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The Goldfinch
The Goldfinch: A Novel | Donna Tartt
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE"The Goldfinch is a rarity that comes along perhaps half a dozen times per decade, a smartly written literary novel that connects with the heart as well as the mind....Donna Tartt has delivered an extraordinary work of fiction."--Stephen King, The New York Times Book ReviewTheo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his longing for his mother, he clings to the one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love--and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.The Goldfinch is a mesmerizing, 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.
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wildwoodreads
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I‘m officially out of room on my tbr shelf. It‘s time for a summertime unhaul. A lot of these were books I expected to love. Some of them I‘ve dnfed and just held onto hoping that they would stick someday. And some of them I haven‘t even started but ultimately lost interest in. I want to make room on my shelf for books that I‘m super excited about.

These are available on my Pangobooks Shop: https://pangobooks.com/bookstore/wildwoodreads

66 likes1 comment
review
Robotswithpersonality
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Pickpick

How do you find meaning? If you can create meaning, subjectively imbue an object or a person with it, can the ideas of objective value, genuine article, coincidence, stand up against elaborate, satisfying, even mythic, illusions, the idea of a fated course? Especially when experience would otherwise lend a pessimistic, nigh nihilistic reading of life without actively seeking out the idea of 'something more', a purpose, relationship, stimulant. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality Beautiful writing can make drawn out moments a lovely place to dwell, but a string of shitty circumstances, even described poetically can render the writing's tendency to dwell a difficult read. Thus, it's exceptionally frustrating to realize in retrospect that the amount of suffering, both hazily and sharply-related by the main character, works to make the ending, if not tidy, then cathartic, impactful. 2/? 6mo
Robotswithpersonality It's hard to rail against the protagonist's dimmer view of life, both given his experiences, and because it is tempered by a love of beauty, an inexhaustible appetite for tiny moments of joy to be found too few and far between.
It's hard to rail against the protagonist's choices, as the reader is so intimately familiar with his thoughts, the mixture of a desperate scramble for survival, comfort, contentment, connection, acceptance and the coldly spoiling sporadic luxury and privilege. 3/?
6mo
Robotswithpersonality 4/4 Theo is still working things out when we leave him, and I think that state is true to the book's tone.
Not a favourite, but I fully recognize that's because I'm impatient and a sucker for happier reads.
Felt weird seeing so many thugs described first by their nationalities/ethnicities and then their brutish/unattractive physical qualities, I guess technically each was an individual and there was a diverse array, but it feels like a slippery slope to racial stereotypes given the order of presentation.
⚠️Drug addiction, alcohol abuse, PTSD, mental health concerns, homophobia, childhood assault/bullying
6mo
10 likes3 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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Does furniture have more perceptible personality amongst its fellows?🤔

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Robotswithpersonality
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🌧️🌌 Beautiful.

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Robotswithpersonality
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Books can do the same, seeing the world in brighter colours. 🎂

7 likes1 stack add
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TheEllieMo
The Goldfinch | Donna Tartt
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!

#ABookADay2023

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GatheringBooks
The Goldfinch | Donna Tartt
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#MarchMagic Day 16: This is definitely #BkBasedOnPainting - one of them chunksters that took awhile for me to finish, but well worth the read.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Excellent and she‘s a Mississippi author! 6mo
Eggs Brilliant 🖌️ 🎨 🖼️ 6mo
53 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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JuliaTheBookNerd
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I know a lot of people loved this book but I just couldn‘t with this book. I made it about halfway before I bailed but it is a #BkBasedOnPainting 🖼️ 😬

#MarchMagic 💚💰🌈🍀

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

Tamra Not a fan of this one either. 😏 6mo
Eggs It‘s just not for everyone 🤷‍♀️ 6mo
ImperfectCJ I had to listen to the audiobook on 2x and read analysis that helped me catch some of the nuances (things I thought were silly errors, which I couldn't quite square with what I know about the author's style). I ended up appreciating the book, but I can't say I enjoyed it. 6mo
53 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
Sharv_Sona
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Pickpick

I finished this book last Thursday, however I haven't been able to bring myself to write a review because of extraordinary way it was written -- especially the last few pages. While the run-along sentences bothered me as I was reading, they were outweighed by the way they were written. The book was a stay-up-all-night page turner, and I absolutely enjoyed every word of it.

5⭐!

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Sharv_Sona

“When you feel homesick,“ he said, “just look up. Because the moon is the same wherever you go“

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Sharv_Sona

Sometimes we want what we want even if we know it‘s going to kill us.

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Sharv_Sona

Stay away from the ones you love too much. Those are the ones who will kill you.

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Sharv_Sona

Nature (meaning death) always wins but that doesn‘t mean we have to bow and grovel to it.

