Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Perhaps I delved into this book with overblown expectations. Or perhaps the author intended to write a simplistic love story rather than tackle the complexity and depth of the art. Whichever the case, I was very disappointed with "Girl with a Pearl Earring." Vermeer's "Girl" is one of my favorite paintings, so I was thrilled to hear that someone had written a novel about it. Unfortunately, Ms. Chevalier's girl does not have the depth of character that I imagine the girl in the portrait to have. Every character in the book, including Vermeer, seems so one-dimensional that I had a hard time sympathizing with any of them. I do appreciate Ms. Chevalier's understanding of the Dutch and think that her description of Delft did merit a couple of stars. But as a documentary of Dutch life and culture in the 17th century, I much preferred reading Simon Schama's Embarrassment of Riches.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful historical fiction!
Review: The book is written in the first person, the narrator being a teenaged maid. Apart from the fact thtthte style is unconvincing (no teenager I know could think like this), the plot resembles a Victorian softcore s and m romance more than it does life in the 17th Ct. Netherlands. What is particualrly odd is that we're supposed to like the narrator, a thoroughly ungenerous, judgmental, superior, witholding, and smug character who is basically a Daddy's girl. She is happy to criticize the other women in the household in order to get Vermeer's attention, as if she were saying, "Daddy, daddy, I can clean better than they can. Paint me (Guess what else) me too!" The novel tells us next to nothing about Vermeer, his painting, or the process of painting them. Nor does it tell us anything about being a model. If you want to read good historical fiction, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Linking the Tangible to a Story We'd Like to Believe...
Review: "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is the first major novel I have read since John Irving's "The World According to Garp" more than 20 years ago. As a journalist, I can't explain my aversion to fiction, other than to say that anything akin to "once upon a time" is already six feet under to me. Truth has always seemed stranger than fiction. I was attracted to this book for one reason. I was at the Maurithuis Museum at the Hague in the Netherlands in 1996 and saw Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "A View of Delft" (both pictured on the book's dust jacket) in person. They are the most unforgettable paintings I have ever seen. Vermeer's paintings are incredibly hypnotic, drawing us into a time and place that no longer exists. By virtue of thousands of brush strokes, we are pulled into a time warp which places us into a scene the same surreal way that an old photograph does. This is what author Tracy Chevalier has wonderfully achieved. Unlike other paintings riddled with religious motifs, nearly all of Vermeer's 35 known works have the ability to force you to think, "Yes, this must have been what ordinary life in Holland was like more than 300 years ago." And one can be quite moved by this even if one loathes cheap sentiment. The book's triumph is taking the tangible, that is, the painting which still resides in the Netherlands -- fusing it with what historians know about life in 17th century Holland -- and then concocting something that not only is believable, but plausible, even though our minds are telling us, "But this is still a piece of fiction." Griet, our heroine, does seems mature beyond her years. Yet her thoughts are not unbelievable when we remember our own youth, what scared us, moved us, what made us care about what others thought. We felt wise beyond our years. Only later did we discover how naive we were, how much more we had yet to learn. Griet's narration reads better if we imagine her telling her story from the point of view of an adult reflecting about her thoughts when she was 16, and not in the present tense, as presented here. Still, there is a rhythm of soft poetry emanating from her narration that doesn't seem pretentious in a way that would call attention to the author's writing style, the mortal sin of any book. When something is good, we don't think about how words are strung together. We are so enthralled that time loses all meaning, like a dog whose only notion of it is something nebulous that must last forever. The events which force Griet to work for Vermeer and the tragedy that occurs later, have less emotional impact on Griet as a 17th century girl than if she were a 20th century girl. They are treated without sappiness. We watch Griet's transformation as an attractive young woman who is already aware of her effect on men, to something more complex and cunning. We listen to her efforts to de-feminize herself to deflect unwanted attention, her silly and resigned rationalizations in her trading of dispassionate "minor" sexual favors to achieve her goals, however vague they may seem. We deduce that Griet is a creature of the moment in her actions, but oddly, in her mind, she is also a girl who has one eye on her own future, as well as her family's. The