Having really, really enjoyed The Secret History and having also read The Little Friend, I was looking forward to the new novel The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It is as excellent as everyone says it is.

It tells the story of Theo, whose very close relationship with his mother is shattered when they visit a New York museum on the way to being called into his school to get a telling off from his teachers. Disaster strikes when a bomb goes off at the museum and his mother dies (this is not really a spoiler I promise as it happens right at the beginning of the book!).

The rest of the novel follows his story as he is passed from pillar to post and has a series of bizarre parts to his childhood involving his real father who is trying to live off his inheritance, an incredibly wealthy Park Avenue family, and finally, and thankfully, an old-school antique restorer and dealer.

The bit I can’t mention without really spoiling it is the narrative thread that holds it all together and drives a wonderful and building momentum throughout the book. What a great story-telling device this is – what starts as a child’s forgivable knee-jerk response to disaster comes to shape the whole life of the protagonist and what happens to him.

The story comes to a climax in a scary Amsterdam when whether you are still on Theo’s side is pushed to its limit.

It gripped me to the end and I urge you to read it, preferably on a long flight or holiday so your immersion in Theo’s world is uninterrupted.