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Sharv_Sona

Fate is cruel but not random.

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Sharv_Sona
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Sharv_Sona

Beauty alters the grain of reality. Namely, that the pursuit of pure beauty is a trap, a fast track to bitterness and sorrow, that beauty has to be wedded to something more meaningful.

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Sharv_Sona

Caring too much for objects can destroy you. Only — if you care for thing enough, it takes a life of its own, doesn‘t it? And isn‘t the whole point of things — beautiful things — that they connect you to some larger beauty?

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Sharv_Sona
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payton.laidlaw
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At a visit at an art museum in New York, Theodore “Theo” decker and his mother get caught in an explosion, which ends up killing Theo‘s mother. After, Theo meets an old man who is dying from his wounds; the man gives Theo a ring and a painting named The Goldfinch.

Theo goes to live with the Barbours, his classmate Andy‘s family due to the lack of a father.

payton.laidlaw Theo later visits the business the ring was from. Theo and the business partner of Welty, the deceased man, Hobie. Hobie looks after Welty‘s niece, Pippa, who was also at the museum when the explosion occurred and now suffers from the aftermath. Theo falls in love with Pippa, but she is later sent away. They see each other when Pippa infrequently visits Hobie in New York City.

Theo‘s father comes back just as the Barbours are set to adopt Theo.
7mo
payton.laidlaw Theo moves to Las Vegas with his father and his father‘s girlfriend, Xandra. Im Vegas, he becomes close friends with Boris, a Russian immigrant under similar circumstances as Theo. This entire time, Theo has kept The Goldfinch hidden. For Theo, the painting becomes a memory of his mother.

Theo and Boris spend their days drinking and experimenting with drugs, trying to numb themselves to the neglect and loneliness in their lives.
7mo
payton.laidlaw Both come from alcoholic parents. A strange man starts to come to Theo‘s house and ask for his father. Not long after, Theo‘s father forces Theo to call his mother‘s lawyer to ask that a-lot of money be transferred into Theo‘s financial account. The lawyer denies Theo‘s request. Shortly after, Theo‘s father is killed in a car accident, which may or may not have been an accident. 7mo
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payton.laidlaw Scared, Theo steals money and drugs from Xandra, takes her dog, and buses to New York City. In New York, he arrives at Hobie‘s doorstep; Hobie takes him in willingly. Theo eventually becomes an antique business partner, also as a functioning drug addict. Unknown to Hobie, Theo creates a business scam to sell restored antiques as originals.

The painting remains in Theo‘s possession, carefully concealed.
7mo
payton.laidlaw He reads about a group of people who stole artwork during the bombing and have now been arrested for trying to sell them. With concern for himself, Pippa and Hobie. Theo rents a storage locker and hides the painting there. Lucius Reeve, one of Theo‘s business scam victims accuses Theo of stealing The Goldfinch and is using it for crime.Theo dismisses the claims.
7mo
payton.laidlaw Shocked by learning about the deaths of Andy Barbour and his father, Theo reconnects with the family and begins to dating Kitsey, Andy‘s younger sister. Eventually, Theo and Kitsey become engaged, despite him still being in love with Pippa. He discovers that Kitsey is also in love with someone else, but they decide to remain together in an unpassionate relationship.

Theo runs into Boris on the street. Boris is now very wealthy the underground.
7mo
payton.laidlaw Theo learns that Boris stole The Goldfinch from Theo back in Las Vegas and has been using it for his criminal dealings since then. Shocked, Theo goes to the storage unit only to discover the “painting” is a high school textbook. Boris is sorry, since someone else now has the painting. But,Boris finds a way to get the painting back.

Theo and Boris travel to Amsterdam to get the painting.
7mo
payton.laidlaw During a chaotic and frantic series of events that include a shootout, Theo shoots and kills a man. Boris is shot in the shoulder, but the two manage to escape. Boris tells Theo to wait at the hotel where Theo has been staying. Theo remains there for a while, surviving on room service and heroin. He is afraid to leave his room. He decides to commit suicide, but before he can, Boris comes back.
7mo
payton.laidlaw Boris hands Theo a great deal of money and tells him that it is his share of the reward for the return of the painting; Boris managed to have the painting returned to authorities. Theo returns to New York City, where Hobie confronts him with details of his business scam. Theo tells everything to Hobie, and they decide to buy back the fake antiques in order to restore the business‘ reputation and honor.

7mo
payton.laidlaw Theo‘s life and relationships are generally left open-ended at the end. Pippa tells Theo that she loves him but not romantically. Kitsey and her family invite him to be a part of their lives, whenever he chooses. And Hobie remains a close companion as Theo begins to travel the world alone, finding peace in not being anywhere. 7mo
payton.laidlaw If you like books that involve teenagers dealing with hard reality, drug scandals, scams, and art heists you‘ll like this book.

