Rating: 
Summary: Sometimes Life is Wonderful; Sometimes Life is Hyacinth Blue
Review: This bittersweer yet vibrant novel has many highlights that reward the reader throughout. Author Vreeland paints an amazing history of a mysterious and hidden work of art, making character after character come to life as she describes their various ownerships of this painting. The journey of the painting throughout the text will fascinate readers with an appreciation for classical art or art history. Vividly depicted scenes demonstrate the heart-felt desire for artistic beauty felt by many, despite social class standing or unbringing. As with any commodity, art and art collecting is deeply intertwined with monetary considerations, fashion and power. All these factors influence the owners, and the history of the picture.Written originally as several related, but separate short stories, each chapter takes you back to another tale of the painting and its possessor. Supplimental naratives were written to fill in historical gaps; each story remains a complete tale in itself. Put together in reverse chronological order, this literary device works to stunning effect in this novel. The mystery of whether or not this painting was actually created by a famous old master, and how it began its long, fascinating journey are kept under wraps until the final chapter, when all the pieces and emotions rendered throughout come to a sad and realistic climax. This is not necessarily a happy work. The focus is frequently on sadness and loss, but always realistically portrayed. Sometimes life is wonderful, but sometimes life is something else. The author was fighting a potentially terminal illness at the time of writing, admitting later that it heavily influenced her style during the writing process. Like Newton's Law of Action and Opposite Reaction, she really connects with the fact that most times, where there is a gain by one person, there is a loss by another. Or to get something, or keep something that you need, you have to give up something else with tremendous value. That's life. This book is highly recommended for its originality and honesty, the exceptional use of reverse chronological order, and a beautiful and fluid story. There is an interview with the author at the end of the book, as well as a brief reader's group guide with discussion questions. Girl in Hyacinth Blue is most accurately rated at 4.33 out of 5.00 stars, rounded down to 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Short stories bound by a cover to make a buck
Review: What a disappointment! I read this book because it was on my book club's list for the month of February. All I can say is Ugh! If you want good reading pick up something by a master. Steinbeck never fails me.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but could be better
Review: Vreeland is a gifted writer, and I read the bulk of this bulk during a flight. I did enjoy it, but gave it only 3 stars because there were several things that I didn't like about it. One, is that the stories were almost overwhelmingly sad and depressing. Someone mentioned that the author wrote this book while she had cancer--well, that all well and good to get your emotions out, but couldn't she have done it in a journal instead? Of 7 stories, 5 of them just take the life out of you. No resolution to them, just despondancy. The other two weren't as sad, but still, the characters suffer loss or are living with unfulfilled dreams. What was the purpose of doing this? To put all readers on Prozac? Second, was that the dates were hard to figure out on some of the stories. She might have just put the date on the top, so we know when it was taking place. In one story, the farmer speaks of "this new century" so I just assumed, judging from where it was in the book, that is was the beginning of the 20th. But how beginning? Did the story take place in 1900, 1910, 1920? Same for the story before it. I assumed the date to be early 1800s, trying to piece together the hints the narrator gave, but why not just tell the reader when it takes place. Also, the story of the flood. You don't know it's 1717, or have a clue, until you read the next story, which dates it. Very poor technique. Third, not all of the stories flowed together well. The first two were connected, but then we skip back to presumably, early 20th century, and we have no idea how the owners came by their painting. And then it seems to skip back in time 100 years, and we have no idea what it was doing in between, or who own it. It then skips another 100 years...there is no connection between the first flood story, the Frenchwoman in the Hague, and then the farmer in the early 20th century. There are approx. 100 year gaps between them, and we have no idea what happened to the painting in between. Fourth, there is no resolution. I was hoping that we would return to the original narrator and find out what Cornelius decides to do with the painting, or if it does officially get declared a Vermeer. The story just ends with the painting being auctioned in 1696, and that's it. There was nothing to tie this all together and made for a very dissatisfying ending. Finally, it is hard to believe that Cornelius would think of burning the painting just because his Nazi father took it from the home of Jews who had been deported. It was a bit melodramatic, that this painting has totally controlled his life. Yes, his father was a Nazi, and he took the painting. So Cornelius can now turn the painting over to the Dutch government if it torments him so. To preserve his anonymity, and the memory of his father, he can ask someone else to do it. I don't know, there were a lot of ways to deal with this, but the story of the son living a tormented life is just so cliche by now. But at any rate, this book did need a resolution. And the end of the story broke with the backward chronology. The last chapter should have come before the one before it. It's a good book, entertaining, and Vreeland is a good writer. But it leaves you empty because you want to know more about the characters. Perhaps if she had limited the number of stories, and revisted each one several times, it would have been a more satisfying story.
