Girl with a Pearl Earring

Rating:
Summary: Dazzling, beautiful, and complex.
Review: With nearly 700 reviews, there is no point in languishing in the plot, the beginning, the ending. No doubt this has been relayed over and over. But this book was so unique in itself that I couldn't bear not reviewing it!

At the core of this book, despite the excess of somewhat "cookie cutter" semi-main characters (the painter's aggressive friend, the jealous wife, the lusting suitor, the vicious daughter) is simply the relationship between a painter and his muse. I'm only sixteen, and so haven't read as many novels as many of the reviewers, but I can say nonetheless that the relationship between Vermeer and Griet is the most dynamic one that I've ever experienced in a book's pages.

Griet begins as a simple cleaner in Vermeer's studio, rearrangins and dusting his things after he's finished. Soon she advances to being his assistant, and lastly -- his muse, which ultimately destroys a part of her.

The sexual tension in this book is, for lack of better wording, rather remarkable. The lurid, dull and replacable sex scenes with her suitor seem to be forced, unlikely, and above all else irritating. But as Chevalier writes of the way Vermeer looks at Griet while painting her, the heat of his body when they prepare the paints, and the way his fingers trace her face when he puts in the pearl earring - it is these subtle things that make you wonder: 'What if?'

And when Vermeer sees Griet with her hair down, something she won't even let her own impatient suitor do, Chevalier writes with clarity: "You ruined me."

It's these moments that make books worth reading. There is no pointless, unneeded sentiments until the ending, which despite its completeness I found to be rather empty. Griet is a likeable enough heroine in her aloofness, an intelligent young woman who knows how to get what she wants - even if she always doesn't /know/ what she wants. As her brother laughs and tells her that she cannot hide how much she yearns for her own master, the reader may get the impression that Griet knows more than she will even admit to herself.

Among all the other admirable points of this book: the lyrical, beautiful writing, the poignant descriptions, and the lush characterization, it is ultimately the suffering that Griet undergoes for her master that touched me the most. And though Griet is warned that he does not care for her any more than his other muses, and to not get 'captured in his world', there are little hints of something more. The agonizing hopelessness of Griet's love is refreshing, and presented in a non-sentemental way that even I, usually a hardcore anti-romance fan, enjoyed.

Ultimately, a book that makes you think. Perhaps not deep thoughts of the meaning of life, or the beginning of the universe, or the dawn of man, but thoughts about the complexities of love -- and how much love is worth.

Rating:
Summary: Moderately impressive
Review: A fictionalized account of the story behind the girl with a pearl earring in Vermeer's painting. By the end, I found it satisfying, but much of the beginning and middle seemed forced to me. In trying to put in the details of 17th century life in Holland, I found myself imagining the author with her history books more than I imagined a deep picture of average life. Not a book I'd highly recommend, but still moderatly impressive for its creativity.

Rating:
Summary: Certainly "a portrait of radiance!"
Review: As Time Magazine first observed, Girl With A Pearl Earring is "a portrait of radiance." Upon trying to think of another, more original phrase to describe this marvelous, subtly beautiful book, I could think of nothing that would do it the justice it deserves.
Vermeer has always been one of my favorite artists, especially for his renowned painting "View of Delft." As the book describes, it is his use of light that allows his paintings to come to life; the subjects are ordinary, if not beautiful, and the backdrops are typically common and true to the every- day life I imagine he lived. Because of my interest in Vermeer's work, I cannot quite understand why I waited to long to finally pick it up and read it. However, I am very glad that I did.
As a fan of art history, as well as history and fiction, I found this book a delightful triumph. Not only are the characters well-developed, they are believable. I really imagined Vermeer living the life Chevalier described, and I felt so close to Griet, his muse and maid, by the end of the book that I wept for her loss.
This is a minor point, but I felt that the breaks in sections of the book were perfectly and strategically placed. Creating cliff-hangers, they kept me on my toes while reading; I felt as if I could not put down the book until I had finished it in its entirety.
Of course, one must keep in mind while reading Girl With A Pearl Earring that it is fiction; I think one of the challenges of writing and reading historical fiction is being too critical of the misrepresentation of facts. I read the book with an open mind and genuine interest, and I ended up loving it.
Although I had not previously read any of Tracy Chevalier's books, I now plan to; I anticipate enjoying them just as much.
I would recommend Girl With A Pearl Earring to anyone, young or old, male or female.
It took my breath away.

