“—if a painting really works down in your heart and changes the way you see, and think, and feel, you don’t think, ‘oh, I love this picture because it’s universal.’ ‘I love this painting because it speaks to all mankind.’ That’s not the reason anyone loves a piece of art. It’s a secret whisper from an alleyway. Psst, you. Hey kid. Yes you.”
Plot: Thirteen year old Theo Decker and his mother are two victims of a terrorist attack on a museum in New York. His mother is killed, but Theo is one of the few survivors. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, he comes into possession of an old ring and the 1654 masterpiece by Fabritius. As his father has disappeared, Theo is taken in by a friend's wealthy family. Just as he is getting accustomed to living there, his father reappears and takes Theo to a new home in Las Vegas. There, Theo lives a mostly unsupervised life along with his new friend Boris. The following months of alcohol and drug abuse end only when Theo's father, facing loans he can't repay, kills himself. Theo ends up back in New York, living with the partner of the man who gave him the ring in the museum.
Eventually a grown up Theo gets involved in a complicated and dangerous scheme to recover his painting.
Why read it: This is a powerful book on the nature of art, identity, growing up and, I would say, learning to like yourself. Tartt has populated with a range of memorable characters - I thought Mrs. Barbour and Xandra were particularly well done, and everyone seems to enjoy Boris. Theo, the main character, was a bit of a problem for me, being almost a bit sketchy, but I think that may be on purpose, as Theo has a hard time ever defining himself for 700 odd pages.
In my reading of this book, there are two parallel narratives - that of Theo and that of the painting. For Theo, the painting is far and away his most precious asset, surpassing that of his own well-being.
One of the most distinct impressions I have of this book is how the main character, Theo, never really grows up, at least not until the very last few pages. It is apparent at the start, when he is 13, that he already has a few bad habits, and they increase in severity over the years. Theo does suffer from PTSD, for which he gets almost zero help, and this is a major factor in his abuse of drugs and alcohol, as well as his inability to form close relationships. The relationship he has with Hobie was of particular interest to me. Theo obviously thinks the world of Hobie, as his home is essentially his one refuge from the madness of the rest of the world. But Hobie never really does anything proactive to help Theo - it is never made quite clear how aware Hobie is of Theo's problems, other than he seems to know more than he lets on about his personal issues. Then again, Hobie seems completely floored that Theo has been selling antique forgeries out of their shop for a long period in order to get them out of financial ruin. In a way, that is the nature of their relationship; they are close because Hobie doesn't pry. Much as Theo's relationship with Kitsey is based on her ability to skim along in life and never delve into the weeds too much on emotional topics.
Then there is Boris. Everything gets more kinetic when he is involved. Hyperactive and perpetually alcohol or drug fueled, Boris operates at one speed. Neither Theo nor the reader is really sure of how true most anything that comes out of his mouth is, but he does act as Theo's best and most trusted friend. After finishing the book, I still wasn't sure of much of anything about Boris - what he actually did for a living, who he was in a relationship with, whether he actually had kids or not, and so on. There's a bit of a subtext about his relationship with Theo that never gets resolved either, and given Theo's apparent blackouts, there's a lot of room to fill in whatever blanks you want.
I did enjoy reading this book - I think some of its flaws may be somewhat intentional. Life doesn't always give answers, nor is it often that enjoyable, yet there is a lot to be said for it.
Plot: Thirteen year old Theo Decker and his mother are two victims of a terrorist attack on a museum in New York. His mother is killed, but Theo is one of the few survivors. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, he comes into possession of an old ring and the 1654 masterpiece by Fabritius. As his father has disappeared, Theo is taken in by a friend's wealthy family. Just as he is getting accustomed to living there, his father reappears and takes Theo to a new home in Las Vegas. There, Theo lives a mostly unsupervised life along with his new friend Boris. The following months of alcohol and drug abuse end only when Theo's father, facing loans he can't repay, kills himself. Theo ends up back in New York, living with the partner of the man who gave him the ring in the museum.
Eventually a grown up Theo gets involved in a complicated and dangerous scheme to recover his painting.
Why read it: This is a powerful book on the nature of art, identity, growing up and, I would say, learning to like yourself. Tartt has populated with a range of memorable characters - I thought Mrs. Barbour and Xandra were particularly well done, and everyone seems to enjoy Boris. Theo, the main character, was a bit of a problem for me, being almost a bit sketchy, but I think that may be on purpose, as Theo has a hard time ever defining himself for 700 odd pages.
In my reading of this book, there are two parallel narratives - that of Theo and that of the painting. For Theo, the painting is far and away his most precious asset, surpassing that of his own well-being.
One of the most distinct impressions I have of this book is how the main character, Theo, never really grows up, at least not until the very last few pages. It is apparent at the start, when he is 13, that he already has a few bad habits, and they increase in severity over the years. Theo does suffer from PTSD, for which he gets almost zero help, and this is a major factor in his abuse of drugs and alcohol, as well as his inability to form close relationships. The relationship he has with Hobie was of particular interest to me. Theo obviously thinks the world of Hobie, as his home is essentially his one refuge from the madness of the rest of the world. But Hobie never really does anything proactive to help Theo - it is never made quite clear how aware Hobie is of Theo's problems, other than he seems to know more than he lets on about his personal issues. Then again, Hobie seems completely floored that Theo has been selling antique forgeries out of their shop for a long period in order to get them out of financial ruin. In a way, that is the nature of their relationship; they are close because Hobie doesn't pry. Much as Theo's relationship with Kitsey is based on her ability to skim along in life and never delve into the weeds too much on emotional topics.
Then there is Boris. Everything gets more kinetic when he is involved. Hyperactive and perpetually alcohol or drug fueled, Boris operates at one speed. Neither Theo nor the reader is really sure of how true most anything that comes out of his mouth is, but he does act as Theo's best and most trusted friend. After finishing the book, I still wasn't sure of much of anything about Boris - what he actually did for a living, who he was in a relationship with, whether he actually had kids or not, and so on. There's a bit of a subtext about his relationship with Theo that never gets resolved either, and given Theo's apparent blackouts, there's a lot of room to fill in whatever blanks you want.
I did enjoy reading this book - I think some of its flaws may be somewhat intentional. Life doesn't always give answers, nor is it often that enjoyable, yet there is a lot to be said for it.
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