The Goldfinch

About the book

Thirteen-year-old Theo Decker survives a terrorist bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, an event that kills his mother and leaves him in possession of Carel Fabritius’s 1654 painting, The Goldfinch. This small masterpiece becomes a tether to his lost past as he moves from a wealthy Park Avenue childhood to a bleak existence in the Las Vegas desert, and eventually into the underground world of antique forgery in New York. Theo navigates grief and chemical dependency while desperately hiding the stolen artwork, which links him to a circle of restorers and criminals.

This novel serves readers interested in the technical intersections of art history, object provenance, and the psychology of trauma. It appeals to those who appreciate detailed observations of craftsmanship and the persistence of physical beauty in the face of mortality. The reader gains a granular understanding of furniture restoration techniques and the ethical complexities of ownership. Ultimately, the book provides a study of how a single aesthetic object can dictate the trajectory of a human life through obsession and chance.

Details

Published

2013

Language

EN