who visited and what they were doing both in the front and back yards. My daughter too loves them and we always take note of when they are up and about Saturday mornings on the little tree in the backyard and the ones that flit about looking to make a home all over the front of the house in spring time. Doubtless, the bird painting is my main source of happiness in reading this book. Seeing pictures of it on the web made it even better. Oh and Happy 6th Anniversary, little blog!