I found the book very compulsive shocking reading  in the first half . Twelve year old Theo and his mother are in a bomb blas in an art gallery  and he gradually realizes over a period of hours and days that his mother is dead and not coming back.This trauma led to his dysfunctional growing up in various situations where he was basically left to his own devices living with adults who were preoccupied with their own lives.I found the book quite upsetting and wondered where Donna Tartt got the psychological understanding from.I did learn some new things about art which was interesting.I 

Question: How is the write?
Answer: I found the book very compulsive shocking reading   in the first half