The Goldfinch Wins Top Prize
The 2014 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced April 14, 2014, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was presented to Donna Tartt for her novel The Goldfinch. The Goldfinch won over other nominated works The Son by Philipp Meyer and The Woman Who Lost Her Soul by Bob Shacochis.
Tartt is an established author whose previous works include The Secret History (1992) and The Little Friend (2002). A fan of writing long novels, Tartt took 11 years to write The Goldfinch, which is a solid 784 pages and was published by Little, Brown and Company.
The Goldfinch Enjoys High Critical Acclaim
First released in October of 2013, The Goldfinch was met with critical acclaim and quickly became a best seller. The New York Times raved that The Goldfinch “[is a]…glorious, Dickensian novel, a novel that pulls together all her remarkable storytelling talents into a rapturous, symphonic whole and reminds the reader of the immersive, stay-up-all-night pleasures of reading.” Of course, since such things are subjective, not all were fans of the book, remarking that it was too long and self-involved to be engrossing. However, it is safe to say that The Goldfinch was one of the top books published in 2013.
The Goldfinch is a complex and poetic coming of age story that revolves around the choices and chance encounters of its protagonist. The rich characterizations, intense and emotional dialogue, and captivating plot made the book immediately popular, and it was also nominated for the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award.
It is uncommon for books to be best sellers before they win awards as prestigious as the Pulitzer, and it is certain that the book will become even more popular now that it has won such an honor. Tartt is the 30th woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, continuing the long tradition of female Pulitzer winners starting with Edith Wharton for The Age of Innocence in 1921.
For Tartt’s earlier works, see our gallery below:
