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Summary: Unique and lovely...
Review: The concept of this novel, tracing the history of a painting by going back in time chapter by chapter, is just my cup of tea. Susan Vreeland has done an excellent job in transferring this unique notion to paper. I've always enjoyed antiques and wondered about its origination; Girl in Hyacinth Blue was like a dream come true in that respect.The story begins with math professor, Cornelius Engelbrecht. He was bequeathed a painting from his father, who claims it a masterpiece by the Dutch artist Vermeer. There are no papers to prove this statement; however, the bigger picture is the way Cornelius's father obtained the painting...a way that has haunted him all his life. Each chapter moves back in time to the previous owner of the painting. Readers follow the painting from the wall of Cornelius's father to the actual inspiration and creation of it. Each vignette houses new sets of characters with the painting as its central core. Slowly, with each turning page, we reveal another part of the painting's history, layer by layer, and what it has meant to the people whose lives it touched. Girl in Hyacinth Blue made for a wonderful reading experience. I recommend this novel to those who enjoy lovely period pieces or like getting to the bare bones of a story. A very in depth and beautiful premise. I have Susan's next book on my list.
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Summary: Journey in Time
Review: What does a college art professor from the modern age and an 18th century witch have in common? Susan Vreeland weaves a truly wonderful story backwards in time, exploring the history of one picture as it passes from hand to hand and century to century. This is a beautifully written book that tells the story of a single painting by Dutch Master Vermeer. Tracing it's movement from hand to hand, the author brings to life each individual story surrounding the owners of the painting. As a reader I was immediately drawn into each individual story. A wonderful book and one I would highly recommend. I look forward to reading more of Susan Vreeland's work.
Rating: 
Summary: just keep reading
Review: I felt that Girl in Hyacinth Blue started really slow, which is why I gave it a 3 instead of a 4. But just keep reading, it gets really really good. Each chapter is a separate short story, each realted to the painting. And in my opinion, each short story gets better and better (I did not like the first two.) I was also slightly disappointed because I was expecting another Girl With a Pearl Earring, which I loved. Girl in Hyacinth Blue focuses on a chain of owners of the painting, where Girl With a Pearl Earring was the story of the girl in the painting. Girl in Hyacinth Blue is very unique and definitely worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Girl In Hyacinth Blue
Review: The Girl in Hyacinth Blue is a creative & charming novel of a fictional Vermeer painting. The novel details each of the lives of the various people who have owned the painting-either how they came to get the painting or pass it on and what importance the painting comes to play in their lives. Each chapter is a short story of it's own, beginning in the present and working it's way back in time through the actual creation of the work of art. I really enjoyed how Susan Vreeland took us back in time and the creative way in which she pieced each of the owners together. In the end I was left with a powerful feeling for many of the characters, both the artist, his subject and several of the owners. Not only was the story entertaining, but the themes that run through out the book are very thought provoking. The story touches on differences in perceptions of beauty, appreciation for the fun in life and the importance of love-how each of these play into giving one a sense of meaning and purpose. After finishing this book, it is still provoking much thought within me.
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Summary: Art and history
Review: A beautifully written book about so much more than a painting. The author gets across the love and pull of art, and the importance a piece can have in a life. The only drawback to the book was the time shifting was a bit confusing.
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Summary: An unraveling of the ages.
Review: Well researched historical fiction at its best. The most appealing aspect of this book to me is the unique manner in which it is presented. The author tells the story of the painting by giving us as an account of each owner, leading us back to its creation. The question in the back of the reader's mind is always whether the artist was actually Vermeer. Intelligently written with a clever use of language and a vast array of interesting characters, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Vreeland will be an author I add to my list of favorites. I would give this book 4.5 stars. Kelsana 8/27/01
Rating: 
Summary: Please tell me someone else hates this book
Review: I hate this book. I had high hopes because some coworkers raved, and I enjoy Vermeer and art and all that. But please...this overwraught, oversentimental thing made me yawn two pages in. The language is cheesy and even the interesting premise--following the painting's life from end to beginning--couldn't save it. The love scenes are laughable and the sad parts made me cringe. I suffered two weeks worth of bus commutes trying to wade through it.
Rating:
Summary: an unexpected find.
Review: It is a bumper season for Vermeer books. The book sketches in the provenance of a fictitious Vermeer painting, chapter by chapter, which work like brief glances into a Vermeer moment in our lives. Tracy Chevalier in her "Girl with a Pearl Earring" achieves a better result overall in terms of characterization and atmosphere - her Griet is flesh and blood, her Jan Vermeer convincingly elusive. However, notwithstanding her wooden prose, Susan Vreeland does manage to make a point: why are we drawn into Vermeer scenes? Why do we impart our own longing and solitude into his canvases, more than those of any other artist? Why do we care? The book is not only about a Dutch painter and his mystery, but about beautiful things we cherish, the moments that render an ordinary life memorable, the truth that all too often goes buried beneath the years.
Rating:
Summary: A decent read, but not spectacular
Review: Susan Vreeland's novel "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" is a short, entertaining read, but I found it to be slightly disappointing and very lacking in character development. The dialogue that the characters used with one another sometimes seemed to be on an elementary level, and I didn't feel that Vreeland fully developed the feelings of awe and adoration that her characters supposedly had for the mysterious Vermeer painting that touched their lives. In fact, the painting's beauty was glorified much more than the reactions to it, which were sometimes hollow, empty and cliched. While the idea of going back in time to observe the lives that the painting has touched was indeed an interesting one, I felt that Vreeland did not do enough with this concept - she seemed so overeager to group a bunch of lukewarm short stories together into a novel that she missed the greater and more rewarding challenge of expanding on the storylines that she created. There were characters in this novel whom I wanted to get to know, but never did! It was as if I was being hurried along toward an ending that had no particular purpose. However, Vreeland had some great storylines in this novel, but she just didn't go anywhere with them, and this reader was left feeling a little shortchanged. I have to admit, the glowing reviews that this book had received both from critics and avid readers surprised me in the end, but nevertheless I give it three stars for the potential it had, and the occasional stirring images it drew.
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Summary: fiction meets art history
Review: Intriguing and engaging, this book draws the reader backward in time, following the history of a Vermeer painting. Working backwards in time to Vermeer himself, each of the owners has a different relationship with the painting, which reflect something about the individual and the time he is living in. Two months after reading this, my mind keeps coming back to the people, the painting, and the times. Girl with a Pearl Earring makes a nice companion book.
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