“Putting your time in at the office; dutifully spawning your two point five; smiling politely at your retirement party; then chewing on your bedsheet and choking on your canned peaches at the nursing home. It was better never to have been born-never to have wanted anything, never to have hoped for anything.”

American novelist

Donna Tartt is an American novelist known for her three novels, The Secret History, The Little Friend, and The Goldfinch. Her work has made her a notable figure in contemporary American fiction. The Secret History appeared in 1992, followed by The Little Friend in 2002 and The Goldfinch in 2013. The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was later adapted into a 2019 film. In 2014, Time magazine included her on its list of the 100 Most Influential People.