What’s the book about?
Donna Tartt’s book begins with tragedy. There is an explosion at an art museum where thirteen-year-old Theodore Decker and his mother have dropped in for literally an hour. Theo’s mother dies, and he miraculously escapes from under the rubble, accidentally taking with him a masterpiece of painting – a painting by Fabrizius, “Chegol”, which now for him is an eternal source of anxiety, the memory of the dearest person and the purest example of the Beautiful.
It is as if all the colors disappear at once from his perky, disorganized childhood world, where the scariest were the school principal and the hysterical, alcohol-drenched father. No longer a toddler, but not yet an adult, Theo finds himself defenseless against the impending hopelessness. From now on, every time he opens his eyes, he tells himself: It won’t be the same anymore. His mother’s sweet words, the art history lectures she loved so much in college, her stories about horses and her childhood on the farm… Audrey Decker herself was once soothed by a silver moon circle shown by her father. “Remember, honey, he’s the same everywhere. And if you and I are looking at it, it means we’re home.” But this comfort, like the entire universe, is dying for Theo. For his mother will never see the moon again.
“It was hard to believe that the world had collapsed and someone still cared about these stupid classes…it was hard to believe that the world was once not dead,” a phrase born of the sight of school announcements becomes young Decker’s motto. Psychologists give this condition a name – “acute grief clinic” – but they cannot help a child dying of boredom. Only friendship, love and great art can cure…
Cost: 45$