The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

 I read this book in Greencastle when I took extremely long lunch breaks to read this and the entire Harry Potter series from the comfort of our apartment, in the red chair, drenched in a pool of sunlight and reprieve from the consequences of the very poor choice I made to accept that job. The Goldfinch allows for such an escape; it's sweeping and all-encompassing. It makes dramatic moves and takes huge jumps in both geography and time. Big things happen in very believable ways. I wanted good things to happen to these characters, and I was always eager to know what would happen next, as it felt like it could literally be anything. There is a moment when I can't believe the reader is supposed to be surprised at something, but it doesn't take away from the glamour and earned grandiosity the book, it's characters, and it's many settings otherwise portray, always without pretension and glibness. The Goldfinch is dramatic, sensitive, and nostalgic. It's specific in showing how life changes people, and how the people we surround ourselves with change our lives. 

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