This book took me about a month and a half to get through, taking time between other books to pick it up and return to Theo's story, curious about where it would go. I planned to just peck away at it a bit more the other day and ended up finishing it because of a certain big reveal that I didn't even consider.
I feel like the reason why I resonate so much with Donna Tartt's stuff is I love an author that yaps. I love innane details, I love little additional stories that don't lead to much, I love complex and slow moving character drama. I grew up in adoration of Stephen King - the grandfather of yapping - and I think that it rubs off in my comfort with books like this. But for this same reason, I understand why people do not enjoy her work, it's slow, it's a little pretentious at times, the characters can often be difficult to swallow. This is no high octane thrill-ride, it's a carefully plotted sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate. I'm gonna be a bit dramatic but Tartt books remind me why I love to read. You come to a Donna Tartt book to gawk at the characters and gawk I did. I think Boris Pavlikovsky is my favourite character this year and potentially in a long time.
I just respect the choices in narrative so much; I'm so glad that Boris never betrays Theo even if his views of 'helping him' is skewed. He genuinely wants to help return the painting to him after he snuck it away during their time Las Vegas (I thought it was a nice touch that he was trying to subtly delay Theo from running away post-his father's death because he wanted to return the painting but at the time I thought it was because he didn't want Theo to leave because of their relationship) and seems guilty about it even into adulthood. Pippa and Theo do not get together: the girl that he fixates on, the girl who entered his life as his mother left it, their connection is what keeps them apart. The trauma of what happened in the MET acting as a repellent that keeps them from ruining this almost supernatural connection.
To the unpredictable, luck-focused and off-the-rails nature of Theo's Dad. I'm also really interested in the dynamics of Theo's relationship with his fiancée. Kitsey and Theo are definitely not in love but marrying to keep Kitsey's mother's mental health from deteriorating. He uncovers that Kitsey is cheating on him with a former childhood friend (who abandoned him after his mother's death). Much of their relationship is based on keeping appearances. Kitsey is majoritively focused on keeping her mother happy (solely because she is hanging on by a string as she imposes Theo over his dead friend Andy), Theo uses their engagement almost as a means of punishing Pippa. The fact that after the events in Amsterdam, they're still engaged also speaks miles about how Tartt writes.
I could really carry on rambling; the last thing I want to mention is how tense and stressful the penultimate chapters are following Theo's time after he accidentally kills two men who intercept their retrieval of the painting, Boris separates from him after being shot saying that he will return to him and to stay put; leaving Theo in his hotel room slowly losing his mind from anxiety and guilt. He attempts to leave through train, get a new passport (after Boris incidentally leaves with his passport in his car) and even appeal to the US embassy but all are dead ends.
Much of this book is gloomy, traumatic, and violent, but there are glimmers of hope that break through the darkness. Theo’s most hopeful moments occur with people he loves like Pippa, Hobie, and Boris. He writes about the spaces in between things, the magical place where art and beauty exist.
