_The Goldfinch_ by Donna Tartt
The third brief I was given to do nearly was the end of me as well as my work freelancing. First, it took me over three weeks to complete. Although I had a week with the holiday included in that time frame, it just did not go as smoothly as the previous two had.
It was about an 800-page book to begin with. Then, unlike the previous book, it was very well-written and dense. The story was complicated enough that trying to brief and read it for the first time simultaneously was not a great idea. So, I found that I was spending hours on it, staying up late, falling asleep while briefing and all for very little monetary gain.
My lesson learned was to not choose books that look overly interesting for this job, but rather those that are easy and quick since I am not getting paid enough to invest so much time into this work.
In any case, the story was reminiscent of J.D. Salinger’s _The Catcher in the Rye_. It was a story of a boy who copes with tragedy and poor choices whilst learning to understand love, loyalty and life. I recommend reading this one in brief (hopefully the editor made it better than when I submitted it to her) as it is a long story and some parts are far too descriptive for anyone’s good.
However, Tartt is a very talented writer. This being only her third book and yet it has drawn a lot of attention. When I read such books I am daunted at the idea of writing my own. Still, it will happen some day. π
-T π
