Buy Book "Shigol" in Ukrainian

Possible Spoilers!!!

It’s quite difficult to grab hold of one thing and start with it, because I think the size itself carries a huge amount of information.

As for the cover. It is incredible! People kept asking me what was wrong with the book, why it was torn, it looked so realistic. And I would also like to note the Ukrainian side of it, in that it was translated very well, there are no remnants of the old English title, the text is in the style of the original and it is a wonderful job!

I should also note that I watched the movie six months before reading it, but it didn’t affect my impressions much, because I simply forgot most of it and didn’t even remember the ending.

There are 800+ pages in the book, but it didn’t take me that long to read it, the text is quite easy to read and even the large pages with small print don’t feel too big, they turn over one by one, easily and naturally.

Of course, there were places where I slowed down, where the routine and long descriptions of the protagonist’s feelings began. But there were also places that I just wanted to swallow whole, they were fascinating and caused a storm of emotions.

Taken as a whole, the first part seems more interesting than the second due to the fact that it describes Theo’s formation in a new society and getting used to the idea that his mother is dead. But in the first part, the painting almost does not appear at all; the most attention is paid to it in the second part, when the search begins.

But even in those brief moments when “Goldfinch” is mentioned, one can immediately see how the protagonist treats it with care and silent tenderness.

It’s about six hundred pages long. I was sure that I would give the book a maximum of 3.5/5, because that’s when I got the feeling: “I wish I could finally finish it.” But I changed my mind because of the ending, it just “tore” a ball of feelings out of me, for a brief moment I felt indescribable joy that everything had resolved in such a way, and this, of course, adds points to the book, because when a book makes you feel, it’s already a big plus.

On the downside, I would say that the text hardly shows that drugs are a very bad hobby that can lead to fatal consequences. There was only one moment where we watched a guy who was already at one of the extreme stages on the road to death, but even then the author said through Boris’s words: “There’s no point in pissing, he’ll wake up anyway, everyone wakes up.” And so it goes on throughout the book, with every vomiting and fever being countered by a huge buzz, not the other way around. This is one of the biggest reasons why I take a point off.

That’s why I would really recommend this book, which you can talk about and talk about. But in some places, you need to not just “swallow” what you read, but sit down and weigh the text reasonably. Since the story is told in the first person, the reader is responsible for criticizing the protagonist to some extent. If you’re ready for it, feel free to buy.

No wonder this book won the prize, because it really touches on quite sensitive topics, and especially focuses on art as such. After reading the book, I immediately started searching the Internet for information about Fabricius and Rembrandt. Dona managed to interest me so much that I started looking for artists and their works of art. I can definitely say that the main theme of the book is “art”, not the tragic life of the guy, but art itself. Because it influenced his life, or rather the painting did. How many hours did the hero spend in excitement and uncontrollable awe, looking at it. It lurked on the edge of his consciousness, kept him awake, made him take inconsistent steps and was a memory of his mother. Of course, this is not the only element in the book that relates to the theme of “art.” Throughout his life, Theo is surrounded by art, in Gobi’s basement (in the future, restoration will become his profession), at Mrs. Barbour’s (a woman who shows even deeper sympathy for the boy because he shared her interest in paintings), and in his own apartment. The only place that the “eternal and beautiful” has not touched with its wing is the place where Theo’s father lives. It is there that the protagonist steps on a slippery slope, meets Boris, and realizes his identity with him and establishes a strong friendship.

I finally read Goldfinch by Donna Tart. A Pulitzer Prize winner, one of the most important novels of the decade, enormous popularity, and that’s it.

It is very easy to read. I finished this novel in a week (even though I had almost no free time).