Rating:
Summary: This book itself is a pearl!
Review: I'm not quite finished with it, but I've found every page thus far to be a marvel. Chevalier's polished lack of self-consciousness and sentimentality makes this book as fresh and crisp as the aprons in which young Griet takes pride in spotlessly maintaining.

Vermeer's household becomes its own self-contained, small nation, with rich details of its geography and features, delicious fly-on-the-wall vistas of political maneuvering, speechless reverence for its beauty and royalty, and the brutality and instability of life among its poor. Griet herself is a masterpiece -- a keenly street-smart heroine carefully painted using only the media of the time -- mercifully absent of the sullen, contemptuous self-obsession and insatiable needs for attention exhibited by contemporary teens in our culture.

I can't wait to rent the movie! I look forward to seeing Scarlet Johansson animate Griet.

Rating:
Summary: Just Simply a Wonderful Book
Review: We don't know very much about Vermeer other than that fact that he produced only thirty-five paintings before he died at forty-two, almost unknown and in debt. "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" is one of his better known paintings and we know nothing about the model. However Ms. Chevalier writes gorgeous words on her pages as she paints us a beautiful portrait of who this lovely woman might have been.

In 1665, Vermeer lived in Delft with his wife, Catharina, his mother, his five daughters and two sons. Griet, works as a maid in household. As well as doing her daily chores, which includes trips to the meat market where the owner's son desires her. Vermeer and his friend, van Ruijven, also fancy her. Soon she becomes Vermeer's assistant as well as the model for "Girl With a Pearl Earring. While she poses, Catharina gets increasing jealous and it comes to a boiling point when she sees that his latest painting is of Griet wearing the her own pearl earrings.

This is a beautifully crafted book that I just simply adored. It's got a few neat twists, an unexpected ending and lots of wonderful description of what life was like in Holland in the Seventeenth Century. I can't recommend this story highly enough.

Sophie Cacique Gaul

Rating:
Summary: Art, History, And A Great Story!!!
Review: Ms. Chevalier has done it again taking a historic work of art and creating a believable story to how this painting came about.

Ms. Chevalier has a very lyrical way of writing that is not only vividly descriptive, but also draws you into 17th century Delft. I managed to read this book in one sitting since the story of Griet and her sensual awakening which is triggered by her going to work as a maid for an artist and his family was totally captivating.

For a fast read that is truly a work of art in it's own write you can't go wrong with anything written by Ms. Chevalier!

Rating:
Summary: Chevalier makes up a story behind the Vermeer painting
Review: I read "Girl With a Pearl Earring" because I was so enthralled by the 2003 film adaptation directed by Peter Webber from a script by Olivia Hetreed. When I saw the movie I was impressed by its visual elements but now that I have real Tracy Chevalier's novel I am really impressed by Hetreed's screenplay. Usually when I am inspired to read a novel after I see a film it is to get more of the story, thinking that less than half of what is in the book has made it to the screen. That is most decidedly not the case with "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Johannes Vermeer's 1665 oil on canvas painting, which hangs in The Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis in The Hague, is considered one of his masterworks. It is a portrait of a young girl, wearing a turban and a pearl earring, looking over her shoulder, her lips parted slightly, set against a black background. But if you are familiar with Vermeer's body of work, most of which represented the corner of his studio in which he worked, then clearly "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is an atypical work. This painting has raised a series of questions ever since it was rediscovered in 1882: Was the pearl real? What is she wearing a turban? Was the painting intended to be a portrait? Nothing is known about whom Vermeer used as his model, so the biggest question of all is Who was the girl in the painting?

Chevalier answers all of these questions, and more, by creating a young girl named Griet. After her father, a tile maker, is blinded in a kiln accident Griet is sent to work cleaning in the house of Vermeer in the Dutch city of Delft. She is Protestant and the Vermeers are Catholic, which adds another element of strangeness to the young girl when she moves into the house. Vermeer's wife, Catharina, is about to deliver another baby, and Griet is to help with the household work. But she is also given the job of cleaning the master's studio, where she faces the daunting task of cleaning the objects on display without moving them from their position.

