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Summary: A skilled alternative to young adult historical fiction
Review: An easy-to-read historical fiction account of 1664-6 Netherlands, this is suitable for 6th grade and up, even though it is intended as adult fiction. It's much, much better than Karen Cushman's irritating gurl-power novels. Chevalier strikes a believable balance in creating a strong female protagonist, but one who in many ways is under the power of others. This quick read imagines the life of the teenage figure in Vermeer's painting of the same title. Daughter of a tile artisan, she goes to work as a maid for the famous painter, enduring the politics of the household and of the courting butcher's son. Some of the prose annoyed me in its self-consciousness, but this also helped create the character and period.
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Summary: Two Works Of Art
Review: I agree with reviewer Heidi Marshall: Chevalier must have done a past-life regression in order to write this book as if the events truly happened! Congratulations to you, Ms. Chevalier. You have also contributed a work of art to the field of literature! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and plan to share it with the students I teach in Art Masterpiece.
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Summary: This Pearl Earring is a true Gem
Review: What a fine, fine novel this is! It is a fictious account of the family of Vermeer, the Dutch master who painted luminous, sunlit portraits of people caught in a moment. Seeing a Vermeer painting is to enter another world through a magical peephole. This book is similar. It is not large, it is not populated on a grand scale with princes, kings and battles. Author Chevalier brilliantly puts a story to one of Vermeer's paintings, that of a young woman with a pearl earring, her hair wrapped in a swath of blue and yellow cloth. The theme is jealousy, sometimes over the petty. The story makes you turn time and time again back to the cover to look at the painting, each in a new light depending on the events in the story. The novel really centers on Griet, a daughter of a tile painter who is injured in a kiln accident, is sent to work at Vermeer's house. She must please the head housekeeper, Vermeer's wife, her young daughters and her formidable but sympathetic mother, and of course Vermeer himself. Life in the Holland of Vermeer is portrayed, the seething jealousies, the stark life of the rich versus the common people and the world of Vermeer's art all come together on a fascinating canvas.
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Summary: A very satisfying story
Review: I read this back-to-back with Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. I loved Vreeland's book and loved this as well, but do not confuse the two; they are very different books written in different styles. All they have in common is a Vermeer painting. Girl With a Pearl Earrings presents a fictional account of how this particular Vermeer came to be. Griet, a young maid of little means, lives with Vermeer's ever-growing family. A bond of sorts develops between artist and maid, and she becomes the subject of his painting, which goes against conventions, social mores and the wishes of Vermeers wife. There are many surprising little incidents and twists to the story, which I hesitate to outline here. But suffice to say I found the resolution of the story to be extremely satisifying on Griet's behalf. Chevalier so clearly depicts Delft in her writing that I can easily envision it in my own mind. I felt the story was well developed and had a very tight, well-rounded plot. The majority of the characters are either likable or dislikable...particularly one child, Cornelia, Catharina Vermeer and Pieter the son. I recommend this as well as Vreeland's book. I also would not discourage reading them together...one complements the other quite well.
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: Wonderful read! I would agree that being familiar with the paintings makes the story become more alive. The relationships in the novel are wonderfully complex and sometimes heartbreaking. They are gently woven together slowly leading up to a satisfying conclusion. While on the surface, Griest is a simple maid, she quickly becomes the most captivating character in the novel. She is surprisingly aware and mature, understanding things beyond her years. A wonderful historical fiction!
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Summary: Entering Vermeer's World
Review: The great strength of the novel for me was the painstaking recreation of Vemeer's household and his method of working. (I must go and look at some of his paintings again!) It's an undemanding and fairly enjoyable read, although I found the characterisation thin and the plot slow moving at times. The domestic details become tedious after a while, and there is a real lack of dramatic tension in the novel, even in the scenes between Vermeer and Griet. I wonder if we would feel so much for Griet without Vermeer's wonderful painting on the cover of the book? Perhaps the book would appeal much more to young readers.
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Summary: Transported
Review: This book was as beautiful and as realistic as Vermeer's paintings. I not only pictured Griet and her daily life, I felt her emotions, especially the longing she had for her employer. Although I think Griet's ultimate destiny was predictable early in the story, I still felt the book conveyed a sense of what it was like to be a young woman in those times. I could not help but believe that Vermeer's desire for Griet was the reason his wife kept getting pregnant! The unfulfilled passion between Griet and Vermeer was so much more effective a means than having them yield to what both felt. Tracy Chevalier has written a brilliant account of love that eventually is requited, but not in the way a reader might assume it would be.
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Summary: Transports you to another world
Review: Since art historians don't know much of anything about Vermeer, it's very interesting to see how this author tries to make him real. Fascinating story of Vermeer's maid. Definetly read if you're an art-buff who still wants a good fictional book to spice up your world of biographies.
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Summary: As if a painting grew arms to write with
Review: Okay...I'm not quite finished with this novel, but so far I can appreciate the intent of the author, which is to apply to literature the style of Jan Vermeer's paintings. The story is very simplistic, very unlike Memoirs of a Geisha. The plot is almost non-existant. But what makes this novel worth reading is that you can peer into another place and another time. The author also creates a very forthright, believable protagonist. As someone who was raised Catholic, I'm also intrigued by that crucifixion painting in the bedroom.
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Summary: Detailed, Imaginative and Engrossing
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I noticed that some reviewers complained about the so-called lack of plot development, however, I think these reviewers have missed the point. The novel lovingly and carefully uses the every day life of Griet, a girl who is thoroughly average in many ways, to provide insight into the age of Vermeer. Moreover, the plot is not only about the creation of the painting, but about the coming of age of Griet. Instead of finding the plot lacking, I found that it was full of the sort of suspense and intrigue that is contained in the mundane details of all of our lives. I also especially liked that Chevalier did not attempt to give her characters a modern sensibility. Griet's practicality and sense of her own reality anchored the book for me because they seemed consistent with the ideas of her time. In perfect keeping with Vermeer's work, the book provides us with a main character who appears to be ordinary, yet possesses a glimmer of light. In this case, Griet's "light" is her eye for detail and her strong ability to intuit the moods and thoughts of others around her. My only critique of the novel is that Chevalier wrapped the novel up too hastily. While it seemed correct that our knowledge about Griet would end as abruptly as it began (after all, a painting is but a glimpse), I was disappointed in the lack of a sense of who the adult Griet really was. Still a very enjoyable read.
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