Bookshelf: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Today I finished the first of my three giants - The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. There are so many reasons why I'm glad I picked this one up first, even though at 864 pages it is a proper weight of a book that was so wide it wouldn't fit in my handbag. Admittedly this is probably more handbag issues than book size issues...

Generally I'm a little intimidated by books that clock in at that many pages. But somehow with this one, once I had started it didn't even occur to me, mainly because it has been an absolute delight to read. First up I should have probably told you that The Secret History, her first book, is one of my all time absolute faves - the copy that I have has been read so many times the spine is almost threadbare - so I was really excited to finally get around to this one. And it hasn't disappointed at all. 

You know the drill by now, I'm really not good at these book review things, but I so like to share that I keep on trying! I would describe this as a pretty epic tale really, spanning a life from a shocking tragedy at 13, taking something that you really shouldn't have and the consequences of it all throughout the rest of your life. How's that for a rockin' description?! I'll bet you're rushing off to the library right now to order your own copy...

Ahem. Maybe instead of trying to do the whole review thing we should just call these posts "Claire says you should read this", post a picture and have done with it? 

So in that spirit. I say that you should definitely read this. It is 100% worth the 864 pages and you will thank me for it. 

And when you're done with it, ask me if you can borrow The Secret History. And hope that it doesn't fall apart as you read it cos that spine really is looking a little bit fragile now...