greatest scenes in the book are the conversations, sparse as they are. When Vermeer tackles the complex subject of religious attitudes toward paintings and whether they have any relevance to the viewer, despite the fact that his paintings are not riddled with religious themes -- he does so with such clarity and logic -- that it has you soaring into the stratosphere, like listening to Einstein breaking down the theory of relativity into simple language that anyone can understand without being offended. In addition, Griet's efforts to articulate her emotional feelings about the master Vermeer are wonderfully conveyed. She is explicit in almost every other emotion, but never about her growing romantic feelings toward Vermeer. Yet it is clear in her narration that she loves Vermeer in her own special way. This, to me, is what others have long said to be the essence of romance. It is the notion of "what if?" and all that it entails, while the rest is just "life as it all turned out." The few sexual passages in this book do seem off-kilter to its mostly placid and intelligent tone. They were necessary to illustrate Griet's awareness of her allure, as well as her low self-image, which betray her confident narrative. But it would have been better to allude rather than to describe what seems mildly lurid. My first thought was, "Well, here's the 'PG-13' portion of the book which calls attention to itself." The placid tone Chevalier has painstakingly created is now jarring, a rant against the sufferings inflicted upon women by bestial men throughout time. The book's ending (without giving it away) is "Zhivago-esque" (the movie and not the Pasternak book, though purists say one should never compare apples to oranges). It is soft, oblique and rich with a wonderful sense of irony and closure. It has a completeness that takes many other authors several hundred more pages to convey. Turning fiction into reality, mixing facts with a creative extrapolation of how the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" came to be, is the magic all of the world's best writers desire. Minor faults aside, Chevalier's account is brilliant enough that in my mind, Vermeer's painting is now inextricably linked to Chevalier's book. The girl now has a name and her name is Griet. The result, quite eerily, is this. After reading "Girl With a Pearl Earring" -- how can anyone look into those luminous eyes of the girl in Vermeer's painting -- in quite the same way again?
Rating: 
Summary: Only very good writers can write this "simply"
Review: This is a lovely book. If there is little action on the surface, there is a great deal in the hearts and heads and souls of the book's characters. The recreation of a mid-seventeenth-century Dutch serving maid's mentality is extraordinarily well done, and the seemingly-simple prose is the sort that only very accomplished writers can manage. Compared to a sadly-overhyped work like "The Dress Lodger," this is a small masterpiece. For those readers who have complained that the book is dull or slow, I would offer that books this fine (like the mirrors in Vermeer's paintings) cast revealing reflections...some responses tell more about the superficial reading habits of our contemporaries than they do about the books (read, for example, the reader reviews of the best English-language novel of the last quarter century, "The Blue Flower," by Penelope Fitzgerald--some readers seemed disappointed that it didn't offer Tom Clancy-style action). For those who still know how to read, and who love a truly well-done novel, this is worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Reads like a Vermeer Painting
Review: The people who are giving this book negative reviews are missing the point. What is all this about "no meat" to it? When I read this book, I thought, there can't be any negative reviews of it at amazon. I am so surprised! The beauty of the book IS its sparseness. It itself is like a Vermeer painting : you look and it is there, but then the object is something else. Perhaps as an art historian, I have added insight. But as a woman, as a human, I can identify with the character and her simplicity and her observations of the world. Give this book another chance. And look at a Vermeer painting or two as you do! It is obvious the author has, and it is a better book for it.
Rating:
Summary: Overrated, slow and dull...
Review: Unless you're familiar with Vermeer going in, there's not much to offer to those of us who aren't followers of 17th century Flemish art. The book is purposely slow, the main protagonist is too mature beyond her years and there are only one or two "scenes" in the book that are key to what the novel is all about. People who will most appreciate this book will have general knowledge of the artist and already be captivated by the painting. For such a slim volume, one would have expected more emotion and charm. Instead, this is a book that, while short, is not a page turner. You can literally put this book down and come back to it, but not for the right reasons for a novel. Strictly for readers who prefer mood, subtle gestures and a somber tone. No revelations or earth-shattering statements here... The book's jacket, however, gets five stars...
