Rating: 
Summary: A Fascinating Look Into the Life Of Vermeer
Review: The best way to read this novel is with a book of Vermeer's artwork by your side! I enjoyed thumbing through it and looking at his paintings while simultaneously reading "Girl With a Pearl Earring." This is the most fun I have had with historical fiction, and because not much is known about Vermeer, I appreciated Tracy Chevalier's efforts. I especially loved the descriptions of Griet making the paint for Vermeer, the scenes in the streets of Delft, family life in the 1600's, and the creative process of Vermeer. This is a great gift for Vermeer fans or historical fiction readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Read with open eyes
Review: If you are interested in more "Factual" historical fiction then you will not like this book. Not much is known about Vermeer, so in this novel we have to settle for the essence of the painter. This book is great because it is simple yet leaves Vermeer where he mysteriously belongs.
Rating:
Summary: I could be there in Dutch of 1664
Review: Chevalier, the author, wrote a novel with a vivid imagination and based on facts. As a foreign reader, I could read the book without difficulty, which means she wrote it in everyday language. Of course it does not mean the style is rather light. While reading, I felt as if I were in Dutch of 1600s. She describled the artistic world of the painter Vermeer in a simple, but vivid language, along with the relations between a maid--Criet and the painter, then rich patron, and people around her. It is a romantic novel as well as a novel of the artistic world of the painter Vermeer. If you want to read books simply out of the emptiness in your mind, I recommend this book. Read it and feel it.
Rating:
Summary: Intresting Book with intersting story.
Review: This story is very much like a Cinderella story set in the 1600's. The story line is simple but has a intersting flare to it. Having never know much about Vermeer paintings or a lot about the time the book I was very satsifyed with the book and the story about Griet. The only thing that bothered me with the book was the ending. It seem to short for me and didn't get into what had happen to Griet besides her marrying Pieter and having children.
Rating:
Summary: Girl with Pearl Earring
Review: Chevalier's novel portrays the story of a famous Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. The main character, Griet, becomes a maid at Vermeer's house. Unfortunately she is despised by his wife and daughter, Catherina and Cornelia. This story takes a surprising turn when Vermeer decides to paint Griet with a pearl earring secretly taken from his wife. A novel full of so many secrets and issues we are battling with everyday is sure to capture your attention especially young adults.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful painting, pretty story
Review: I read this during visits to European art galleries. It was entertaining. The author has a remarkable way of making every day things elegant signatures for likable characters. I found myself guessing what other stories could be read into European art classics.
Rating: 
Summary: What's all the fuss about?
Review: I heard well-read friends rave about this book, and I finally got around to reading it. Sheesh...It's nothing but a feather-weight, romance novel type tale of archetypal characters! We already know the cast: The illiterate but wise yet plucky housemaid, the silent and enigmatic lord of the household, the shrewish wife, the jealous co-worker. <yawn> Aside from nice language that describes the painting technique, there's no there there. Maybe it works for people who don't read much? I felt let-down.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely Book!
Review: I read this book very quickly, but found myself (and still do) coming back again and again to re-read bits of it. It's a story that stays with you long after you turn that final page. Don't be fooled by the "simple" writing style. If you think the narrative is simple, I suggest sitting down and trying to write something-- anything!-- in Chevalier's style. It's a lot harder than it looks to convey a wealth of description with a bare minimum of words. That is one of Chevalier's greatest gifts in this book. The other is her simply marvelous characters, and her amazing ability to convey the essence of everyday life in a distant time and place. Enough reviewers have summed up the plot here, so I won't add to their efforts, except to say that all the details fall together very nicely, and the story's conclusion satisfies on many levels. I would imagine that someone will eventually make a movie out of this book; it's the kind of story Merchant-Ivory would probably bring to life brilliantly. My top pick for the role of Griet would be Natalie Portman. Ralph Finnes should play Vermeer, and Tilda Swinton should play Catharina.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Easy Read
Review: I enjoyed this book very much because of the simplicity of the authors writing. It was easy to read, very discriptive and an image of Holland, which is not usually written about. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who are interested in art.
Rating: 
Summary: don't judge a book by its cover
Review: I know many people like this book so I just want to address those potential readers who might think this is a literary read. It's not. There is no depth of character, no attempt to describe what life would have been like in the 17th century for a girl like this, virtually nothing about the Holland of Vermeer's time, to the point where it is clear this was never the concern of the author. Just a nice, simple romance novel dressed up in a upmarket dust jacket. Like another reviewer said, it will make a sumptuous Merchant Ivory film, and that will probably improve it. That cover is very deceptive; there's nothing to "look at" as you read, just the thoughts of a nice girl thinking about love in what could easily be translated to a wealthy bohemian artists' community in suburban America.
| 
