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Summary: Story as beautiful as the painting
Review: I read another book, Girl in the Hyacinth Blue, recently and enjoyed it very much. It also concerned Vermeer, but from a much different standpoint. That book was more about his painting, this book was more about the man and his time period. I really enjoyed the story of Griet, the daughter of a blind man, who must feed her family because of he father's trade accident. (The kiln exploded at his work, and blinded him leaving him without a way to support the family of 5) Griet is thrown into a maid position for a Catholic family (her family is Protestant) in the city of Delft, Holland. The household is full of children and she must serve two mistresses, but she finds herself much more intrigued and drawn to the master of the house, Johannes Vermeer. The story tells of Griet's growing up, and her feelings for her master--she evantually sits for a painting that goes down in history as his most noted painting--a girl looking over her left shoulder, wearing a pearl earring. It is a beautiful historical fiction, I could not put it down. Chevalier is a wonderful writer, and I really look forward to her other books!
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Summary: Beautiful Book
Review: The texture and the passion of this book absorbed me as only the best reads do. It was stunning.
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Summary: a fun, light read
Review: I picked up this book to read after a friend of mine raved about it. I think that because of her love for the book I went in with high expecatations. I will give it this: it was a fun read, an easy read, and a midly entertaining read. I just felt that it was a little too bland and just shy of really making an impression. If you are look for relief from heavier and more challenging read, then this book would be perfect.
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Summary: THE PAINTER VERMEER'S SECRET HELPER
Review: A talented but lazy portrait painter in 17th century Holland realizes he needs a helper but is reluctant to hire anyone, lest his secret color formulas be discovered. His ambitious mother-in-law, who lives with his ever-growing family, decides his wife could use another maid/laundress. So the painter, a local known as Vermeer, hires a young girl of 14. The daughter of a blinded unemployed tile painter, she brings a treasure trove of skills with her. Only no one may know she helps the master. The painter's struggles of getting a painting right, coupled with his daily distractions of his ever pregnant jealous wife, sneaky mother-in-law and nearly a dozen children provide the reader with a glimpse of how life was conducted in a Dutch manor house of the 1600's. Told from the maid's point of view, a young girl is sent away from her family to live her life in servitude to the painter. She proves herself in more ways than one. Love, deceit, art history and romance make this book a keeper.
I wish it was another two hundred pages!
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Summary: Amazing
Review: This is a fascinating story based on a mysterious painting. It's addictive and beautifully written. My one complaint is that the ending seemed to me like it lacked...something. It just wasn't as spectacular as one would expect from a book this great.
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Summary: Smart and Captivating
Review: I found this to be a great read, based on quite an interesting premise. From one mysterious painting is weaved this very rich account of family life in 17th century Holland. Among other things, it's an enchanting story of growth and strength of character through a brief, transitional period in the life of one young woman. I enjoyed this novel so much that, after reading it, I went on a bit of a historical-fiction kick. Downside: few other novels measured up to the enjoyment level I found in this work. If you're looking for a story to transport you to another place and time, this is one to pick up.
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Summary: I didn't want it to end!
Review: I quickly found myself absorbed into 17th century Holland. The story is about a young girl named Griet who went to work for the master artist Vermeer. We doubt that the girl was a real person, but it seems to be entirely plausible. Tracy Chevalier's writing is tangible, colorful, expressive. The explanations of how a great artist must have painted were fascinating. I was sad to finish this book. I wanted the experience to continue! This is one of the few books that I would read again.
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Summary: Wonderful read for any artist.
Review: "Girl with the Pearl Earring" is a wonderful read for any emerging or struggling artist, or even those fascinated by art history. Chevalier takes the reader into the world of competitive Dutch art, where a now famous artist whose paintings sell for very high numbers, struggled to compose and find inspiration in a world not-so-glamorous. It's inspiring to know that even great artists like Vermeer faced the same struggles that today's artists do. The details of how the pigments were created, stored, and cherished is enlighting, while the veiw of the possible 'model', Griet, brings greater depth to an already fasniating and intriguing painting. Was the girl with the pearl earring thinking of deep secrets as she sat for the artist, or simply thinking of surviving in trying Times. Definately a keeper!
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Summary: Big disappointment
Review: I read this on the recommendation of several friends and, even a passerby who saw me reading it, all of whom were very enthusiastic about it. So, I was extremely disappointed to discover that it wasn't very good. I found the central character, Griet, to be a pompous, priggish young woman with an overinflated sense of her own position in society and far too calculating for the persona she is supposed to be. Nearly everyone else was without any substance. Vermeer is very cold, almost mute and there is no clue to his thoughts at all. He just comes and goes as if he's in a trance. His wife is one-dimensionally nasty. The children, Griet's family and the other maid are stock characters (the bully, the good child, the baby, the threatened co-worker, the poor but proud parents, etc.). About the only real personalities are Vermeer's mother-in-law and the butcher's son who eventually marries Griet. I actually liked the mother in law best. She seemed to have some three dimensionality. However, I did think the description of the housework they had to do was interesting. Presumably, this is due to the influence of Simon Schama's excellent book "The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretaion of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age". On the other hand, I found her description of the camera obscura almost unintelligible, even though, as an art historian, I've had the opportunity to see the view through one. (I'm a 17th century specialist, altough my area of specialization is Italian and French art, not Dutch). A great opportunity for a good scene was missed there. Ms. Chevalier's Vermeer could have explained how he used the projected image in preparing and painting his pictures, but this wasn't done. If you want to know something about 17th Century Holland, read Schama's book and there are many excellent art historical studies of Vermeer. Don't waste your money on this book.
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Summary: One of the very best ever
Review: The opening scene of this book is masterly: a girl, chopping vegetables in her home, arranges them by color and texture and tint, listening as her parents arrange for her to leave the only home she's ever known and go to work for the painter Vermeer. She becomes his helper and the subject of his painting. This wonderful, multi-layered book is historical fiction that rises many notches above other books in the genre.
Vermeer's prosperous household is full of tensions: servents who have their own heirarchy, his domineering and perpetually-pregnant wife, the many resulting children, and his incredibly powerful mother-in-law. An exquisite and painstakingly- researched portrayal of life in 16th century Delft through all levels of society - giving a vivid understanding of how small a sphere of life the characters were able to experience.
Masterful and memorable book.
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