Were my expectations too high for this one? I wanted to like it more. At moments, I was completely into it, but at other times not so much. By the end, I was just reserved to it. 
 I'm not saying it was bad, not at all bad. In fact, I think many will like it. I've seen very favorable reviews for The Goldfinch, while others were not so great. I fall somewhere in the middle. The writing was solid. There's no doubt about that. I just thought that it was too long and didn't go all that far considering the length. Most of this is probably due to Theo, the main character. I know he was damaged emotionally by the loss of his mother and a no account excuse of a father. Therefore, I wanted him more for him, especially by the end. It just wasn't there. 
 By the way, I listened to the audiobook version. I'm glad I did, since I'm a novice when it comes to listening to books. Anyway, in my opinion, David Pittu does a fine job as narrator.