Rating: 
Summary: Girl With a Pearl Earing
Review: This book was TRITE, unconvincng in dialoque and time. The premise was intriguing at first, but the story fell apart when she began discribing the painters life, and the way he worked. Even her vocabulary of the about painting and his glazing technic was nonsence. The silliness of her relationship in the household irritated me rather than intrigue me. I have read this basic story line a thousand time, in a thousand books, and alot of them were better written than this one.I wasted four hours of my life reading this nonsence. This was supposed to have been about about Vermeer and it wasn't, his name and painting was used as a hook by the author to sell her book.
Rating: 
Summary: Beemed up to 17th century Delft
Review: A light and easy reading book, Girl with a Pearl Earing brings you back to Delft of the 17th century. I lived for many years in Delft and only a block away from the house where "Griet" and Vermeer used to live. It is impressive how Tracy Chevalier managed to describe the scenes of Delft and the character of the people in those days.
When you finish the book (and that is quickly) you look for more pages, but you come to the unfortunate conclusion, that the story is over and there is nothing more to read. Griet, her butcher friend and the other people involved will still roam in your head for a while.
I enjoyed the book very much and can highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Oh My GOD what a waste of time.
Review: I had the cd version (trying to help pass the time on an ugly commute) and I have to admit the beginning intrigued me. I thought the writing was a little silly; the attempts at being profound in it's descriptives were a little ridiculous, but the storyline did indeed pull me in.And then it just kept going and going and going and never went anywhere. I kept waiting for something to happen. I waited....and waited.... and waited. Nothing. Then it ended. I was pretty irritated, to be honest. I'm glad I borrowed the thing from the library and didn't spend any money. Such a brilliant concept that was wasted by a very poor writer.
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Summary: Imagination from a Painting, and a Great Book
Review: This book was amazing. Chevalier's description was amazing, adding color to the story. She truly put her imagination into it. She expressed the personalities of other characters through Griet's thoughts, but not too much or too obviously. There aren't any words enough to describe how great this book was. You simply have got to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Cultural differces
Review: I really liked the book, because it made me understand the melancholic smile on the girl's face and left me with silent questions to think about for days.
The "simple" writing style of Ms. Chevalier got lots of criticism, that I can only explain with the non-understanding of the era, the culture 300 years ago, the protestant Puritanism, and the way Vermeer worked (which was as well a reflection of his time). This novel gives a good view of the 17th century Holland (not Sweden as some readers assumed) and the language of the book just ads to it.
It is not action but emotion packed, and probably you need to slow down to the speed of these days to realize that.
The Girl with a Pearl Earring is written the way Vermeer painted her beauty and grace. You can not compare with the tension you find on a tortured Modigliani face, but then read a book of his life and you get all the screaming and shouting you miss from that book.
Rating: 
Summary: A good idea doesn't make a great book, folks
Review: C'mon guys - get serious. This book reads pretty much like what it is: an acceptable attempt of someone just out of writing class. The idea is good, I'll grant that, but then the execution doesn't convince, and the language is sometimes outright pathetic. The ridiculous similes in the first part ("His eyes came to rest on me like a butterfly on a flower", p. 42) made me want to dump the book right away. Glad I didn't do it though - had some nice moments later on, even though it only adds up to three stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Great little surprise
Review: I had not read anything to get me interested in reading this book and then my book club chose it for discussion. I found it to be a very well written story that I enjoyed very much. I was quite surprised. It is a great choice for a book club.
Rating:
Summary: A readers Joy
Review: This book is one of the latest of our book club picks. I was excited to finally read it. It is not disappointing. It is a simple book in many ways, though in only 200+ pages you realize how much you have learned about such a different time. You will love Griet for her spirt and grit. She will take you inside I painters mind.
Rating:
Summary: simple and beautiful
Review: I like the simplicity of this book. The story is well paced and and not bogged down with minute details that sometimes make other wonderful books difficult to get through. I love the descriptions about making the paint and how Vermeer used these colors in his painting. Wonderful setting.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully terrible book
Review: I just finished the book this morning after reading much of the night. My own process connected perfectly with the empathy of the characters, their blights, dreams, fears, and the resoltion of what happened to them. That empathy hit me in a place where I wept for myself and the characters of the book.
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