Rating: 
Summary: Enchanting, yet profoundly haunting.
Review: This novel is a real gem of a story, written with Chevalier's trademark lyrical prose which brings her settings and characters to life. She portrays 17th Century Delft and its society wonderfully, and examines modern servitude with a keen and observant eye. However, I feel that the quality of this novel which gives it special value is that it has the same feeling as its namesake painting-a feeling of wistful poignancy and quiet longing. Chevalier has done well to create a storyline which is based on this feeling, one of Griet, a girl forced to serve as a maid of the Vermeers to support her family. Working for them she is awakened to the wider world around her, and as she is torn between the lavish art of Catholicism and her upbringing as a proud iconoclastic Protestant, her passion for Johannes Vermeer himself remains, which leads to the dramatic painting of her portrait, and the loss of innocence that results from it, so quietly yet powerfully embodied in the image of the pearl earrings. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants to truly experience the pathos of humanity in a literary medium.
Rating: 
Summary: delightful
Review: When I see a portrait, I always wonder "why her ? " and "why in this way?" Chevalier's novel is just that, a delightful look into those questions, and into life in Vermeer's time. I think that artists mostly work for themselves, not for other artists, and it is fair to assume - if only for the sake of a good story - that Vermeer maybe thought about his cleaning girl more than what he would like to admit to his wife. Don't we all do this kind of thing ? Don't we all sometimes get good ideas from the strangest sources ?
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: This book was suggested to me by my advisor. I thought it would be terrible. I was proved wrong when I became upset that I had finished it. It was a great book and really captured when Griet was going through. I recommend this to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: read this gem
Review: This is a novel about fascination: fascination with colors, fascination with painting, but above all fascination with the painter.Griet is a young girl in Delft in the middle of the 17th century. Because her father has gone blind due to a working accident, she has to start working as a maid. She is hired by the family of Johannes Vermeer, the famous Dutch painter. From the beginning she is fascinated by the paintings, the process of the painting, but above all by Vermeer himself. Her life at the Vermeer family is not exactly easy: Vermeers wife hates her, as does one of his daughters and the senior maid sees her as a threat. Moreover, Vermeers patron, the wealthy merchant Van Ruijven has taken a more-than-modest interest in her. Even though Griet is at times a little unrealistically virtuous and her obsession with Vermeer is irritating at times, the descriptions of a lonely, intelligent girl trying to find a place in the world and of everyday life in 17th century Holland make this book definitely worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: This is a good, light book that teaches a good deal about the time period in which it takes place. My only complaint is that I did not grow to feel compassion towards any of the characters. They all seem shallow. However, I found myself turning the pages of this book, compelled to read it to the end. When I put it down I was left satisfied, even if it was not as deep as I'd have liked.
Rating:
Summary: A solid but predictable quick read
Review: I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the two nights it took me to read Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring; certainly I never lost interest in the story. But on the other hand, neither did it thrill me in the way it seems to have done for other readers here. Chevalier uses a tactic familiar in historical novels--the story of the commoner who fills in for the reader as an observer of her age and its "great" historical figures--to imagine how Vermeer's most stunning portrait might have come to be painted. This method works best when Chevalier lets Griet out of the master's studio and into the bustle of the town. Her depiction of the marketplace, of the tensions within Griet's family, of the hard labor with which Griet fills her days, of the age-old divide between artists and artisans, of the peculiar smells at the apothecary's, of the tension between Vermeer's Catholicism and the "new" church, of the strange mix of terror and resignation that must have been common during an age of plagues--these are the details that make the book worth reading. If Chevalier had been able to drop the Vermeer hook and just write about Griet's life and times, I think this may have been a much better novel. (In fact, I liked the ending for the very reason that we get to see Griet the villager moving in her element.) Unfortunately, the sections focusing on Vermeer and his large family do not come off so well. Each family member plays into a type calculated to serve the needs of the author's story: the whiny & neglected wife, the salt-of-the-earth mother-in-law, the "good" first daughter, the "bad" second daughter (whose villainous behavior towards Griet strains credibility), and even Vermeer himself, the "genius" artist and stock romantic hero who says little but looks at the world through blazing eyes of gray. The resulting scenes feel as though they were written with a two-hour made-for-TV movie in mind rather than a novel. The scene where Vermeer himself, in classic TV melodrama fashion, plunges the pearl earring through Griet's swollen earlobe, is particularly turgid. In short, I recommend this book for those who want a quick, pleasant read; those who like historical romances; and those who want to get some of the flavor of one corner of 17th century Europe. For those wanting something meatier, I suggest Susan Vreeland's Girl In Hyacinth Blue, which lacks some of Chevalier's strengths (it is a very different sort of book), but leaves the reader with a much more nuanced portrait of the artist and his family, and much more to think about in general.
Rating:
Summary: My new favorite book!
Review: I was going through a reading drought, not being able to really find any books I liked. That all changed when I picked up this book. You're immediately transported into Holland and the characters are so real. It's a must-read for anyone who likes historical fiction or art history!
Rating: 
Summary: Chambermaid Shows Up Art World Genius
Review: If you're a writer/painter/musician yourself, how could you help but bridle at the assertion that Vermeer's greatest successes were due to the suggestions of his cleaning lady? The ultimate "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like" book. Dully written and offensive in the extreme.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant book for summer reading
Review: Great book! Chevalier paints a picture of the girl every bit as compelling as the Vermeer painting itself. It is a carefully crafted glimpse into the dutch domestic life of the 17th century. Griet, the girl of the title, is a portrait of her times and the circumstances that create her alliance with the great artist. It is a deceptively simple book that stays with the reader long after the last pages are completed. I wanted to read more and find out everything about her life and the little town. I had purchased this book back in May - but put it away to read during our summer vacation and I am so glad I had the time to savor the story. Chevalier uses prose in a most compact yet descriptive manner and draws characters skillfully. I would read it again - I probably will shortly! Thank you for a great story.
Rating:
Summary: Yawn!
Review: I'd heard the hype. I'd seen the title on the best seller list for ages. I took the bait and started to read. And I was disappointed. The story has so much potential, but the author left too many loose ends and in many respects was far too superficial for my tastes. I did not think that the character of Griet was fully developed, and I was left scratching my head about Vermeer. What prompted him to paint? Why did he see things diferently than normal folk? What made him a great artist? All this being said, if you want a four star mindless beach read, this book suits the bill.
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