Girl with a Pearl Earring

Rating:
Summary: A moment frozen & forever there...
Review: What an interesting idea for a novel: Tracy Chevalier has taken a painting of an unknown woman by a painter about whom we know almost nothing & written the story behind it's creation as seen thru the eyes of it's subject. "Girl With A Pearl Earring" is the result, & an impressive novel it is.

However, it impresses in terms of craft, of technique. As I read it, I couldn't help comparing it to the marvelous "Memoirs of A Geisha" which also takes us into the mind of a young girl in a world very foreign to most readers. Where "Memoirs..." fully involved the reader both in descriptions of daily life in a vanished world & in the people populating it, "Girl With A Pearl Earring" exists more as a set piece. There are exquisite sketches of the dour, plodding life of the average Delft citizen in the 17th century, but they never breath. I never felt I understood why the main characters acted as they did, I never felt in sympathy with the dilemmas that formed the core of the book & the resolution felt forced somehow. Also, viewing the painting that inspired the book, I simply didn't feel this was a plausible "back-story".

Vermeer's paintings are quiet, frozen moments of daily life that seem forever trapped in amber. "Girl With A Pearl Earring" gives a similar feel to the reader. If you prefer a quiet, contemplative book that is primarily focused on thought rather than action, you will probably enjoy this novel more than I did. I guess I'll just never appreciate literature....

Rating:
Summary: An enchanting view of Vermeer's art
Review: The first thing you should do before reading this book is either find a book with Vermeer's paintings in it, or print them from the internet. I found reading the book and looking at the pictures provided a whole new dimension to reading. I loved the description of life in Delft, especially from a maid's view. Even more interesting was the description of Vermeer's painting, mixing of paints, building of color and watching a young girl's awakening to the beauty in color, light and design. I felt I learned right along with her. It was a beautifully written book. I hated for the book to come to an end and felt saddened that Vermeer's life came to an end before he could create more beautiful art works.

Rating:
Summary: Achingly Good Book
Review: A simply told, achingly good story with rich language used sparingly, as it should be. As a published fiction author, I know how hard this is to pull off. Bravo, Ms. Chevalier!

Rating:
Summary: Questionable premise, but engaging storytelling
Review: Nobody knows the identity or the story of the girl in Vermeer's painting "Girl With a Pearl Earring." Novelist Tracy Chevalier has supplied both in a literary invention that requires substantial suspension of disbelief, but still succeeds.

Chevalier invents Griet, a maid newly hired by the Vermeer household. Griet's principle responsibility is to clean the master's studio without moving anything. One day, the master informs the girl that she is to sit for a portrait commissioned by a lecherous customer of the master's art. Complications ensue.

Chevalier has been praised for bringing Delft to life, but I didn't find her evocation of the town particularly noteworthy. I do think she does a convincing job of portraying a painter at work. I've known and written about painters (and my father is one), and her descriptions of Vermeer at work seemed convincing to me. What was less plausible were the two conceits central to the book's plot: that a serving girl would have a sophisticated sense of pictorial composition, and that Vermeer would have considered her opinion worthy of serious attention. The former might have happened -- genius disregards age and gender and social class -- but I found the latter to be a stretch.

Nevertheless, I read past my doubts and found the book snuck up on me, in the sense that the denoument was more affecting than I'd expected. I hadn't anticipated my emotional response to Griet's situation.

There is a brief sexual encounter that's forced and unconvincing, but otherwise the plotting is surehanded. And Chevalier's sentences are fine, with a subtle artistry that's easy to discount but hard to reproduce.

Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down - beautifully written
Review: The characters are engaging and likeable, the story interesting. Loved the insight on life in that period. I highly reccommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Review: Although this book starts slowly( the first 15 pages) it quickly becomes enthrawling. After I read it I went out and found a book of Vermeer's paintings. It was wonderful to see the painting and recognize things from the book. The dialoge is wonderful and the book is beautifully written. I strongly suggest you read it.

Rating:
Summary: No bells and whistles but a wonderful book
Review: I haven't finished this book yet because I am savoring it! After reading some of the reviews, I am wondering why does every book have to be bells and whistles and "wham bam, thank you author"? My fourteen year old daughter has read this book, loved it,and we are both now interested in Vermeer's paintings. This book conjures up in wonderful gentle words how the Vermeer household might have been and her words are an open door to explore Vermeer's masterpieces. Don't you think that a good book should inspire interests in different directions? I love this book!

Rating:
Summary: Fall in love with the artist Vermeer!
Review: Be prepared for a wonderful journey as you read along and learn about long ago Delft, the artist Vermeer and his servant Grit. This book is so well written that you feel as though you know the characters and are a guest in Vermeer's home and studio. And as you read along also fully expect to seek out a book with Vermeer's paintings so you can identify the ones you've read about.

I closed this book with a sigh, wishing it would never end and now I am eagerly anticipating the the next book by the author Tracy Chevalier.

Rating:
Summary: very enjoyable...
Review: I was not expecting anything as I picked up this book except a good read. I went through it very quickly, and it never lost my interest. I was ready for a novel set in the 1600's with details of life, not art. I enjoyed it very much.

Rating:
Summary: I was expecting more...
Review: I was expecting more information about Vermeer and the history of his country during his lifetime...and all I got was a journal-type novel describing a teenager's infatuation with her master. I would still buy this book though but in paperback. I liked the Tulip Fever better.