When you hear a book has won the Pulitzer Prize, you have certain expectations from it. I’m not saying these expectations are necessarily that the book will be enjoyable. I expect a long, winding story, with complex writing that would go above my head and just a story that a ‘main stream chick lit reader’ would find boring.
The Goldfinch, surprised me by not living up to these expectations.
Don’t get me wrong. It does have a long, winding plot. The writing does get a bit too good to be appreciated by a casual reader. But the one thing this novel isn’t, is boring.
I was expecting a story set in the early 20th century when I heard that the book revolves around a painting. I don’t know why? But somehow I felt that in this day and age of Instagram, surely a painting can’t change a person’s life. So I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the story is in fact based in the present times.
To be absolutely honest, the book opens with a little vagueness. Throughout the first chapter, I kept on feeling as if I missed something because certain things weren’t making sense. And knowing that I can’t give up on the book so soon, I thought I had signed myself up for a long, boring reading journey. Typical Pulitzer novel.
However, starting from the second chapter, the story suddenly came into focus and once the fog lifted, I soon found myself immersed in the string of events Theo was going through.
Somewhere in the middle, I again started losing interest. Or may be it was just the fear of something happening to the dog and the feeling of helplessness seeing the ruin of this perfectly normal boy, that slightly put me off.
the story once again picked up for me once it was established that the dog will remain safe and well…Theo entered the next phase of his life.
Overall, the book had its crests and falls. This story made me experience the grey shades of people in a way no other book has. The character I quite disliked in his early adolescence, I ended up finding really adorable in adulthood.
It is a long book, and it does go over your head at points. But I’d say, it isn’t a difficult read. If you want to flaunt that you have read a Pulitzer Prize winner, The Goldfinch is a good choice. Just don’t keep on going over portions you don’t understand. Just go with the flow and everything will make sense in the end. Also, once you are absorbed in the story, it isn’t as lengthy as it seems.
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