Why ‘The Goldfinch” Was (And Still Is) Such A Flop

I spent the weekend finishing book number one of (hopefully) twenty-four of 2023. After reading and loving Donna Tart’s 1992 novel, The Secret History, I decided to take a crack at her 2013, Pulitzer prize-winning book, The Goldfinch. Now, I rarely take the time to make a full-length review and analysis for these reads, however, seeing as The Goldfinch sits at a mere 770 pages, I figured there was a lot we needed to unpack.

The story kicks off following 13-year-old Theo Decker through the streets of New York City with his single mother, on their way to a disciplinary meeting at Theo’s school. Early for the meeting and attempting to escape the rain, Theo and his enthusiast mother duck into the Metropolitan Museum of Art to stroll the galleries. Upon the end of their trip to the museum, Theo and his mother part ways momentarily, and in those fateful moments, a bomb goes off inside the museum, knocking Theo unconscious. When he comes to, he realizes that the museum is in shambles and injured people are scattered everywhere. In a frantic attempt to locate his mother, Theo stumbles upon an older man he had recalled seeing earlier in the gallery with a young, red-haired girl who had caught Theo’s attention. In the man’s dying moments, he gives Theo a ring and insists that Theo brings it back to its owner, a “James Hobart” But the ring isn’t the other possession that Theo leaves the Met with. Unsuccessful in finding his mother, he swipes one of her favorite paintings, the 17th century Goldfinch, from the gallery walls on his way out.

Tragically, Theo’s mom passed away in the gallery after the bomb went off — leaving Theo an orphan. At this point, he is taken in by the family of his middle school friend Andy Barbour. The Barbour’s are a wealthy, upper-class family, with a handful of children. Whilst learning to navigate the grief and agony of his mothers death, he decides to find the owner of the ring he was handed in the bombing. Theo discovers that James Hobart owns an antique furniture store in the city. He makes his way to the shop where he meets James Hobart, “Hobie” and is welcomed into the shop with open arms. This is where he discovers that the young, red haired girl he saw in the gallery, Pippa, is still alive and is living with Hobie, who co-owned the shop with her uncle, Welty, the man who died in the museum bombing. Instantly, Theo feels a connection to the girl, and begins to come back to the shop on a frequent basis to spend time with her and Hobie. Even when Pippa is shipped off to Texas to live with her aunt, Theo continues to work with Hobie in the shop, learning the art of furniture restoration.

But, that’s only where the story begins. Shortly after Theo adjusts to his new life in NYC, his dead-beat, alcoholic dad turns up out of nowhere with a new wife, whisking Theo out from the custody of the Barbour’s, and to the Las Vegas desert. It’s at his new school in Nevada where he meets Boris, a near-orphan from Russia. Bonding over their mostly parentless lives, they spend most of their days stealing Theo’s fathers alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and whatever they can lift from the local supermarket. The whole time, The Goldfinch painting remains quietly secured in Theo’s bedroom, wrapped in a protective layer of newspaper and pillowcases.

However, when Theo’s dad is killed drunk driving, he realizes he has a short period of time to disappear before Child Protective Services ships him off to foster care. Heartbroken to leave Boris — who decides to stay to be with his girlfriend — Theo takes off back to New York, with The Goldfinch, his step-mother’s dog Popper, and all the cash and drugs he can get his hands on. When he shows up back in New York, he finds refuge at Hobie’s antique store, where he yearns to be reunited with Pippa. Despite his spiraling drug usage, Theo joins Hobie’s business after graduating from an early-college program. By selling fraudulent antiques, Theo manages to turn around Hobie’s sinking business. This is when he is first approached by Lucius Reeve, a gentleman that Theo had sold a fake antique chest to. Reeve calls Theo out, accusing him not only of faking the chest, but also of stealing The Goldfinch.

Now, for years and years, Theo has remained under the radar regarding the painting. After leaving Las Vegas, Theo decided to keep the painting in a controlled storage unit, in an attempt to protect Hobie in case he was ever caught with the multi-million dollar piece of art. Theo denies Lucius’s accusations, but thoroughly shaken up he decides not to visit the storage unit for a while.

Here’s where Tartt really started to lose me. Mind you, we are only around 300 pages into the novel at this point — a mere halfway through. Theo goes on long monologuing rants to himself  where he blames himself for his mothers death. Additionally, after running into Platt Barbour — the eldest Barbour child — on the streets one day, he learns that both Andy and Mr. Barbour have passed away in a sailing accident. Heartbroken to have been hit with more loss, Theo visits a grief-filled Mrs. Barbour where he runs into Kitsey, the middle Barbour child, and the two quickly embark into a romantic relationship.

Things really start spinning out of control when Theo runs into Boris in the city. In a dark and musty bar, over many vodkas, Boris reveals to Theo that back in Las Vegas, he had stolen The Goldfinch painting from Theo and subsequently got it stolen from him. In another 200 pages, the two go to Amsterdam in a messy, criminal affair to retrieve the painting where Theo contemplates overdosing after shooting someone.

Lost yet? Because I know I was. All in all, I was actually a fan of the book up until Theo leaves Las Vegas, goes back to New York, and doesn’t return to the Barbour’s. I think this is where the book really took a turn for the worst. I think that this where it lost direction — similar to how Theo loses direction in his life here. In terms of characters, there were few that felt redeemable to me. Despite being the main character and narrator, Theo is incredibly flat and one-dimensional. Boris is chaotic and reckless, oftentimes having bursts of outrage and impulsivity. The only characters that really made a lasting impact were Hobie and Pippa, who seemed to be forgotten by Tartt once Theo had saved (and then discredited by producing and selling fakes) Hobie’s business. I would’ve much rather read a story about Theo, Hobie, and Pippa deciding whether to return the painting. Or Theo returning to the Barbour’s and him and Andy figuring out a way to turn it in to the authorities. There were a lot of alternative endings that would’ve exceeded the one where Boris and Theo go on a complicated, crime-filled mission to reclaim the painting overseas. It didn’t fit the atmosphere of the novel and it didn’t fit Theo’s muted personality.

Despite this novel winning a Pulitzer prize, I thought it dragged on in an endless and boring manner. There was tons of potential for this novel, but it’s as if Tartt didn’t actually finish fleshing out the ending before she started writing. By the time I got to the last hundred pages, I had completely forgotten the importance of The Goldfinch, because they spend so little time actually talking or caring about it. It appears that many literature critics felt similarly about this novel, with Vanity Fair going in on the book after its much anticipated release in 2013. Since then the book — and subsequent movie — have received piles of backlash, including this piece from Vox.

After reading the book and watching the movie, I can honestly say I wouldn’t waste my time with either. I was expecting much more from Tartt and such a famous book. Skip over this Donna Tartt book and read The Secret History instead.