Friendship and Family is a major theme in this book. Theo goes through several different ideals of family, from the comfort of his mother, Hobie and the Barbours, to the rough reality with his father. Through Pippa and Boris, he understood good and bad friendships, and how his life wouldn‘t be the same without them.
7mo
MissYaremcio Excellently done Payton! 6/6 7mo
chelzy.rosario wow !! 7mo
9 likes1 stack add13 comments
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Sharv_Sona
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Sharv_Sona
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Sharv_Sona

People die, sure, but it's so heartbreaking and unnecessary how we lose things. From pure carelessness. Fires, wars. The Parthenon, used as a munitions storehouse. I guess that anything we manage to save from history is a miracle.

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Sharv_Sona
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Sparklemn I love this. Thanks for sharing. 7mo
11 likes1 comment
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Sharv_Sona
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review
janerzy
Goldfinch | Donna Tartt
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Pickpick

Dark, broken, depressing… and finding meaning of art and magic in this hopelessness, and perhaps love.

Part I and V are my favorite.

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murfman
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Pickpick

The Goldfinch is an emotional journey for the reader. Tartt sneaks in this vested interest in the characters and ties them to us as readers. The novel culminates in one of the most furiously read and emotionally charged endings that I've come across. At times I wanted to throw it across the room, and others I refused to put it down. A fantastic read, and something different than my norm.

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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Pickpick

IF you need something dark and long to dive into, this is my latest recommendation. But if the world feels pretty dark (not surprisingly), now isn‘t the time. I loved The Secret History decades ago and shouldn‘t have waited so long to read this one. So many genres and topics all deftly blended together. Tartt is a master of her craft.

Full review https://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2022 #booked2022 #darkacademia

70 likes3 stack adds
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Clwojick
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Four books finished, and starting on the tagged beast. #BigJuneReadathon

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Kshakal
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JuliaTheBookNerd I bailed on this one too! I know people seem to love it but I only made it half way by forcing myself to keep going. Not a fan 😬 1y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I didn‘t finish this one either!! 1y
Eggs The cover sort of repels me 😕 1y
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jlhammar I picked this for my book club years ago after reading and loving it. A bad choice based on page count alone (I learned my lesson). Many didn't finish and it wasn't a hit with most who did. So you are definitely not alone! 1y
TheLudicReader I know lots of people hate this one, but I loved it. 1y
DivineDiana @TheLudicReader I Ioved it too! 1y
cmastfalk It‘s super long. A lot could‘ve been cut. I liked it though. 1y
29 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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libraryofjamie
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“What if our badness and mistakes are the very thing that set our fate and bring us round to good?“

5 likes1 stack add
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jlhammar
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I was awed by this 771 page tome when I read it back in 2013. I haven‘t yet seen the movie. I later went on to read The Secret History which I also enjoyed. I have The Little Friend on my shelf and hope to get to it soon.

#600+Pages #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

thereadingpal It's on my list to read 1y
Eggs Well done 👍🏼 1y
Kimberlone Skip the movie, it‘s not good! The book is soooooo much better. They need to make a proper miniseries adaptation to fully encompass the book. 1y
jlhammar @Kimberlone Good to know! 1y
51 likes1 stack add4 comments
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erickahhh
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Panpan

I HATED this book! It was so long and seemed to drag on. I hated the protagonist and most of the people in his life (which I think is the point). I was not interested in his life and the events that transpired. The protagonist continually made terrible life choices, had no insight into how he contributed to his own demise, and continually made poor decision. The writing style was a bit wordy and the length could have been cut down significantly

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loz1327

"That maybe even if we're not always so glad to be here, it's our task to immerse ourselves anyway: wade straight through it, right through the cesspool, while keeping eyes and hearts open."

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cheesemoi
Pickpick

This book genuinely saved my life in college and I‘m not even kidding. If you get to part IV of the book and feel like you want to throw it across the room, I‘m pretty sure that‘s the point. Theo‘s life stagnates there, and the book stagnates as well. It‘s meta, and it works, because you really feel what he‘s feeling in those parts of the book. IMO it‘s a top-tier read with a little bit of everything.

4 likes2 stack adds
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AuthorCjwhitcomb
Goldfinch | Donna Tartt
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Mehso-so

I'm about half way through this book and for the life of me I can't figure out how it won a Pulitzer prize.
That story itself is ok but nothing is happening
It's just a bunch of random scenes.
Maybe it will be better once I get to the end but for now ,
IT'S NOT WORTH THE READ.