If you’ve heard of Goldfinch (and you most likely have), you know the plot: Theo Dekker is 13 years old, his mother dies during a terrorist attack in a museum, and Theo himself survives and takes with him a small painting of the goldfinch by Fabritius. His father abandoned him before his mother’s death, and he has no other relatives. He temporarily lives with a friend of his from an almost aristocratic family, and he begins to be interested in restoring antique furniture. It sounds strange, but it would be even stranger to retell the story here, which is about 200 or 300 pages long, and I don’t want to spoil it. I will say right away that the writing is very good. And the translation (oh my! KSD, is it really you?) is also readable. But this period of Theo’s life (and the novel describes his life up to the age of 26) seems to me to be the most interesting of the whole novel. Firstly, his state of post-traumatic syndrome is described very well. And secondly, “The Goldfinch” acts as a sedative that keeps Theo from complete despair. Later (when Theo is already 26), the painting moves the plot, which somewhat offsets this aura of beauty and almost the main idea of the novel, which is ars longa vita brevis.

But Theo’s period in New York at the age of 26 is more disappointing. The tragedy that affected his entire life is barely mentioned. Then, when Boris reappears (this is a spoiler, but it was obvious from the plot anyway), the author for some reason wants to play gangster-style “showdowns” and The Goldfinch begins to resemble Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. So, for those who fell for the famous novel but find it difficult to read, here’s a gift – action and an unpretentious story. It would have been better to tell more about black market art deals. Or some details on how to distinguish a fake from an original. At the end, I don’t understand why there are reflections in the style of “will anyone read this novel… hardly…” and nihilistic thoughts in the style of I don’t even know who (because many characters said something similar in different words). The last few pages even level the idea that was at the beginning or hidden somewhere in the middle. And it would have been better to leave everything in the context of post-trauma and its impact rather than focusing on the story of an unfortunate drug addict.

Usually, my opinion does not coincide with the opinions of critics, but this book was an incredibly pleasant exception! I am boldly putting it on my lists of favorites and must-reads. Donna Tart’s style is really similar to Charles Dickens, if the characters of his works were transferred to the modern world. A wonderful, lovingly detailed novel with detective elements. The plot unfolds slowly in the first half of the book: after a terrorist attack in a museum, young Theo loses his mother and ends up with an incredibly valuable painting. Then the boy’s life is full of hopes and uncertainty… He will have time to live with the family of a school friend, then in Vegas with his father, who once left him and his mother. But the best place for him will be with an antique master who will teach him his trade. The author describes antiques in such an interesting way… I wanted to go to a flea market somewhere in Paris. Still, nowadays we have a completely different attitude to things – we easily replace old things with new ones. But once upon a time, every thing was made with love, with conscience and for years. Such things carry a special energy of the master and pass on love to those who own them later. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Theo, Gobi, Boris and Pippa at all. It’s hard to believe that it was 800 pages long!

I bought this book because I felt like everyone around me was going crazy)).

It was hard to start reading because I was afraid of the number of pages. But, I read it even faster than Doctor Zhivago, which is much smaller. The first impression is that when you start reading the book, you don’t feel the number of pages, you feel like you’re reading only a minute, but when you look at your watch, you see that about an hour has passed! Theo’s story reads very simply, even though it dragged in places.

After reading Theo Decker’s story, you realize that this young man and his example of life teaches us how to deal with problems, how to be friends, and how to love. Also, what I noted for myself was the theme of art, which actually runs through the whole novel. The way people go crazy over certain things, how certain aspects of world art affect our lives. The picture of Schegol is in some ways Theo himself as a child, just as small and completely alone.

In fact, when I realized that the story was ending, it was even a little sad. The ending of the novel is quite expected actually (already when he and Boris flew to Amsterdam everything became clear to me) although I don’t know how I would have liked the novel to end.

Also, what’s nice to read is a little bit about Ukrainian culture and language. There are several Ukrainian and Russian characters in the book, and it’s actually very interesting how accurately the author describes these cultures.

Overall, it’s worth reading for anyone and everyone, and for those who are afraid of so many pages – I’ll tell you right away that they don’t feel!