JOYCE'S CHOICE OF THE MONTH (01/28/2014)

In an earlier post I expressed doubts about The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I'm eating my words!

Reviewers labeled it unnecessarily long, but so what?!! I was quick to agree, but I spoke too soon and this is my mea culpa.

 

THE GOLDFINCH by Tartt is now my choice for the Best Book of the Month. The depth and quality of Tartt's writing does not disappoint.

I've read her other books and although The Goldfinch could use some minor editing, simply said, I don't want this main character's journey to end.(And what a journey!)


For lovers of art, New York, beautiful writing, this masterful novel holds a great deal of meaning. Compelling and powerful, I highly recommend it.

  

BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH: THE GOLDFINCH by DONNA TARTT

 

ORDER  THE GOLDFINCH DIRECTLY FROM THIS BLOG. CLICK ON THE AMAZON SEARCH BOX IN THE SIDEBAR

THE GOLDFINCH...SLIGHTLY TARNISHED? (DECEMBER 2013)

I like Donna Tart's  haircut. A little severe but nothing a good volumizer couldn't remedy. However, her new book THE GOLDFINCH  has too much "volume" and needs an editorial cut!  Overall blog readers found it "slowmoving  and overly descriptive" and that's a favorable comment.

I belong to a Facebook Book Group which consists of members worldwide but predominantly the UK. They always say it like it is...after all it's Facebook.

Below find a comment from one of the members.... 

THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt

"With a stronger editor it could have been an enjoyable read – as it is, it seemed to me that the author was simply showcasing her (considerable) writing skills taking 784 pages to write what could have been so much better in 300 or so pages. For huge chunks of the book it was like listening to a bore droning on and on without getting to the point. This is the 51st book I have read (or in this case endured) this year and is by far the most disappointing, probably because I had such high hopes for it. I have been bored to sleep most nights after only 2/3 pages when I would normally read a few chapters. I actually feel like I have wasted a whole month of my precious reading time I started this on 5th November - After the first hundred or so pages - which were possibly over-descriptive but engrossing, I kept trudging through it probably because of the hype. I am finally admitting that I really don't care what happens either to the characters or the painting and removing it from my kindle - 2 stars from me!!"

And here's another comment from blog reader, Nancy B:

"After reading many of the comments on your blog about THE GOLDFINCH, I felt the need to voice my own. Yes, a 700+ page book caused me to be hesitant , but as I have always been a devotee of Tartt's previous books, I thought I'd give it a try and I am SO glad I did. Am loving the book - the plot, the characters that tend to leap off the pages, the NYC sights and sounds and so much more of which I could elaborate, but I'm no spoiler. Possibly, some of the criticism may be coming from readers who, unfamiliar with NYC, may not be interested in the descriptions of the City and allusions to some of its locales.

But for me, it's all about the marvelous characters and the growth. Donna Tartt is truly a masterful writer - it is a joy to revel in every page of The Goldfinch."



What Do I Think?
Yes, there are some good reviews out there. Everyone agrees Tartt is a skillful writer and many called her "Dickensian"....a compliment, I presume.
Some readers have called it a masterpiece...compelling and hypnotic...

I think I'll wait for her next book...Or maybe I'll just focus on her funky haircut! Or maybe I'll give it a try. It's resting comfortably on my kindle...

MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatshouldiread/ 

 

FINALLY! (10/24/2013)

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of two books by two elusive and exciting authors, Wally Lamb and Donna Tartt.

Finally the day has arrived and both are available right now directly from this blog. Click on the Amazon Search Box in the Sidebar for instant gratification. You won't be sorry...






The author of the classic bestsellers The Secret History and The Little Friend returns with a brilliant, highly anticipated new novel.
It's only taken Donna Tartt ten years but it's worth the wait!

Here's a brief summary from Booklist:

The Goldfinch By Donna Tartt

It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Bewildered by his strange new home, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.

The Goldfinch is a beautiful, stay-up-all-night-and-tell-all-your-friends triumph, an old-fashioned story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the ruthless machinations of fate.

We Are Water by Wally Lamb

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed and I Know This Much is True, WE ARE WATER by Wally Lamb is a disquieting and uplifting novel about marriage,  a

family, and human resilience in the face of tragedy.

