Its been a slow reading month so far. I went to Australia hoping to get a ton of reading done, and buying way too many kindle books in anticipation, but unfortunately I wasn't as successful as I expected.
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
I was most excited for this one out of all my kindle purchases, so I decided to tackle it first. I know everyone was reviewing this late last year, so I'm a bit late, but it still felt pretty new and exciting to me. I'm sad to say I was a little disappointed overall. I loved the setting (in the New York parts at least), particularly the antique shop, and I always enjoy references to art and literature, but here they felt a little unnatural. I can easily forgive a writer for making a lot of references to other writers (Donna Tartt did this in her other two books as well, but in both it made more sense) if the plot is good. Unfortunately I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. Without giving too much away, I thought that the big event at the beginning wasn't done very well (I know that sounds very vague). I understand that Theo is young at the time (around 13), and Tartt is trying to express that with her narration. As the book progresses the writing style definitely improves, and older Theo is more interesting anyway. But still, I wasn't enthralled by the story, the characters or the writing. I found it empty. Themes were touched upon in various discussions between characters at the end of the book: our relationships with objects, our struggle to be good. It all felt much too straightforward, like telling the reader how one should feel about it.
Maybe its because I enjoyed The Secret History so much, or maybe because I knew Donna Tartt took 10 years to write this, I expected more. The Secret History actually affected me more after reading it, when I was left to consider it as a whole. Weeks after reading The Goldfinch, I haven't really thought about it at all. I feel like maybe I'm missing out on something- other people seem to have had really great experiences with The Goldfinch.
Some other books I read:
The Other Typist, by Suzanne Rindell, an impulse buy, purely because it seemed like a fun holiday read (or my idea of a fun holiday read). Much has been said about the 'twist' in the book, which surprises me because its not really a twist at all. Rose, relating the story after it has happened, as much as tells the reader what's going to happen. Only the last paragraph undercuts that, leaving many readers, including myself, confused.
The Woman Upstairs, by Clare Mussad, which I loved it because it made me think a lot more about art than The Goldfinch did. It's partly about what it means to be a female artist and a contemporary artist, but also an engrossing character study. Although I wasn't overwhelmed when I finished it, I'd still recommend it.
Nightfilm, by Merisha Pessl, which I hope I'll be writing more about in future. Strangely enough it was a negative review that made me want to read this book. The detective story was criticised, and I can see why, although, like others, I was seduced by the mystery at first. Even if the ending wasn't entirely satisfactory and the murder mystery format didn't really work, I loved learning about the fictional director, Cordova. I definitely want to explore film more in the future.
All of these were kindle books- I feel like I haven't read a physical book in an age. I'm in a bit of a slump at the moment, but I'm looking forward to getting back to reading.
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
I was most excited for this one out of all my kindle purchases, so I decided to tackle it first. I know everyone was reviewing this late last year, so I'm a bit late, but it still felt pretty new and exciting to me. I'm sad to say I was a little disappointed overall. I loved the setting (in the New York parts at least), particularly the antique shop, and I always enjoy references to art and literature, but here they felt a little unnatural. I can easily forgive a writer for making a lot of references to other writers (Donna Tartt did this in her other two books as well, but in both it made more sense) if the plot is good. Unfortunately I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. Without giving too much away, I thought that the big event at the beginning wasn't done very well (I know that sounds very vague). I understand that Theo is young at the time (around 13), and Tartt is trying to express that with her narration. As the book progresses the writing style definitely improves, and older Theo is more interesting anyway. But still, I wasn't enthralled by the story, the characters or the writing. I found it empty. Themes were touched upon in various discussions between characters at the end of the book: our relationships with objects, our struggle to be good. It all felt much too straightforward, like telling the reader how one should feel about it.
Maybe its because I enjoyed The Secret History so much, or maybe because I knew Donna Tartt took 10 years to write this, I expected more. The Secret History actually affected me more after reading it, when I was left to consider it as a whole. Weeks after reading The Goldfinch, I haven't really thought about it at all. I feel like maybe I'm missing out on something- other people seem to have had really great experiences with The Goldfinch.
Some other books I read:
The Other Typist, by Suzanne Rindell, an impulse buy, purely because it seemed like a fun holiday read (or my idea of a fun holiday read). Much has been said about the 'twist' in the book, which surprises me because its not really a twist at all. Rose, relating the story after it has happened, as much as tells the reader what's going to happen. Only the last paragraph undercuts that, leaving many readers, including myself, confused.
The Woman Upstairs, by Clare Mussad, which I loved it because it made me think a lot more about art than The Goldfinch did. It's partly about what it means to be a female artist and a contemporary artist, but also an engrossing character study. Although I wasn't overwhelmed when I finished it, I'd still recommend it.
Nightfilm, by Merisha Pessl, which I hope I'll be writing more about in future. Strangely enough it was a negative review that made me want to read this book. The detective story was criticised, and I can see why, although, like others, I was seduced by the mystery at first. Even if the ending wasn't entirely satisfactory and the murder mystery format didn't really work, I loved learning about the fictional director, Cordova. I definitely want to explore film more in the future.
All of these were kindle books- I feel like I haven't read a physical book in an age. I'm in a bit of a slump at the moment, but I'm looking forward to getting back to reading.
