The Goldfinch
The Goldfinch by Donna Tarttby Donna Tartt
Shares rank 74 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended for an absorbing story that made readers forget their troubles; one critic found it not very good.
Recommended for an absorbing story that made readers forget their troubles; one critic found it not very good.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Absorbing reading that makes time pass
“one of the VERY few books that completely made me forget my misery while I read it”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “The movie treatment was horribly shallow in comparison”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The Age of Reading Is Over” Long middle section praised
“a long, delectable middle that made up for both ends”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The Age of Reading Is Over”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not very good to some readers
“Sadly, I thought Tartt's “The Goldfinch”, which lots of people raved about, was not very good.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Film adaptation felt shallow
“The movie treatment was horribly shallow in comparison”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The Age of Reading Is Over”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Goldfinchby Donna TarttThis page | 3 | 2 | 60% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“one of the VERY few books that completely made me forget my misery while I read it”
“Sadly, I thought Tartt's “The Goldfinch”, which lots of people raved about, was not very good.”
“a long, delectable middle that made up for both ends”
“I enjoyed every page of it.”
“The movie treatment was horribly shallow in comparison”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.