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thewallflower0707
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Pickpick

I didn‘t expect to finish #TheGoldfinch today already, but then my train got delayed for 90 minutes, so I suddenly had a lot more times. I also made waffles 🧇 today ☺️.
The first 100 pages and the last 20 were one of the most beautiful pages ever written. The rest is very long, often still good, but it‘s also very long.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#DonnaTartt

SRWCF I loved the movie 🎬 so much! 2y
thewallflower0707 @SRWCF It‘s on my Netflix watchlist. Although, apart from your comment, I‘ve only heard bad things about it. 2y
Cathythoughts My copy is in #hibernation but I haven‘t forgotten it and hope I‘ll get beck to it soon ...or someday , I agree about the beautiful writing 2y
Cathythoughts Oh it‘s a movie .... I must try and find it 2y
25 likes1 stack add4 comments
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thewallflower0707
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I adore this sentence! I‘m at the part where they arrive in Las Vegas. I heard a lot of criticism about this chapter, so I hope it won‘t be too bad. So far, I really enjoyed the book 📖 🐦.

#TheGoldfinch #DonnaTartt #readingupdate #quote

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wildwoodreads
The Goldfinch | Donna Tartt
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I haven‘t done a big book haul in a minute and let me tell you I‘ve missed it. So today I‘m doing exactly that.

I was gifted a lot of these awesome books for Christmas. I‘m blessed with the best family and they absolutely spoiled me. Plus, I spoiled me a little too. 😂

But I think it‘s time to go on a book buying ban because I‘ve got a lot of reading to do. 😂😂

https://wildwoodreads.com/2022/01/05/my-first-book-haul-of-the-year/

readordierachel What a great stack! 2y
Cathythoughts Lovely 💫📚 2y
85 likes4 comments
review
kelskels25
Goldfinch | Donna Tartt
Pickpick

"Stay away from the ones you love too much. Those are the ones who will kill you."

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BethHagey
Pickpick

***

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RaeLovesToRead
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#12booksof2021

In March, I only finished one book (I was ill around this time, sadly).

I had a love/hate relationship with The Goldfinch. On the one hand it was an exquisite work of literature, on the other an absolute slog. Donna Tartt's writing exuded quality & months later, I can still remember it.

The structure though 😐 And the several hundred pages of boring drug use 🥱

I still think it probably deserved more than the 3⭐ I gave it.

Cathythoughts I keep stopping & starting with it … but I Love it ❤️ 2y
TrishB I think that describes my thoughts on Tartt generally. Yes her writing is beautiful, but I don‘t want to read the books as I find them a long, hard, boring slog! I gave up on them eventually! (edited) 2y
RaeLovesToRead @Cathythoughts I found myself getting very annoyed with the MC's (often inconsistent, often extremely bad) behaviour. It made him difficult to root for! Still I appreciated the breadth and scale of the story and, looking back, it made an impression on me. I'm planning on reading The Secret History sometime soon 😊 2y
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RaeLovesToRead @TrishB I had such mixed thoughts on this book... I'm so jealous of her writing and yet I couldn't wait for it to be over. The structure and flow through the novel wasn't good... every time things got interesting, he moved somewhere else... I'll give Donna Tartt another go with The Secret History and if that's a slog too, I'll give up! (Probably 😄) 2y
Cathythoughts I really loved Secret History… couldn‘t put that one down ❤️👍🏻 2y
RaeLovesToRead @Cathythoughts I enjoyed this book (see tag) and I've been told there are similarities between it and The Secret History. May be worth a look! (Although the writing isn't anywhere near as impressive) 2y
46 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
Paperback.Propensity
The Goldfinch | Donna Tartt
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Pickpick

Such a beautiful book. Took me a while to read it, but it didn't feel like a long time. I enjoyed every bit of it. That ending really touched me. It will stay with me forever.
I plan to read her other books.

Bklover I loved this one too! Also love The Secret History. 2y
Paperback.Propensity @Bklover The Secret History is going to be the next book of hers I read! 2y
Bklover I think The Secret History is my favorite of hers. You‘ll have to let us know what you think! 2y
27 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Paperback.Propensity
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Relaxing this evening with a good book, tea, and a cozy-smelling candle.

Cathythoughts Enjoy ! I need to get back to this book , I really loved the first part I read. What a writer ❤️ 2y
Paperback.Propensity @Cathythoughts Thank you! I am enjoying it, I want to read all her books now. 2y
17 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Paperback.Propensity
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Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate!
I got some bookmail today which I was not expecting, but I am thrilled.

Hope you all have a fantastic day ❤

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themonaisa
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“As beautiful as music is the space between notes, just as the stars are beautiful because fo the space between them, just as the sun strikes raindrops at a certain angle and throw a prison of color across the sky - so the space where I exist, and want to keep existing, and to be quiet frank I hope I die in, is exactly this middle distance: where despair struck pure otherness and created something sublime.”

Gorgeous. Ruinous. A masterpiece 💛