Rating: 
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: This book initially caught my eye because I am an admirer of Vermeer's paintings. I don't read much current fiction because I find most of it to be trite and boring. Instead, my personal preference is to read historical biographies or other historical works. This book claimed to be historical fiction and the subject seemed interesting so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Imagine my surprise when I found myself transported to the world in which Vermeer lived and painted. I found the writing to be incredible in its ability to evoke images of Vermeer's paintings as well as the process of painting itself. Tracy Checavlier's writing is terrific and I was wholly entertained when reading this book. The book works on many levels and I'm sure that I will read this book again in the future. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a terrific story about a simple, young girl who discovers much about herself while in the company of one of history's great painters.
Rating:
Summary: Like stepping into a Vermeer Paining
Review: Written in a soft and subtle style, at the same time with a richness a acuity that showed me into the world of Delft in Vermeer's time. I felt like I could see the painting from the inside out. The writer's style was congruent with the feeling of Vermeer's art.
Rating: 
Summary: It was half and half.......
Review: One half of me liked this book, I enjoyed reading about his paintings and the time in which they were painted.The other half was waiting and hoping for something to happen between Vermeer and the maid- it was totally left off- like
"what was that" - I agree with one of the comments made earlier,
I would recommend this to a young girl- she would enjoy it. Disappointed from ALL the hype!!
Rating: 
Summary: Girl With a Pearl Earring
Review: This should be considered a classic. It gives insight into the desires and disappointments we all have to face in our life. Even one innocent choice can lead to disaster and unhappiness for ourself and others, who may be unaware of our choice.
Rating:
Summary: This book took me into a world I would never have known.
Review: Although classified as a fiction, Girl With A Pearl Earring, exposed me to 17th century Holland and the fine details of Chevalier's people's lives. The book was interesting, the characters captivating, the settings mesmerizing, and the prose was simply lyrical. Once I started, I could not stop! Thank you Ms. Chevalier!
Rating:
Summary: Charming if Unchallenging Read
Review: As has been noted by other reviewers, this is not a book that is going to be well-loved by scholars of Vermeer. It is purely a fictional tale. But it is a quite delightful fictional tale that I found to be a very pleasant and quite interesting read. It is the story of an impoverished girl who is sent to be a lowly maid in the Vermeer household in the mid 1600s. Her interaction with the master, whilst quite innocent, is a catalyst for suspicion and jealousy amongst other members of the household, both above and below stairs. Much of her time is spent treading carefully as rumours of her relationship with Vermeer spread throughout the house and the entire town. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am sure others will too so long as they don't try to make it into anything more serious.
Rating:
Summary: not worth reading for what it claims to be
Review: I didn't like the writer's style at all--she tries to make every word very colorful and to play with your imagination and does it very poorly: every sentence is a hoard of images and a poor blend, too. She would say something like this: "her eyes were as blue as a sky in the mid afternoon,when the rain has just ended and the little pink and white clouds are running by like young horses." (I'm exagerrating,but you get the idea).
You do get some feeling from this book about the life in Delft in Vermeer's times but the story fails to give you any idea about where the artist drew his inspiration. Everything revolves around this fiction character of a girl and it doesn't build characters ---everyone in the book is either good or bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Girl with the Pearl Earrings
Review: The style of writing in this novel was appropriate for a ten year old girl who is just beginning to read novels. I would not recommend this for adults.
Rating:
Summary: Something is missing
Review: This is the first book I have read by Chevalier. I didn't love it, but I'm glad I read it. Parts of it were very good, such as the description of what life was like in the 17th century, how things were done, how life was seen through a painter's eyes, how families lived, etc... Others were dull and tedious to read, but I won't go into that. The main character, Griet, is a 16 year old girl, who is "forced" to work as a maid for Vermeer, a very famous painter. She is very bright, and she has the ability to know exactly what everyone thinks about her, feel when someone is behind her and when she is being looked at, know exactly what people want from her, and even make changes that make paintings perfect, which makes her very unbelievable, but, apart from that, she is likable and you do find yourself in her shoes from time to time. The storyline is simple, not very elaborate, and the characters are either pure white or midnight black. The story is definetly fiction, yes, it is based on a true painting, and on the life of the artist who painted it, but so little is known about the painter's life that Chevalier really let her imagination flow when it came to the feelings and attitudes of all the characters. Finally, if you really want to read this, you will enjoy it, if you don't have very high expectations, and it is a simple easy read for a relaxed afternoon with a nice cup of coffee!
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring for Artists and Dreamers alike
Review: I could not put this book down from the second I read the opening line. As an artist, I reveled in the simple details of Vemeer's life, and could not pull myself from the window into what life was like for families in the 1700's Europe. The author writes of Griet (the subject of Vermeer's famous painting) in such a unique and versatile way, which makes her someone we all can identify with. A work of fiction written with such substance and conviction one believes this story has to have been real. This is a book for anyone who loves to read, with the slightest appreciation for the arts and history. In today's world, there's a desire to regress to a time when things seemed to be more simple, and this book displays that time nor any amount of technological advances will ever change what is essential to human life - love and family.
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