Girl with a Pearl Earring

Rating:
Summary: A believable and moving account
Review: When her father is blinded in an accident and no longer able to support his family, 16-year-old Griet is hired as a maid by the painter Vermeer and his jealous, egocentric, and frequently pregnant wife. Griet's responsibilities in the house are legion, and her tasks rendered more difficult by the unkindness of several of her new home's inhabitants. When Vermeer adopts her as an assistant in his studio--and subsequently determines to paint her--interpersonal relations below stairs are only worsened.

Tracy Chevalier has written a believable and moving account--or imagining--of the creation of Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring," the painting which graces the cover of the paperback. The genius of the book lies in Chevalier's investing the act of painting Griet with a dark significance one would not imagine it to possess. There is in Griet's modeling for Vermeer the potential for tragedy, and in the painter's final brushstrokes a form of abuse. Communicating this significance to readers--and imagining this history of the painting in the first place--is quite an accomplishment.

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: Out of the Ordinary
Review: This novel by Tracy Chevalier is definitely one out of the ordinary. Chevalier depicts the life in 17th century Holland with a radiance unimaginable. She crosses the line on fiction and the historical wonder, Vermeer. With every page turned, one wonders how new maid, Griet, will survive her days working for a catholic family and what painting her master, Johannes Vermeer, with brush up next for the city of Delft.
Chevalier captures the true meaning of art and spiritual infulence in this golden novel. She concocts a story of the beginning of one of the world's finest paintings, into the epic of an entire time period. Devour this New York Times best seller and experience the rapture of one girl's path through life.

Rating:
Summary: Wondering what all the fuss is about...
Review: I don't read much literary fiction, mainly because much of it is more about the style with which the novel is written or the allegories or hidden meanings which readers are supposed to detect, cleverly hidden as they are among the novel's usually rather thin storyline. When I read fiction, I read it for the emotional involvement with the characters, and thus my preference is for authors who can invoke emotion with their words.

The reviews carried on this book's jacket appear to promise such emotional involvement: we are told that it is 'haunting' and 'magical', 'unbearably poignant' and 'steeped in atmosphere'. Maybe it's me, but I didn't see any of that. What I did see was a not-very-well-fleshed-out story about a young Dutch girl with an unusual fascination with colours and imagery, employed to work as a maid in the household of the seventeenth-century painter Vermeer. The household is fraught with traps for the unwary, where no matter what she says Griet may end up in trouble with someone. And yet through all of this, for a character we are meant to believe is uncertain, alarmed, unsure of her status, Griet appears remarkably calm and even capable. She chooses meat better than the household's existing cook; she can even cook better, too! And she can apparently teach Vermeer himself how to give his paintings that extra touch they need to make them unique.

But it is the emotions which are the least convincing. Chevalier always tells, rather than shows, when it comes to Griet's emotions. For instance, Griet is subject to the lecherous desires of van Ruijven, and also to his stolen touches. She tells us (very briefly) that she dislikes it, but the few mentions are very dispassionate. Even more emotionless is Griet's courtship with Pieter the butcher. In the accounts of the time they spend together, it appears as if Griet barely tolerates him - and yet this relationship appears to be serious. With Pieter she experiences her first kiss, and this barely rates a mention; more intimacy is described as if the narrator is a detached, uninterested observer rather than the active participant.

In fact, the whole book feels written from a perspective of emotional detachment. I didn't find myself caring about the characters at all, which led to a sense of scepticism about the interest which Vermeer himself is supposed to show in Griet - whether real or just as the potential subject of a painting - and about Griet herself as a credible character. Whether I would have finished the book had I not been reading it to while away a train journey I don't know, but it certainly didn't interest me enough to consider re-reading it, or going to see the film.

wmr-uk

Rating:
Summary: Fatuous, plodding, clumsy
Review: This book is sentimental clap-trap from an amateurish historical imagination addicted to forced and ill-considered metaphors.

It's the first book I've ever actually thrown in the garbage.

Rating:
Summary: I saw the movie before reading the book.
Review: I never read a book after seeing the movie. But after seeing Girl with a Pearl Earring, I had to read the book. I am an artist and am thrilled at the interest in Vermeer paintings that has occured since the book and the movie was made. I visited the Metropolitian in New York City in March and had to wait to view his paintings as there were many groups surrounding them.
I loved the book and it renewed my interest in Vermeer. I am now reading my third book about him

Rating:
Summary: Good, But Not Great
Review: This book got lots of good reviews, but I didn't think that it was all that great. Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, was a fun read, but i didnt like that lack of emotional involvement. I read it, and i was just begging for more depth and intensity, but it was just too shallow.

Griet is a girl hired to work for The Famous Painter Vermeer under the instruction of his wife. She starts cleaning his studio, then eventually she helps him mix colors. Soon she is helping him more with out Catharina's, his jealous wife's knowledge.

Whenever the painter Vermeer and Griet were together, you could kind of feel there might be some feelings, but i guess it was too subtle, because i didnt know what was happening with them. This book was a fun read, but nothing to lose yourself in.

Rating:
Summary: Delighted
Review: Usually when I find myself reading a book, I can't read for more than an hour at a time. When reading Girl with a Pearl Earring, I sat for about four hours striving to finish it. I have been extremely fascinated by artwork ever since I can remember, and this book kept me fastened with historical fiction of Johannes Vermeer being one of its characters.
This book takes place in Delft during the 1600's, and casts a picture perfect imagery in your mind of what the town looks like. Griet, the main character, has become the maid of the painter, Vermeer's family. Griet is to leave her family, change her lifestyle, and be surrounded with a religion she does not find comfort in. She is to clean Vermeer's art studio and help around the house. Not everyone is pleased with the selection of this maid, including Catharina, Vermeer's wife, and Cornelia, a daughter of Vermeer. The book presents a pleasant plot that has different facets and boasts a visual image.
This book gave me a perfect view of what everything looked like. His paintings were delicately described, when I looked them up after reading the book, they were surprisingly similar to my visions. A couple times in the book, Chevalier flashbacked to a time in which was already covered in the book. I found this to be both distracting and confusing. Although, it also brought some edge to the book, which in the end I found to enjoy this twist in format.
I found myself questioning the authenticity of this story. Griet is 16 when she goes to work for the family, but somehow she is more experienced than everyone living there. For example, Griet shows Vermeer how to add a kick to his paintings, a twist to the eye. And at times it seems as if Griet is observing the whole story more than participating in it. Even though there were a couple slips in this book, I still found myself remarkably entertained.
I had never read a book that took place in the 1600's and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. After reading this book, I looked up paintings of Vermeer, and saw the movie, starring Scarlet Johansson. This book helped me to rediscover my love for art.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story
Review: This was the first novel by Tracy Chevalier I had read and I love her writing. This story about the famous painting is so imaginative and intriging. I have since bought a copy of the portrait and also enjoyed the movie. Her other novel- The Virgin Blue is very good as well. I especially would recommend Falling Angels- the book is by chapters of each character's point of view.

Rating:
Summary: Not my usual cup of tea
Review: I don't usually tend to veer too far off the beaten path when it comes to books. Tending to stick with bestsellers like "Life of Pi" or "Bark of the Dogwood" my choices almost always keep me safe and warm. Well, not always safe, but you get the idea. So I was hesitant to take on "Girl" for fear of it being too "outisde." What I found instead was a riveting piece of work--art really--that melds historical fact with excellent fiction. Kudos to Tracy Chevalier for this remarkable achievement!