The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
I bought this book way back when the film adaptation came out, knew nothing about it other than it has something to do with art, spent years avoiding it because it’s so freaking long and now I’m finally letting it go. I’m absolutely never going to read this book. It’s huge and honestly, doesn’t sound like something I would enjoy. I’m in my shameless romance era as that’s all my over-tired ADHD riddled brain can handle these days.
I’ve heard really great things about Donna Tartt’s books but they’re not something I think I would find entertaining.
Verdict: Remove
Synopsis: A young boy in New York City, Theo Decker, miraculously survives an accident that takes the life of his mother. Alone and abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by a friend’s family and struggles to make sense of his new life. In the years that follow, he becomes entranced by one of the few things that reminds him of his mother: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the art underworld.
Composed with the skills of a master, The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America, and a drama of almost unbearable acuity and power. It is a story of loss and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the enormous power of art.
After Alice by Gregory Maguire
I’ve been on the fence about this book for quite some time. I love a retelling/book inspired by fairy tales, so that’s almost enough for me to keep it, however, I’ve heard very weird things about Wicked. This also has absolutely terrible reviews, which kinda makes me want to check it out. If anyone has read this, please let me know if it’s as terrible as its average review rating.
Verdict: Keep (maybe)
Synopsis: After Alice by Gregory Maguire, the bestselling author of WICKED, is a wonderful retelling of what happened next after Alice disappeared down the rabbit hole. An entertaining spin on Lewis Caroll’s classic tale of Alice in Wonderland, this novel will delight fans of Angela Carter.
When Alice fell down the rabbit-hole, she found Wonderland as rife with inconsistent rules and abrasive egos as the world she left behind. But how did Victorian Oxford react to Alice’s disappearance?
Gregory Maguire turns his imagination to the question of underworlds, undergrounds, underpinnings -and understandings old and new, offering an inventive spin on Carroll’s enduring tale. Ada, a friend mentioned briefly in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, sets out to visit Alice but, arriving a moment too late, tumbles down the rabbit-hole herself.
Ada brings to Wonderland her own imperfect apprehension of cause and effect as she embarks on an odyssey to find Alice and bring her safely home from this surreal world below the world. The White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and the bloodthirsty Queen of Hearts interrupt their mad tea party to suggest a if Eurydice can ever be returned to the arms of Orpheus, or if Lazarus can be raised from the tomb, perhaps Alice can be returned to life.
Either way, everything that happens next is After Alice.
Good Sister, Bad Sister by Carol Marrs Phipps & Tom Phipps
I couldn’t tell you what this book is or how it ended up on my Goodreads to be read. It must have been a free read from way back when I got my first Kindle, but I genuinely don’t recognise it.
This has to be an easy remove. I can’t take a book with characters called Minuet (Minute) and Leeuh (Leah) seriously. I’d find it so distracting.
Verdict: Remove
Synopsis: Minuet Dewin, eldest daughter of the wizard Razzmorten, practically raised her half sister Leeuh, who was abandoned by her mother. For many years, Minuet is Leeuh’s passionate champion. As time passes, Leeuh becomes increasingly hard to defend as she grows determined to be awful at every turn. Whilst undoing her dangerous pranks, Minuet finds herself the target of her hatred and jealousy. And when they fall for the same prince, it looks like war. Suddenly Leeuh vanishes. She returns years later, compliant and sweet as she always should have been. Minuet is stunned. Should she trust her, or will it be the very death of her?
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