Griet is a smart girl, which for some may well be the Achilles heel in the conceit spun by Chevalier since they may well conclude that neither Greit's education nor her experiences would allow her to come up with the deep thoughts she has at critical points in the narrative. But that intelligence is necessary to the story Chevalier wants to tell and the foundation for everything that follows is Griet's common sense conclusion that cleaning the widow's in Vermeer's studio will change the light that falls on his subjects.

"Girl with a Pearl Earring" is about the art of painting and we learn, through Griet's eyes, something of Vermeer's technique, especially with his use of the camera obscura. But it is also something of a love story, in that Griet cannot help but be smitten with the man who ends up painting her portrait, even if the thought that something might actually happen between them never really enters her mind. For a time, in Chevalier's story, Griet serves as a muse of inspiration for a great painter who produced a true masterpiece.

This is not a true story. Most of the characters really lived and you can travel to the Netherlands and see the actual painting, but Chevalier's answer to all of the questions swirling around Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" are only creative speculations. Yet in the final analysis Chevalier achieves the ultimate level that author's aspire to when they tell such tales in that we wish that this was indeed a true story. Chevalier makes Griet as memorable as the painting she inspires in this 2000 novel.

On the back of the my copy of this novel author Deborah Moggach, author of "Tulip Fever," says that she read Chevalier's story with a book of Vermeer's paintings beside me. I read "Girl with a Pearl Earring" after not only seeing the movie but after checking out all of Vermeer's paintings online, so that when Chevalier talks about the paintings "Woman with a Pearl Necklace" and "The Concert" I was able to visualize them. I wish that reproductions of those paintings had been included in this novel as well as the cover picture of the titular artwork, the same way I wish that I could see the paintings and architecture that matter in Dan Brown's novels. Since you can easily find a couple of excellent websites with Vermeer's artwork I would strong recommend that even if you have also seen the movie, that you be able to have the same advantage as Griet and be able to study these great paintings.

Rating:
Summary: Girl to woman
Review: I loved this book. It has a very interesting historical p[eriod as the backround, and a great perspective. This girl learns so much, from the master of the house about art, but also about life in some families, and the secrets that people keep. A book I had a hard time putting down, but took some absorbing too aat times. Very worth the read. Great author!

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding book
Review: Tracy Chevalier writes an outstanding novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring. The main character is Griet, a young girl from Holland who is devastated when she discovers that her father has become blind. With her family unable to pay for living expenses, Griet must become a maid to the famous artist Vermeer and his family. The author does a marvelous job describing the portraits Vermeer paints. It is almost as if the portraits come alive in the story. The story does not have any boring points and keeps readers on their toes as Griet struggles with growing up and is torn when deciding who or what to love.

Teenagers, myself included, can relate to Griet as she searches for herself and realizes her responsibilities as she grows up. Griet understands that she must support her family. Living with the painter forces her to grow in many aspects. All teenagers should read this book because of the life's lessons it portrays. Readers do not have to like art to appreciate this book. The appreciation comes with the author's beautifully written novel that causes readers to be anxious for the end throughout the whole story.

Rating:
Summary: Painting words
Review: Over 650 people have taken time to write a review on this amazing novel, a large majority offering the highest of ratings. Their reviews are substantial and I recognize my contribution would be repetitious. The novel was exquisite.

On a personal level, I was presented the novel by my daughter. She informed me she read it "cover to cover" in one night and offered that I may enjoy it as well. Within a few days, I noticed her in the backyard examining calla lillies. Soon, she was requesting a canvas and taking out her stash of paints. Sketching a replica of the lillies, she spoke of the subtleties of colors and the teachings of Vermeer that were passed on to his maid in the content of the novel. Searching for ways to covey the finer points of the book without betraying the ending, she was clearly irritated by my comments to not give way the plot. It was easily resolved with reading the book.

I, too, felt as enchanted as many of the 650 readers. Everything about the book captivated me; the dutch history of the 1600's, what it could have been like for a poor maid to integrate in a large household of a prominent artist and the intricate process of how a painting is conceived and completed.

I was urged to research more intensely Vermeer and his works which were easily satisfied via the internet. Vermeer's biography (what little of it available) and the pictures of his paintings truly rounded out the experience of reading the book.

For an entertaining novel that could be enjoyed on a long afternoon, I could recommend none other. After you finish the book, visit those sites that offer the representations of the works of Vermeer or, if you are fortunate enough, make sure to see the original pieces in your lifetime. Thanks to this novel, it has lit the candle of interest and appreciation.