The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: audiobook vs book, which should you choose?
A boy survives a museum bombing that kills his mother and walks out with a small Dutch painting. Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer winner is long, and its award-winning audiobook makes the case for listening.
Content note: sources list a terrorist bombing, a parent’s death, teenage drug use and suicidal thoughts among the novel’s themes. This page does not describe them.
Listen on Audible
Listen to The Goldfinch for David Pittu, whose solo reading of Theo’s story won two 2014 Audie Awards, including Solo Narration, Male. It is Theo’s story, told by him alone, so one narrator suits it, and Pittu carries all 864 pages over 32 hours. Read it instead if you want to savour Tartt’s Pulitzer-winning prose at your own pace.
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The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK edition, our verdict | US edition |
|---|---|---|
| Narrator | David Pittu | David Pittu |
| Length | 32 hours 25 minutes (32h 25m), unabridged | 32 hours 24 minutes (32h 24m), unabridged |
| At 1.5x | about 21h 37m | about 21h 36m |
| At 2x | about 16h 13m | about 16h 12m |
| Audio publisher and date | Little, Brown Book Group, 22 October 2013 | Little, Brown and Company, 22 October 2013 |
| Audiobook price | £19.84 on Audible UK | $47.24 on Audible US |
| Kindle price | £5.49 on Amazon UK | Not listed |
| Abacus paperback, 864 pages, 2014 | Little, Brown hardback, 771 pages, 2013 | |
| Listener rating | Performance 4.68 from 5,823 ratings | Performance 4.65 from 38,764 ratings |
David Pittu’s recording is the only English one on Audible. The UK and US listings came out the same day, so the UK listing is the one scored.
Spanish (El jilguero) and German (Der Distelfink) translations are also on Audible. No PDF comes with the audiobook. Ratings and prices checked 5 November 2026. Prices change often. Amazon US does not show Kindle prices outside the US, so US Kindle prices are not given.
Lengths checked 5 November 2026. Speed times are calculated.
The Goldfinch
Donna Tartt
- Genre
- Literary fiction
- First published
- October 2013
- Length
- 864 pages (UK paperback)
- On audio
- 32 hrs 25 mins, David Pittu
- On screen
- Film, 2019, directed by John Crowley
- Prizes
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Checked, not a factor here (9)
One storyteller with one narrator (7), award-winning narration (6) and the book’s length (3) give listening 16 points, while the praised prose (7) gives reading 7. That puts it at 68%, leaning to audio.
Every book gets the same thirteen checks, set in advance. Verdicts are never paid for or influenced by affiliate links. Last edited 5 November 2026, and rechecked every year as editions and narrators change. Read the checks in full · Is listening the same as reading? See what the research says.
The recording in detail
- Scored
- David Pittu, Little, Brown Book Group, 2013, 32h 25m, unabridged
- Critic review
- Audie Awards 2014: Literary Fiction and Solo Narration, Male
- Alternatives
- None in English: one David Pittu recording on both stores
- What you miss
- Nothing: there are no illustrations or maps, and the painting is described in words
What this book actually is
The Goldfinch is Donna Tartt’s third novel. Theo Decker is 13 when he survives a bomb at a New York museum that kills his mother, and he keeps a small Dutch painting from the wreckage. He tells the whole story himself, looking back from Amsterdam at 27.
It won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. John Crowley’s film, with Ansel Elgort and Oakes Fegley as Theo, came out in 2019.
The case for reading it
The prose is the reason to read. The Pulitzer citation calls it “A beautifully written coming-of-age novel”, and long, detailed passages on art, antiques and New York reward a slower pace on the page, where you can reread a sentence.
Not every critic agrees: James Wood in The New Yorker found the tone closer to children’s literature. If you want to judge the style for yourself, print gives you the time to do it.
The case for listening to it
David Pittu’s reading won two 2014 Audie Awards, and Kirkus says the story is “fully realized by the gifted Pittu”. It is Theo’s story, told by him alone, and one narrator suits that close first-person voice.
At 864 pages it is a very long book, and the audiobook lets you get through it on commutes and walks rather than in one long stretch with the book.
The audiobook in detail
David Pittu reads the whole book alone in 32 hours 25 minutes, unabridged. The Little, Brown recording came out on 22 October 2013 and is the same on Audible UK and US.
It won the 2014 Audie Awards for Literary Fiction and for Solo Narration, Male. Listeners rate the performance 4.68 on Audible UK and 4.65 from nearly 39,000 ratings on Audible US.
Who should ignore this verdict
If you read Tartt for her sentences, choose print: the praised prose is the one strong reason on that side. Otherwise, Pittu’s award-winning reading makes the audiobook the better way through a book this long.
Kindle
- 864 pages (UK paperback)
- Take the prose at your own pace
- About 14½ hours to read (our estimate)
Related verdicts
The Secret History
Tartt’s first novel, also told in the first person.
A Little Life
Another very long literary novel about friendship.
Demon Copperhead
A Pulitzer winner about a boy who loses his mother.
Hamnet
Literary fiction about grief.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
A long novel about a lifelong friendship.
East of EdenJohn SteinbeckSame verdictEast of Eden
Listen to East of Eden, but only just. It is a 688-page saga, and Simon Manyonda’s 26-hour reading carries you through it, with Lee’s pidgin English landing well aloud. The evidence is thin on both sides, so if you like to linger over Steinbeck’s asides or keep the Trasks and Hamiltons straight on the page, print is a fair choice.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates The Goldfinch audiobook?
David Pittu reads the unabridged audiobook on his own, on both Audible UK and Audible US.
How long is The Goldfinch audiobook?
32 hours 25 minutes on Audible UK (32 hours 24 minutes on Audible US): about 21 hours 37 minutes at 1.5x and 16 hours 13 minutes at 2x (calculated).
Is The Goldfinch audiobook abridged?
No. David Pittu’s recording is unabridged.
How many pages is The Goldfinch?
The UK Abacus paperback has 864 pages. The US Little, Brown hardback has 771.
Did The Goldfinch audiobook win any awards?
Yes. David Pittu’s recording won two 2014 Audie Awards, for Literary Fiction and for Solo Narration, Male. The novel won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Is there a film of The Goldfinch?
Yes. John Crowley directed the film, released in the US on 13 September 2019, with Ansel Elgort and Oakes Fegley as Theo and Aneurin Barnard and Finn Wolfhard as Boris.
Who tells the story in The Goldfinch?
Theo Decker tells the whole story in the first person, looking back from Amsterdam at the age of 27.
Is The Goldfinch like The Secret History?
Both are long, first-person literary novels by Donna Tartt, but The Goldfinch follows one boy from the age of 13 into adulthood, while The Secret History follows a group of college students.
Should I read or listen to The Goldfinch?
Listen, at 68%, leaning. David Pittu’s solo reading won two Audie Awards, Theo tells the whole story himself, and the audiobook makes 864 pages manageable. Read it if Tartt’s praised prose is what you are after.
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