Rating: 
Summary: Nine Gifts in One
Review: Susan Vreeland has given us nine gifts wrapped in one book in Girl In Hyacinth Blue. Each of the 8 stories is in itself a wonderful gift - a story complete and rich and thoughtful. The the ninth gift is the book itself. The total of these stories is greater sum of its parts. Together they weave a fascninating recounting of the ownership of the painting. Give yourself nine gifts in one!
Rating:
Summary: tight and elegant
Review: This book concerns a fictional Vemeer painting of a girl looking out a window and thinking. The action begins with a present day owner and goes back in time each chapter to the previous owner, a pleasing convention. A short and efficient book with some insight into the artistic process. What is the purpose of a painting in life, it asks. How important is authenticity? An interesting sweep through the Netherlands in the ages - holcaust, floods, witchcraft, Vemeer's time, etc. A fast, enjoyable, literary read.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story
Review: I loved how the story was about the painting and how it has touched so many lives through time. So often in life we do not think about how our actions will affect other people, and this told the story of a painting that did.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: Johannes Vermeer was one of the great dutch painters of the XVII century, and his life alone is a great story. Notably, he left few paintings, less than forty, and died in poverty, leaving his family full of monetary debts. Since Vermeer usually didn't sign his paintings, it's hard to tell if they are authentic or fakes. Many paintings believed to be Vermeers were discovered to be fakes, and vice-versa. Susan Vreeland's book is in fact a collection of short-stories concerning one immaginary painting by Vermeer, named "Girl in hyacinth blue". Using the painting as the binding element, she tells the various stories of people who possessed the work of art, beginning in the late 1990s and going back to the time Vermeer painted it. I noticed that many people believe that this book's main theme is to know if Vermeer was really the author of the painting or not. This is wrong. This book is not a whodunnit, but stories of relationships, loss, fear, forgiveness and love. The painting is only the central artifact, but each story has its own distinct characters and situations. Each story is complete in its own way, but I think the author could develop them some more. Or maybe not, maybe the most charming aspect of the book is that it's short. Anyway, a fast, emotive and very enjoyable reading. Grade 8.6/10
Rating:
Summary: A Book of Short Stories
Review: This book is really a book of short stories woven together and proceeding backwards chronologically to trace the provenance of the painting. The stories are not connected very well although they build on each other, the transitions from one story to the next are not very good but the concept works if you treat each as a standalone story. Where this novel really shines is in Vreelands descriptive prose. She excels in evoking the emotions and feelings evident in a piece of art work, even if the art is fictional. I liked the writing so well that I wished the painting existed so I could see it. The story development itself was a little disappointing but it was a surprisingly quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: This was an extremely disappointing novel that did not flow well and was not well written. It did not live up to my expectations AT ALL. I found out by reading the interview at the end of the book that the chapters were actually short stories that had been published at different times. That explained why they did NOT seem to flow well at all. She wanted to keep the reader in suspense as to whether or not it was a Vermeer. The first chapter was the most recent and it worked back to when the painting was painted, but. . . That didn't flow well either. It seemed jerky and confusing, having the backward chronology, plus the last chapter wasn't actually the "last" if the chronology was being followed fully. The idea for the story line was good, showing the power of art and following a painting from conception to now, but that was overshadowed by the unexceptional writing. There was, for me, only one memorable character and I've already forgotten most of the plot. I really think this book could have been so much better. If you want to read a book about a Vermeer painting, skip this one and read Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. I can't recommend that one enough--it's been well over a year since I read it and the plot is still as fresh in my mind as Girl in Hyacinth Blue should be.
Rating:
Summary: A literary tapestry
Review: A tapestry is a work of art, where pieces of lovely cloth are woven together into something even more beautiful. So it is with Girl in Hyacinth Blue. Vreeland writes stories which are so touching in themselves and then she weaves the stories together to create a wonderful novel. This book evoked such strong images and elegant language that they will stay with me long after the book had been returned to the shelf.
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