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Summary: It's 1666 and you are there!
Review: After reading "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" I wanted to learn more about Vermeer and his times. I hoped that "Girl With a Pearl Earring" would be half as good as "Blue." If anything, "Earring" is better, which is almost a miracle. This magnificent novel is a time-travel machine, taking you to the mid-late 17th century in Delft. Others have summarized the beginning of the story, so I won't add to that and possibly create a spoiler. Don't miss this book. A wonderful read with a lot of insight into painters, painting and domestic life 330+ years ago.
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Summary: Art History
Review: A protagonist you can connect with, this is the fictionalized account of the girl in the painting. She lives in Painter's house, a matriarchial household that recognizes her worth to Painter, and yet conversely and more importantly, the danger of her allure. Girl seeks to do the right thing and yet the dance between Painter and his muse is charged with longing for intimacy, understanding, appreciation and sexual desire. What should we make of Girl's self-mutilation as she forces Wife's pierced pearl earring through her virgin ear as her Painter requests? Buy this book.
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Summary: DELIGHTFUL
Review: Girl With A Pearl is an amazing book! Art, romance and history all wrapped up in beautiful little package. Read it and weep.
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Summary: As Richly Lustrous as a Vermeer
Review: Vermeer was a seventeenth-century Delft painter who is known for his uncanny ability to use and capture light. He recorded the simple, yet intimate, activities of daily goings-on with a balance and detail that brought the very breath of life to his paintings. Tracy Chevalier, in Girl With a Pearl Earring, uses this same balance and detail to tell the story of Griet, a sixteen-year old servant girl working in Vermeer's household.Although strong in both mind and body, Griet comes from a poverty-stricken family. Her father, once a skilled painter of Delft tiles, has been blinded in a kiln explosion. It is the shy and naive Griet who seeks to provide the wages needed for the family's survival. In the Vermeer household, Griet must cope with seemingly endless loads of laundry and meals, five small children and Vermeer's continually-pregnant wife, Catharina. It is her artist's eye, however, that sets her apart from the other servants, for Griet can clean the master's studio without having seemed to have touched a thing. This book is woven around one of Vermeer's most famous paintings, The Girl With a Pearl Earring. It is a painting that is different from the religious scenes and those of daily life in Delft, so typical of Vermeer. The story is told from the point-of-view of Griet, the eventual model for the painting, rather than Vermeer, and it is filled with a young and fresh look at the daily details of life in 1660s Delft. We learn of the canals and the markets as well as the creation of Vermeer's masterpieces. Griet's story is a complex one as she struggles to make a real place for herself in the Vermeer household. As a Protestant, she is looked upon with suspicion by most of the members of this Catholic home, but she nevertheless attracts a young suitor who is determined to marry her, as she comes to play a major role in Vermeer's life as a helper who can not only clean his studio and organize his paints, but can actually help him to compose his paintings as well. The emotional tone of Girl With a Pearl Earring is perfect. Griet is a fully-realized character; a child growing into an adult, with just the right mix of girlish ways and budding maturity. The detail of daily life is also rendered so finely and precisely that we feel we can actually smell the meat halls of Delft, hear the lively bustle of city life and suffer the quiet tragedy of a quarantine. Chevalier also weaves details from Vermeer's paintings into her story of Griet. The result is a book that is vibrantly alive and lustrously rich. It is an education in art history for those who would otherwise let it pass them by. A tapestry of beauty that pulls the reader in from beginning to end, Girl With a Pearl Earring is a fascinating story and a fascinating look at life in Renaissance Delft that will reward anyone who reads it.
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Summary: Girl With A Pearl Earring
Review: Tracy Chevalier writes as though she is painting a picture. Her writing took me beyond the Vermeer painting...it took me back in time. I repeatedly looked at the picture as Ms. Chevalier wrote this historically romantic story that brought Griet alive on the pages.
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Summary: Enchanting story
Review: I truly enjoyed this book, and anyone who likes crisp, simple fiction will too. This is something of a coming of age tale, seen through the eyes of a XVI or XVII century girl and set in the home of the fictionalized painter Vermeer. Anyone who has looked at Dutch paintings will have enough to go on as you imagine the scenes. This is not meant to be a fancy book, but rather made of of short sentences, few characters...really nice!
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Summary: A quick haunting read
Review: I read Girl With A Pearl Earring over the summer and I was amazed when none of my friends have heard of it. It is one of the most lyrical reading I've done in a long while. The descriptions of the life then is very vivid ~~ I can almost smell the paint and see life viewed through the characters' eyes. Chevalier takes you on her journey through time and when you finished the book, you almost wish you weren't done. And it does take a few minutes to travel back to the 21st century ~~ so vivid is her description of life in Holland. I recommend it to anyone who has a few hours to spare to read and to daydream.
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Summary: A Great Coming-Of-Age Story!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this story! The contrasts depicted in this story were true...there WAS an invisible divide between master and servant, there WAS a cultural division between Protestant and Catholic, and the cultural riches of the upper class vs. the mundane life of the lower class. The character of Griet, the quiet composure and discretion in her eyes that seem to hide guarded secrets seems to describe the girl in the painting! I loved the way Griet and her brother escape from their humdrum, quasi-abusive lives. The piercing of Griet's ear symbolized the loss of innocence and the gain of wisdom. Nice job, Ms Chevalier!
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Summary: What our class thought
Review: Tracy Chevalier's novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, tells the story of the trials of a young girl as she progresses into womanhood in seventeenth century Delft, Holland. The plot intertwines the art of Vermeer and the life of Griet, the protagonist. After a tragic accident within the family, Griet is forced to support her family by working as a maidservant in the home of a Dutch painter named Johannes Vermeer. Griet's primary focus in the household is to clean the master's art studio, and while she spends much of her time there, she learns about her emotions by watching her master at work. Suddenly, the story then takes a dramatic turn when a member of Griet's family is struck with a fatal disease. She is torn between her true desires and the needs of her family. Although we have mixed opinions of this summer reading requirement, overall we feel that Chevalier's book paints a fascinating storyline about a well-known Renaissance artist. This book can be a slow read at times; nevertheless, it captures the reader's imagination. The author's vivid imagery guarantees this will be a book you will never forget.
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Summary: F period 9th Grade English, Girls Preparatory School
Review: F Period 9th grade English Girls Preparatory School Chattanooga, TN In Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, a variety of readers is captured into the life of a young, Protestant girl in Delft, Holland. For the young female audience, this enchanting novel demonstrates how a teenage girl deals with love, religion, and marriage circumstances. For the artistic audience, Chevalier provides detailed descriptions of the famous painter Johannes Vermeer and his techniques. For the historical audience, the exquisite depiction of the city of Delft and the everyday life of the 17th century in Holland should grab their attention. The story captivates anyone's interest with its intriguing romance and mystery. Contrasting religious customs cause Griet, the main character, to feel out of place in Vermeer's household, and his family members' attitudes toward her reclusive lifestyle is a conflict. However, a strong admiration develops between Griet and Vermeer. He slowly begins to dray her into his world of art. Her wonder stems to a secret love that will never become, and she is torn between this and her acceptable love of a butcher from a nearby market. This easy to follow historical novel gives insight not only to art but also perspective into other fields of study.
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