The Goldfinch

This book is not perfect, but I loved it. Sure, it may have been overly long (Amsterdam...), but I whipped through it in a week, never wanting to put it down, always wanting to get back to it. The last 10 or 20 pages really blew me away; I felt profoundly moved by Theo's summing up of what he's really learned in his life - that nothing is really black and white; that art and magic and love live in the in-between space between “reality” and illusion. No truth beyond illusion. The few flaws I can see in it seem almost purposeful - as if Tartt left in some parts that could have been polished up or shortened, to reflect Theo's final worldview. I'm glad I read this book every day for a week, as I've heard from others that it took them a while to get through to the end. Being so immersed in it for seven days made the experience much richer.