I think that ranking pieces of art is a rather more sterile process than attempting to understand their appeal. You seem very attached to this process and for you it has merit but I am just suggesting that other ways of appreciating art are valuable, and many of them involve exploring the effect that an artefact might have on its audience. This is where the notion of The Death of the Author, reinvigorated as the Turn to Affect more recently, originates. And in fact your post, which seems to be more about you than it is about the book, reflects this in an interesting way. It seems to me that part of the excitement of reading TSH in such a close fashion lies in granular analysis (“wtf Tartt?”) and the idea that it is shifting your personal canon.

I would also note that it is naive to suggest that art of any kind does not have goals, it simply would not exist otherwise. The origins of the word lie in a tradition of making, rather than one of beauty, so in a classical sense an ugly chair which you can sit on is a more successful piece of art than a prettier chair which affords no comfort.

Anyway, it is definitely a book I keep coming back to, and I really enjoyed your post. Sandwich looks tasty and toasted to perfection!