Rating: 
Summary: A quick diversion...
Review: Susan Vreeland's novel, *Girl in Hyacinth Blue*, had been sitting on my book shelf for over a year when I finally decided to read it with an online buddy. It only took me three evenings to read, and I have to admit I wasn't captured by the novel, though the idea was really interesting. A Vermeer painting travels back in time and shares its experiences with its owners through the years.Each chapter belongs to a different owner. Some of the stories, the Jewish family struggling during the Nazi regime, the family who finds an abandoned baby and the painting during a tremendous flood, and the story of the painting's origins, were extremely well-written. Others didn't have enough information to keep my interest. If you enjoyed *Tulip Fever* by Deborah Moggach, I think you'll hit the jackpot with *Girl in Hyacinth Blue*. Otherwise, I'd suggest *Corelli's Mandolin* as an alternative, which is similar in tone and much more intriguing.
Rating: 
Summary: shaaaaaallow
Review: Read this for book club and all I can say is yuck. OBVIOUSLY written for the book club market. So lightweight, it floats. Deeply, deeply shallow. A cute trick the way it starts now and goes back in time but so what. It is a quick-read if that's all you want. And I'll tell you what bothered me the most was the chapter that was probably the most developed -- when the mother killed the deformed baby. Do a little RESEARCH would ya? Mothers didn't get hung for killing babies back then. Especially not a baby that would've starved to death in a few days. The whole thing just annoyed me. I left book club and dropped it in the nearest trash can. Not even worth passing along. Yuck.
Rating: 
Summary: overrated
Review: The book has a clever gimmick behind it, but the writing seems more like an outline of a story than the story itself. It tries to be The Red Violin, but isn't nearly as captivating, authentic or profound.
Rating: 
Summary: Is it fit for a movie?
Review: A wonderful book with unexpected surprises and twists. I really enjoyed reading it. Romance, suspence, action, it's like a movie script. Nevertheless, I'm afraid that, transforming this book into a movie, may take away a lot of the suggested unawareness of the protagonists. I wish the directors and actors good luck. Br a lg! GRTZ
Rating:
Summary: An intriguing premise
Review: Like the textured layers of a fine piece of art, this novel unfolds layer by layer in reverse fashion. Several of the chapters had actually been published first as short stories - later the author built the rest of the novel around them, which may account for the criticism of inconsistent writing by one reviewer. On the whole, I lkied this book very much and would recommend it as an insightful book that compels the reader to consider the impact good art has on our lives.
Rating:
Summary: fast, easy read, but some parts boring, others captivating
Review: The reason I am rating this three stars is that I felt that there was an inconsistency in the quality of the writing and at times the stories were weak. Each chapter is a different short story about the owner of the painting at various times in the last few hundred years. Some stories are great, interesting and page-turners while others are not. Some stories are boring and I felt no real connection to the characters as people. I put down the book about half way through and had a hard time picking it up again. What saved this from a lower rating was that the end contained several great short stories that I feel were the best stories in the book, so it ends with high quality page-turning stories. I found it fun to find out the origins of the painting, we do find out who the girl in the painting is, however, I honestly cannot say it was suspenseful throughout. I found myself captivated by some stories and not wanting to put the book down, but then bored and wanting to skip the chapter of the next story. Lastly, I was frustrated at the idea that the first character in the book was contemplating burning the painting. Although it was stolen by his Nazi father from a Jewish family, despite his disgust at his father being a Nazi and guilt over how it was attained, he didn't want to return the painting to the Jewish organization that takes back artwork stolen by Nazis. That he would consider burning such a lovely piece made absolutely no sense to me! The painting should have been returned to the Jewish organization.
Rating: 
Summary: "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" an unexpected treat
Review: "Girl in Hyacinth Blue," like "Girl With A Pearl Earring," explores the legacy of Dutch master painter Jan Vermeer. It is a fictitious account revolving around the discovery of a previously unknown Vermeer painting as viewed from several historical eras as the painting falls into the hands of new owners (done in reverse chronological order). The novel begins in the present, with a German math teacher confiding to a colleague about his father's stolen Vermeer, dubbed "Girl in Hyacinth Blue." The rest of the novel is a series of short stories that trace the lineage of the painting: the Jewish family in Antwerp that Otto Engelbrecht (the father of Cornelius, the math teacher) had stolen the painting from, an adulterous Frenchwoman in exile, a husband remembering his first love, a Dutch family in 1717 that rescued an infant in a flood, the father of the infant, and finally Vermeer's inspiration for the painting. Full of lush details that bring the various historical eras into sharp focus, Vreeland's descriptions paint the fictitious "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" not only as a remarkable painting ("certain brush strokes subtly changed their tint," "the russet of the girl's skirt glistened like maple leaves in autumn sun," "creamy yellow light the colour of the inner petals of jonquils illuminated the girl's face and reflected points of light on her shiny fingernails," "the blue in the girl's smock, which hung in graceful folds of that luscious deep blue of the early hyacinths when the blooms are just beginning to open"), but as a captivating presence in the lives of its owners. Sweeping across several generations and owners from all walks of life, "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" is a fascinating read about the impact of true art on daily life, and the legacy of a truly gifted painter.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: I really liked this book. It was fun to travel back in time with the painting. I also read Girl with the Pearl earring and that was great too. This is almost like reading several short stories. Quick, fun.
Rating:
Summary: A STORY WITH A PAINTING AS A CHARACTER...?
Review: The concept behind Susan Vreeland's GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE is an interesting one -- a beautiful painting, claimed by its present owner to be a previously-unknown work by Vermeer, is followed back through time, through its various owners, to the time of its inception and inspiration. A challenging premise -- but in the hands of Vreeland, it works very well. The novel starts out in the present day -- a reclusive university professor invites a fellow faculty member (an art professor) into his home, after the funeral of a dean. There, in his study, he reveals to his fellow teacher his most prized possession, a beautiful, luminous painting of a young girl looking out of a window. The art professor admires the artist's skill, calling it 'remarkable', a 'beguiling imitation' of a Vermeer. When the painting's owner reveals his belief that it is, indeed, a Vermeer, the art professor presses him for information as to how his father (who bequeathed him the work) came by the painting, and we are off on our journey. Along the way, we encounter many people who have possessed the painting over the past 300+ years -- and, as a microcosm of humanity itself, we find that they are simple, pure, pretentious, generous, scheming, talented and manipulative, in turns. It's a fascinating way of looking at the world 'around' this work of art - and, ultimately, many ways of looking at the work itself. The book is both well-written and entertaining -- and, overall, very illuminating, both in relation to art and to human nature, a highly recommended reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: A painting's provenance
Review: This book traces the history of a lost Vermeer back to its inception in a series of short stories that hang together as a novel.
It is a small book, no bigger than a video case, finely crafted as the Vermeer it is about. Although I usually am not interested in historical novels, I found the historical details about Holland very interesting.
For such a small book, it resonates in the mind clearly.
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