Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I will start by saying I loved The Goldfinch. Loved it. So, it was interesting to see how Tartt's brilliant writing was shaped and honed during the intervening years. But that writing could not redeem such tedious and pretentious characters. None of them were genuinely interesting, or remotely believable. I went to college during the years this seems to have been set, and almost none of it rang true. NO ONE wore fancy suits around campus, even for dramatic effect or as a pretentious affectation. And I went to a massive and diverse university. The characters run around in a drug and alcohol-soaked haze. Okay, that much rang true for the late 80s/early 90s, but they were way too functional for spending so much of their time so heavily inebriated. Richard says Bunny was well liked, but he was a ridiculous caricature, and his behavior was relentlessly boorish. How charming! I dunno... I just found it impossible to suspend my disbelief, because there was no payoff for doing so. And instead of being able to relax and enjoy Tartt's fantastic gift for writing, I was constantly brought out of the story with thoughts of "this doesn't sound like something that could have happened!" or "I hate these people and don't care WTF happens to any of them!" I'd say skip this one. Just read The Goldfinch. It's worth it.