Goodreads.com said the following:

In middle age, Anna Oh-wife, mother, outsider artist-has shaken her family to its core. After twenty-seven years of marriage and three children, Anna has fallen in love with Vivica, the wealthy, cultured, confident Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her professional success.

Anna and Viveca plan to wed in the Oh family's hometown of Three Rivers in Connecticut, where gay marriage has recently been legalized. But the impending wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora's Box of toxic secrets-dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs' lives.

WE ARE WATER is an intricate and layered portrait of marriage and family...a timely topic....

Reviews have been excellent...

ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY

BLOGGER'S OCTOBER BESTIES

I receive "Bloggers Recommend" an online newspaper. This is a great source to connect with other Bloggers, read reviews and comments, and pass them on to you. I also put their suggestions on my "Hope to Read Soon List." or "Maybe I'll Get to it Sometime List"...Anyway, you get the idea..

October brings lots of exciting titles, so put aside the cider, apples and all things Fall and savor these new releases.






THE PARIS ARCHITECT BY CHARLES BELFOURE (October 8, Sourcebooks Landmark) A unique, dark approach to World War II fiction, The Paris Architect is unforgettable. Lucien has been asked to design clever hiding places for Jews in occupied France. Initially, the profits draw him in, especially at a time when people acted out of desperation, but the work becomes personal as Lucien dances the fine line between good and evil. —Alison Skap

THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS BY ELIZABETH GILBERT (October 1, Viking Adult) Victorian literature lovers rejoice! In a departure from memoir, Gilbert treats readers to an intimately told 19th-century story. Filled with incredible writing, strongly realized characters, and seamless research, this is a marvel of a book. A magnificent blend of science, religion, duty, and desire, this is possibly Gilbert's magnum opus. - Kelly Massry

WE ARE WATER BY WALLY LAMB (October 22, Harper) Lamb offers an intricate glimpse into a thoroughly modern family during the very dynamic recent past, proving how complex our lives have become and the toll that complexity plays on the family as an organism. The characters are rich in detail and vibrate with vitality. We Are Water is a beautifully wrought story of the ties that bind and break. —Michelle Shannon

THE GOLDFINCH BY DONNA TARTT (October 22, Little, Brown & Co.) Thirteen year-old Theo has a singular reminder of the moments he shared with his mother before she was killed in a horrific accident: a mysterious painting by a famous Dutch artist. The painting both guides and haunts Theo, from his aimless adolescence to his misguided adulthood. Tartt's ambitious new novel is a welcome treat for fans and new readers alike. —Shannon Nemer


NOTES:

You'll find The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert already mentioned on Joyces's Choices. Enter the title in the Search Box at the top of the blog to access more information.

Books can be ordered directly from this blog. Click on the Amazon Search Box in the Sidebar.

DONNA TARTT, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? (09/04/2013)

Donna Tartt is one of my favorite authors. It's been twenty years since she wrote her first book, THE SECRET HISTORY. Her second novel, THE LITTLE FRIEND was tougher to get into but critically acclaimed and won the Orange Prize for Fiction.

And now I'm anxiously awaiting her third novel, THE GOLDFINCH debuting October 22nd.

Here's a review:


The novel is about a young boy, Theo, who survives an explosion that takes his mother's life. He becomes obsessed with a painting that reminds him of his mother, which ends up drawing him into the art underworld.

With the same flair for suspense that made The Secret History (1992) such a masterpiece, The Goldfinch features the pulp of a typical bildungsroman—Theo's dissolution into teenage delinquency and climb back out, his passionate friendship with the very funny Boris, his obsession with Pippa (a girl he first encounters minutes before the explosion)—but the painting is the novel's secret heart.

Theo's fate hinges on the painting, and both take on depth as it steers Theo's life. Some sentences are clunky (suddenly and meanwhile abound), metaphors are repetitive (Theo's mother is compared to birds three times in 10 pages), and plot points are overly coincidental (as if inspired by TV), but there's a bewitching urgency to the narration that's impossible to resist.

Theo is magnetic, perhaps because of his well-meaning criminality. The Goldfinch is a pleasure to read; with more economy to the brushstrokes, it might have been great.


Thankyou:
Amanda Urben, Book Agent, ICM
www.amazon.com