It’s been five years since I read The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt’s third novel and a book that launched me on my bookish career. It was dealing with the severe book hangover after finishing the book that I realized this is what I wanted to do with my life: help other people find great books. The idea for this blog was born not long after. So I think it’s fitting that I’ve updated this post with some new recommendations in hopes that these list of Goldfinch read-a-likes will serve fans of the novel.
After I closed the book, I went searching for lists of other books that are like The Goldfinch. Now that I’ve had a few years to digest the novel, though, I feel like I’m in a better position to advise on this issue, having a better understanding of all the individual components that make this novel so unforgettable and so emotionally powerful. This list of reading recommendations for what to read after you’ve finished The Goldfinch is based on what books match individual features of Tartt’s story and writing. I hope you find a new favorite here. Let’s dig in!
And if you’re looking for more about The Goldfinch, check out my list of the 25 best quotes from The Goldfinch. Perfect for discussion starters in your book club.
If you loved the first person narrative and retrospection and insight on how a life is constructed…
Try My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2014)
My Struggle is a six-volume autobiography by Karl Ove (Knausgaard). Or actually it’s a six-volume novel. Or something in between. So far the first three books have been translated into English with the fourth being released this spring. What I love about My Struggle is the confessional style of Karl Ove. He is so brutally honest about things, saying stuff and ranting about his life and the things that complicate his vision, that you have to admire him for going all out. It is so intimate and striking. I find that I need to take it in slowly. Karl Ove looks back on his personal history and is able to pick out singular moments that shaped who he is today. I think this is similar to Theo’s voice and narrative style. Also, if one of the things you liked about The Goldfinch was how long it was, that you could sink your teeth into it and live there for a while, this is a good choice (Though honestly that is true of almost all the books I picked for this list).
Add My Struggle on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
If you loved the epic scope of The Goldfinch and that it involved a specific industry and the metropolis of New York City AND you loved the story of two best friends (like Theo and Boris)…
Try The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (2000)
I read this book a while ago, way back in my senior year of high school, and I would love to reread it. Chabon’s novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 and details the story of two young men (the Kavalier and Clay of the title) who create a superman-like character in the Golden Age of Comic. But it’s about so much more. It’s about New York City, and America, and the immigrant experience, and homosexuality, and having a father or not having a father, and World War II, the Holocaust, etc. Chabon’s novel ushers you into the comics world much like Goldfinch does that with antiques and the art world. It also has an infectious excitement to it; it feels like you are right there on the edge of the moment when the world is about to change.
Add The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
If you loved Theo’s balance between retrospection and nostalgia, the criminal underworld setting, and Tartt’s nimble plot twists…
Try Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (2018)
I’ve recommended Michael Ondaatje’s Warlight more than just about any other book in the past year, including my endorsement on here. I loved it, and it was maybe the only book that’s really come close to matching The Goldfinch on so many levels. In this novel, Nathaniel is 14 years old and living in London with his parents and older sister, Rachel, in the immediate aftermath of World War II. When Nathaniel’s parents are suddenly summoned away to work abroad under mysterious circumstances, Nathaniel and Rachel are left in the care of their eccentric neighbor, who they have nicknamed The Moth. Soon, Nathaniel is taken under the wing of The Moth’s strange, crooked friends who find a way to make a living in the cracks of society, places Hitler’s bombs edged open and allowed for black markets to thrive. Then, in the second half of the novel, Nathaniel reflects on that strange time as he searches for the truth about his mother’s secrets.
Add Warlight on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
If you loved the idea that your life could be changed by small actions, and that your life could have turned out differently…
Try Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (2013)
Life After Life is a completely surreal novel. I’ve never read anything like it, except maybe Goldfinch. Atkinson’s novel follows Ursula Todd, a young woman who is born and who dies again and again and again. The background is World War I and World War II in England, and the novel examines the question of, “How would my life have turned out differently if I had or hadn’t done this or that?” It’s a beautiful novel that makes you think about fate, destiny, and the strange structure to our lives. I cannot recommend it enough. Also, bonus: there is a sequel coming out this year about Ursula’s brother.
Add Life After Life on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
If you loved the idea of an orphan taken under an old eccentric’s wing and being raised like a child…
Try The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt (2009)
The Children’s Book is another grand, sweeping novel about how lives can be shaped in the wake of no parents. The Children’s Book is about a family, led by the matriarch and children’s book author Olive, who takes in a homeless orphan in 19th century England. The story examines how the boy’s life is shaped by a family that is as eccentric as it gets. Byatt’s lush writing feels downright Victorian, and the novel has a very classic, Dickensian feel just like The Goldfinch. Along the way the novel addresses war, art, writing, family, love, and childhood. Plus it’s really, really long (675 pages!), so it should keep you busy for a while.
Add The Children’s Book on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
If you loved learning about the strange culture of Las Vegas…
Try Beautiful Children by Charles Bock (2008)
Beautiful Children unites different people who live in or around Las Vegas. There are teens, parents, seedy individuals, and shady careers much in the same way that Goldfinch immerses you in the strange and bizarre landscapes and industries that could only happen in Las Vegas. Bock is observant without being overtly judgmental, but make not mistake: this is a wild, Gonzo-style immersion into Las Vegas’ subculture, revealing what the glitz and glamor covers up. This narrative is made even more visceral because Bock grew up the son of Las Vegas pawnbrokers.
Add Beautiful Children on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
If you loved how Tartt captured the crushing despair of grief after a sudden death…
Try The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (2005)
The Year of Magical Thinking by legendary writer Joan Didion may be the shortest book on this list length-wise, yet perhaps it is the most profound. Didion uses the memoir format to reflect on the sudden death of her husband and the way grief filled the void of the love of her life afterwards. Didion lost her husband in a way that was similar to how Theo lost his mother in The Goldfinch: a tragic, unexpected, loss of life. Didion and Theo would have much to talk about. Didion’s prose is lyrical and hypnotic, crushingly beautiful while still being spare and restrained. It’s easy to see why she won the National Book Award for the unforgettable memoir, which was later turned into a Broadway solo play.
Add The Year of Magical Thinking on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
Finally, if all else fails and you don’t know what you want, you probably want to read another book by Donna Tartt! In that case, I’d recommend…
Try The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992)
Of Tartt’s two other novels, The Secret History is probably the closest to Goldfinch. In The Secret History, Richard unravels his memories of his early years in college when he was taken under the wing of an influential Classics professor and welcomed into an exclusive clique of like-minded scholars. I have read The Secret History twice in the past year and continually have to repress the urge to read it again. Like Goldfinch, Tartt’s debut focuses on a small cast of characters and is told in first person. It touches on themes of deviance and immorality (to say the least) and is also a rollicking good time.
Add The Secret History on Goodreads, purchase on Amazon, and find in a library through WorldCat.
So there you have it, my The Goldfinch read-a-likes for those who have just read it. I hope you find something that peaks your interest.
