Donna Tartt's writing is superb. The Goldfinch turns a piece of art into a talisman that carries more than one life through troubled times. I believe that art is redemptive but Tartt demonstrates this as fact in The Goldfinch. Theo Decker's life has been both tragic and unplanned while also riddled with fortunate turns of fate. This is what makes the story compelling. For instance, at the beginning of the story he survives an explosion in the Meteopolitan Museum of Art. His mother is killed and he ends up walking out of the museum carrying a valuable masterpiece by Fabritius. And if this isn't bad enough for you an alcohol and gambling addicted father shows up to stake a claim on Theo, hauling him off to Las Vegas and essentially abandoning him in a failed housing development where &#34;even Dominoes won't deliver.&#34; At least half of my reading time was spent on the edge of my seat and the other half hoping for a break to get this kid/young man out of the hot water he kept pitching into head first. And along comes Boris Pavlikovsky, Theo's best friend and one of the most endearing hoodlums you'll ever meet. Like I said, the book is long but it's one of the best stories I've read. PERIOD! 

Question: How do you like the life?
Answer: His mother is killed