The Goldfinch

When thirteen-year-old Theo Decker survives a tragic bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he emerges with a priceless painting—Carel Fabritius’s The Goldfinch—secretly in his possession. Haunted by grief and tethered to the artwork, Theo’s life spirals between New York’s elite society and the criminal underworld of art theft. Spanning decades, Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel is a sweeping meditation on beauty, fate, and the ache of carrying both loss and love.

~ Included for its emotionally intense portrayal of grief, longing, and the fragile connections that sustain us through tragedy. While not explicitly queer, its enduring themes of chosen family, desire, and complicated bonds have resonated powerfully with queer readers. A literary epic that lingers with beauty and devastation. ~