The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I've been recovering from jet lag for the last ten days or so. It's one of the drawbacks to traveling overseas, but I do love traveling and seeing new places so it's a small price to pay.

It is, however, quite a sad feeling when I wake up at 3am, wide awake and ready to go while it is still dark outside.

With a snoring husband on one side of me and a snoring cat on the other side of me, I didn't want to disturb either of them, so I would read this book. I found out that it's not the best pick for reading in the middle of the night when you can't sleep. It took me into a dark underworld of theft, drugs, and hangovers. And yet, I couldn't stop reading. Until I realized that I should probably read happier fare and save this book for reading in the daylight hours.

Theo Decker is a 13-year-old boy when his mom dies in a museum accident. He then lives with a wealthy family for awhile before moving out to Las Vegas with his father. In Vegas, he meets Boris.

The story takes us into Theo's growing up and moving between the world of antiques and the world of criminal doings. Sometimes those worlds are not so far apart from each other.

I liked this book. The ending offered some redemption and surprises. Recommended, but I don't recommend that you read this during the middle of the night.