"The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt ****

●  Audiobook
●  US author
●  Originally published in 2013
●  Setting:  Amsterdam, 1943

●  Epigraph:  "The absurd does not liberate.  It binds."  - Albert Camus

Review:  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and the tale of one boy's journey from boyhood to adolescence to manhood, and ultimately, to use a phrase I generally try to avoid, to a fully self actualized human.  I do not think I have come across such an in-depth character study in a very long time.  I know that literary critics are divided about this book, as are many people I know who have read it. To me, a Pulitzer worthy piece of literature ought to be a work which will likely transcend time as a classic.  I am not sure that I would consider this novel of that caliber, yet I thought it was engaging and thought provoking.  The author's ending was one of the least rushed and most fitting I have read in quite a while as well.  I like the primary message of the novel, which to me was that we need to know and accept ourselves to be able to move forward through life freely while taking responsibility for who we are and the choices we make.