The Goldfinch
by Tartt, Donna
First Edition Identification
Other Collectible or Notable Editions
Powell's Bookstore in Portland Oregon sent subscribers of their "indiespensable' subscription book club a US First edition that was signed by the author and housed in a custom slipcase.
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Award-winning American author, Donna Tartt begins her third novel with her twenty-seven-year-old protagonist, Theo Decker, in December, hiding out in an Amsterdam hotel room, reflecting on his life, while scanning newspapers for any available information about a recent murder. Over the next seven hundred plus pages, these in-depth reflections form a meticulously detailed account of the Theo's life, beginning with the circumstances, when he was just thirteen, of his mother's death, an event of which he says: "Things would have turned out better if she had lived." It was then that he acquired the eponymous Goldfinch, the single remaining painting by 17th century Dutch Master, Carel Fabritius.
The ride that Tartt takes the reader on starts with Theo a virtual orphan in pseudo-foster care, then in the care of his negligent father, consuming copious quantities of drugs and alcohol. When fifteen-year-old Theo looks in the mirror, he notes his resemblance to his (safe-to-say) despised father, Larry, and when Larry's girlfriend Xandra flings at him "You and your dad are a whole lot more alike than you might think. You're his kid, through and through", his denial is vehement. It becomes apparent from his later behaviour (drugs, alcohol, betrayal of good friends, criminal dishonesty) that she was indeed perceptive.
Readers familiar with Australian author Steve Toltz's epic debut novel, A Fraction of the Whole (2008) may notice similarities, both in the length (somewhat daunting), the careless parenting, the roller-coaster life, and the black humour (in lesser quantity), although Tartt's work is much less far-fetched. She certainly achieves a vivid portrayal of a thirteen-year-old boy's grief at the loss of his mother.
Tartt has a talent for character description: "I found myself blinking up in the late afternoon glare at a very tall, very very tanned, very thin man, of indeterminate age. He looked partly like a rodeo guy and partly like a fucked-up lounge entertainer. His gold-rimmed aviators were tinted purple at the top; he was wearing a white sports jacket over a red cowboy shirt with pearl snaps and black jeans, but the main thing I noticed was his hair: part toupee, part transplanted or sprayed-on, with a texture like fibreglass insulation and a dark brown color like shoe polish in the tin." A good literary read that would have benefited from some judicious editing.
Award-winning American author, Donna Tartt begins her third novel with her twenty-seven-year-old protagonist, Theo Decker, in December, hiding out in an Amsterdam hotel room, reflecting on his life, while scanning newspapers for any available information about a recent murder. Over the next seven hundred plus pages, these in-depth reflections form a meticulously detailed account of the Theo's life, beginning with the circumstances, when he was just thirteen, of his mother's death, an event of which he says: "Things would have turned out better if she had lived." It was then that he acquired the eponymous Goldfinch, the single remaining painting by 17th century Dutch Master, Carel Fabritius.
The ride that Tartt takes the reader on starts with Theo a virtual orphan in pseudo-foster care, then in the care of his negligent father, consuming copious quantities of drugs and alcohol. When fifteen-year-old Theo looks in the mirror, he notes his resemblance to his (safe-to-say) despised father, Larry, and when Larry's girlfriend Xandra flings at him "You and your dad are a whole lot more alike than you might think. You're his kid, through and through", his denial is vehement. It becomes apparent from his later behaviour (drugs, alcohol, betrayal of good friends, criminal dishonesty) that she was indeed perceptive.
Readers familiar with Australian author Steve Toltz's epic debut novel, A Fraction of the Whole (2008) may notice similarities, both in the length (somewhat daunting), the careless parenting, the roller-coaster life, and the black humour (in lesser quantity), although Tartt's work is much less far-fetched. She certainly achieves a vivid portrayal of a thirteen-year-old boy's grief at the loss of his mother.
Tartt has a talent for character description: "I found myself blinking up in the late afternoon glare at a very tall, very very tanned, very thin man, of indeterminate age. He looked partly like a rodeo guy and partly like a fucked-up lounge entertainer. His gold-rimmed aviators were tinted purple at the top; he was wearing a white sports jacket over a red cowboy shirt with pearl snaps and black jeans, but the main thing I noticed was his hair: part toupee, part transplanted or sprayed-on, with a texture like fibreglass insulation and a dark brown color like shoe polish in the tin." A good literary read that would have benefited from some judicious editing.
Available Copies
The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9781408704943
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GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, GBR
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£0.80
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The Goldfinch
by Tartt, Donna
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780316055437
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- 1
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Skyway, Washington, USA
- Item Price
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£12.21
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The Goldfinch
by TARTT, Donna
- Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
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Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
- Item Price
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£1,220.85
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The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9781408704943
- Quantity Available
- 1
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GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, GBR
- Item Price
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£0.80
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The Goldfinch
by Tartt, Donna
- Condition
- Used - Very good
- Jacket Condition
- Good
- Edition
- First UK edition-first printing
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9781408704943
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Southampton, Hampshire, GBR
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£69.00
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The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 2013
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Toronto , Ontario, CAN
- Item Price
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£223.82
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The Goldfinch (First Edition)
by Tartt, Donna
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- 1st Edition 1st Printing
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Hardcover
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St Albans, Hertfordshire, GBR
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£80.50
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The Goldfinch (First UK edition-first printing)
by Tartt, Donna
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- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near fine
- Edition
- First UK edition-first printing
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9781408704943
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Southampton, Hampshire, GBR
- Item Price
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£79.00
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The Goldfinch (Powell's Indiespensable Volume 43). Signed
by TARTT, DONNA
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- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- fine
- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Quantity Available
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Rocky River, Ohio, USA
- Item Price
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£610.42
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The Goldfinch.
by Tartt, Donna.
- Condition
- As NEW in As NEW DJ
- Edition
- First UK edition, first printing
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Cloth
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London, GBR
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£300.00
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The Goldfinch
by Tartt, Donna
- Condition
- Used; Good
- Edition
- 0
- Published
- 06/05/2014
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780349139630
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London, Greater London, GBR
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£3.49
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The Goldfinch
by Donna Tartt
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- Used
- Published
- 2013
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Oxford, Mississippi, USA
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£480.20
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The Goldfinch
by Tartt, Donna:
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- Used
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- 9781408704943
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Ramsgate, Kent, GBR
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The Goldfinch.
by Tartt, Donna
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- Used
- Published
- 2013
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Palm Beach, Florida, USA
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£386.60
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The Goldfinch
by TARTT, Donna
- Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780316055437
- Quantity Available
- 1
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Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
- Item Price
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£305.21
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The Goldfinch
by Tartt, Donna
- Condition
- Used - Cloth. Fine in fine unclipped dj
- Edition
- First edition, First state without Pulitzer Prize stamp on cover
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- 771 pp. 1 vols. 8vo
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New York, New York, USA
- Item Price
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£162.78
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The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
by Tartt, Donna
- Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780316055437
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- 1
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Apache Junction, Arizona, USA
- Item Price
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£23.60
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The Goldfinch: Donna Tartt
by Donna Tartt
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN
- 9780349139630
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GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, GBR
- Item Price
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£1.00
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The Goldfinch.
by Tartt, Donna
- Condition
- Used
- Published
- 2013
- Quantity Available
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Palm Beach, Florida, USA
- Item Price
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£406.95
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The Goldfinch : A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
by Donna Tartt
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Published
- 2013
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN
- 9780316055437
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Seller
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Seattle, Washington, USA
- Item Price
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£5.21