Rating:
Summary: P-P-P-l-e-e-e-e-a-s-e
Review: My daughter wrote better short stories in college. There was no meat here. Character development is empty. This beautiful time in history never became 'real'. Erotic? Show me the page. Just sorry I bought this book. It goes to secondhand. Disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple and enjoyable
Review: This work of fact based fiction isn't all that the hype would have you believe. But I have that problem with so many of the last year's crop of books that many expected, or wanted so much from ('Tis, Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius to name a couple.) However, I DID like it. I loved the way that the spare prose, which reads almost like a young adult novel, perfectly reflects the simple protestant character of Griet. It is a quiet, unexciting, slow book, but in part, that must be because Griet is all of these things, and the story is told through her. Yes, Griet is annoying, and I also found it irritating that all the men in the book lust after her, that she know best how to launder, sew, cook, and that she is assuming and interfering (basting and salting Tanneke's joint, moving the things in Vermeer's studio to perfect the composition of his painting), but it is possible that someone like her could exist. She appears to be all these things in order to highlight the traits of the other characters - gives us something good and fairly pure to compare them to. Rather simplistic, I know, but that's what got from it. The book is slow. But I found this made it incredibly relaxing and pleasurable to read. Added to which, the rare moments of excitement, especially where Vermeer touches Griet's cheek and wipes her tear away (the tear resembling the earings that he forces her to wear against her will), or the shock of her allowing Pieter to fondle her in an alley, are intensified if only because they are so different from what we expect from her. Some parts shine, necessary glitter against the otherwise dull backdrop of the novel; again, reflecting the purpose of the earring in Vermeer's painting - to catch the eye and provide an unexpected focus. Even then, these occurences are still simple, and the sex is very understated, almost not there at all. I would certainly give this to a reasonably mature child of 13 to read. This book is much more skillfully crafted than it at first seems, and I appreciate it for that. I don't really have a problem with the spareness of the text, Griet's supposedly perfect character, or the slow pace - I think the book actually benefits from all this. What I would have liked to see, being British and living in Holland, is more detail of Dutch life in the 17th century - many situational details seemed absent, and Chevalier did not, for me, create a vivid picture of her chosen time and setting. Though it will surely be quickly forgotten, "Girl with a Pearl Earring' is a very relaxing, calm and pretty read.
Rating:
Summary: Simplicity, precision, and light from within . . .
Review: In a thrilling emulation of Jan Vermeer's artistic style, Tracy Chevalier uses scenes drawn from everyday life and painstaking attention to detail to tell the story of Griet, a 16-year-old girl who is required by her family's misfortunes to become a maid in the Vermeer household. I devoured the book the first time through, then read it again to savor the starkly beautiful language and the highly sensual account of 17th century life in a busy Dutch household. On both forays, I drank in the vivid descriptions of Vermeer's paintings and his creative process, from the positioning of his models to the grinding of bone and lead, massicot, madder and ochre, to make his pigments. To those who complained that nothing happened or that the book was predictable, let me say, this was never meant to be a suspense story in the conventional sense. That an event could be foreseen doesn't render it improperly drawn. The magnetism of this tale is not its ability to surprise us with plot twists but to show the complex and fascinating interplay among people of different stations and sensibilities. Chevalier demonstrates her considerable skill in presenting Griet to be at the same time naive and intelligent, hemmed in by her lack of status and strong of spirit. Her resigned frustration over the many slights and unfair situations she must deal with strikes me as the only sensible option for one who must continue in employment for the sake of those she supports. Though I can't imagine Griet describing herself as anything but ordinary, her attention to detail--as keen in its own way as Vermeer's--and her understanding of the personalities and motives of those around her show her to be a remarkable young woman. The other main characters--sometimes as bound by their elevation as Griet is by her lack of it--behave with annoying reality. Maria Thins, Vermeer's mother-in-law and behind-the-scenes overseer of the household and finances, almost always knows the score. She comes to Griet's aid or not, based on what will best serve her daughter's interests and yet she comes across, not as scheming, but as practical. Comparable to Vermeer's intricate landscapes are Chevalier's long views of the Delft streets. She has a knack for picking the right detail to convey a mood, a cultural insight, a social contrast. Vermeer had the extraordinary capability to endow his figures and landscapes with a luminescence that gave his paintings lasting impact. Chevalier imbues this simple story with a similar light from within. For those who can set aside the desire to be entertained with broadly drawn action, there is glowing subtext and delicious tension throughout. Chevalier lets the characters be real--noble at times, disappointing at others--and though she doesn't tie up every loose end, she provides a resolution that is both satisfying and credible. My only complaint was that the ending came too soon as it tends to do with good fiction. In addition to a good story well told, Girl With Pearl Earring is a remarkable intertwining of the historical with the fanciful. Chevalier's tale is exquisitely believable and lives in the yearning face of this most appealing model. I will never again look at the painting without feeling the marvelous resonance and possibilty of Griet's story.
Rating:
Summary: who are these people anyway
Review: I was greatly looking forward to this book until I started reading it. It was well written, but there was no meat in it. The first half of the book seemed to be about the fine points of being a maid in a household of dysfunctional adults and children. I kept waiting for something to happen other than doing laundry and going to market. The author never developed the characters beyond a purely surface level making it difficult to care about their lives or who they were, which by the way, was never explored. A small interest at the end when the painting was being done, but there was never was any insight into the painter Vermeer's personality. I read "The Girl in Hyacinth Blue." A far superior book about the same subject.
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