Though I wouldn’t consider reading as my passion, but rather a hobby, I do engage myself with books that seem to have an endearing aura to them. And the book ‘The Goldfinch’ by Donna Tartt seems to have made its way into my ever-growing list of greatly favoured books.
Theodore “Theo” Decker recounts the story of his life, and as the story begins he presents himself as a troubled 13-year-old who was caught smoking at school and the presence of his mother is requested. Things take a turn for the worst when his mother, whom Theo regards as a vivacious and beautiful woman, is killed in a terrorist bombing at the metropolitan museum of art.
In sheer terror and panic, and also influenced by an encounter with an old man who points toward the painting of the Goldfinch, Theo takes the painting, at a loss as to what to do with the valuable piece of art.
Following this, his father, his only other family, whisks him away to Las Vegas, consequently shattering his life with the family of one of his friends that he had come to find tolerable and even liked to an extent. In Las Vegas, a bit of a comfort that Theo finds in the form of a friend, is Boris. And after his father’s death he is faced with an alternative: to run back to New York, or be moved to a Nevada care home, and he readily chooses the former.
The rest of the story progresses with his adventures concerning the painting and the dangers which he faces while being in possession of that piece of art. In the end, Theo travels around the world to make right all things he had done wrong.
Though this book hasn’t made a change in my style of living, it left quite an impact on my life. It was an emotional roller coaster for me. I would say this book had me on the verge of tears on countless instances, and the friendship that Theo and Boris had, moved me beyond words.
I had never really heard of the author, but I can safely say that since reading her bestseller, I am a huge fan of her books. The story is written in such a way that at some instances certain events took a bit of time to sink in. But, the way Theo’s feelings were framed was so authentic and made sure to shake the reader. To me, this book played with my feelings for quite a few days and had me unsettled each moment.
— The reader is a student based in Al Ain.
