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Dec 17, 2009

Kate rated it:

I know almost nothing about art, but even I can tell that Girl With a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer is a brilliant painting; 'captivating' is probably the best word to describe it. One presumes that Chevalier agrees with me, and this is what lead her to write a novel about the painting, its subject and its creator. So, is the novel as captivating as the piece that inspired it?

The short answer would be 'no'.

Now for the longer answer...

Chevalier is probabl More...

2 comments like (32 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Daniel rated it:

Another one of my wife's recommendations (I read a lot of books that way), I picked it up from the bookshelf the night we came back from seeing the film with Scarlett Johansonn and Colin Firth. I loved the movie--it was just so incredibly sumptuous--and was curious to know the story in the novel, which I knew from experience, and from my wife's continuous comments, would be different, more detailed. I was right.

Chevalier has won a place in my heart and bookshelf. Her novels are well- More...

2 comments like (26 people liked it)

Aug 16, 2011

Kelly rated it:

I wrote a paper on artistic expression using Girl with a Pearl Earring as a source, since it is a painting, a movie, and a book. It provided me fascinating fodder, a really good read, and a good grad on my paper. This is a wonderful study in repression and tiny details. There are some beautiful passages. I absolutely love the study done of the character of Vermeer. At one point, a character tells Griet (the imagined Girl with a Pearl Earring) to be careful, since Vermeer does not see her, but ra More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2009

Marian rated it:

I enjoyed this book. The story is subtle making it the perfect example that less is more in a story.

Some of my thoughts as I read:
1. The society of the time classified everyone as a "have" or a "have not". For a girl who was in between it was a matter of time before she was forced to one side or the other. She never fit in either world.
2. Clearly this girl had a raw, undeveloped talent for art. Had she lived in a different century would she have bee More...

9 comments like (10 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2011

Ryan rated it:

I had to persevere in order to make it through Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring. In spite of all the reviews on the back cover lauding this as a literary gem, a literary jewel, and a dazzling novel, I was pretty sure it was "just" a romance novel.

My romance credentials are these: although I have never read a romance novel, I have seen the covers of romance novels. And I've also listened to people I know discuss romance novels. So with that it mind...

I More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 13, 2011

Crystal Starr Light rated it:

Gorgeous painting, deeper appreciation of art; mediocre, annoying book

This is a book that fictionalizes what might have been behind the famous Vermeer painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Griet's family is destitute, and now she must work as a maid in the Vermeer household, cleaning up the famous painter's workstation. Slowly, she grows more interested in her master, and her master in her.

I am not what you would call an artsy person. I make an effort to dec More...

7 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 10, 2008

Natasha! rated it:

I've been hearing good things about this book for years. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, everyone I know?? I found the prose artificially concise (as if she had purposely limited her vocabulary by a factor of ten, or as if the narrator was Dutch but just learning English), the characters completely flat and unbelievable, and the rise in drama both ill-explained and uninteresting. I did not like or feel compassionate toward a single character, I didn't feel any catharsis about ANYTHING, and I understood More...

3 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2008

Robert rated it:

Tracy Chevalier, Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutton, 1999)

To date, I've read only one bad review of this slight novel, and a whole lot of excellent ones. I'm casting my vote on the excellent side. Chevalier took one of Vermeer's best-known and most enigmatic paintings and built a story around it (there are a series of these novels; Joyce Carol Oates' I Lock My Door Upon Myself is the only other one I've read, and it is similarly excellent). Griet, a sixteen-year-old from the Protestant More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2012

Madeleine rated it:

So the parts when Vermeer was actually being a painter were pretty interesting. Seeing as I slogged through this on account of a recommendation that arose from an art-class lecture on Vermeer, I was hoping that the art stuff would at least deliver.

But it's not a good sign when a book's most compelling moments revolve around two people grinding pigments. And, no: "Grinding pigments" is not a clever euphemism for artist-bangin'. It is, quite literally, referring to the detai More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2008

Anna rated it:

This book features one of my favorite book heroines of all time. Griet is competent, intelligent and observant. She possesses the laudable ability to maneuver 17th century Delft in a shrewd and practical manner while still retaining her love of art; finding beauty in even mundane things.

Griet has a first-rate mind, concealed in the body of - essentially - a peasant. This poor maid is the only person who truly understands Vermeer's work. The relationship she develops with the painter More...

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2007

Ashley rated it:

My expectation was low for this book: I just assumed that historical fiction=boring. I was absolutely wrong and I am so glad that I gave this book a chance.

This book was set in 17th century Delft and detailed the journey of Griet, a young woman who becomes a maid and, eventually, muse for the artist (who did exist) Vermeer.

The reason why I really liked this book is the extraordinary way Chevalier describes the ordinary: A trip to the butcher or a walk across the city i More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2009

The_Freddy rated it:

Wow, that one I read fast.

And I enjoyed it, too. I was being a bit sceptical before, actually I only read it, so I could watch the movie afterwards, but I was surprised in a good way.

I was captured by the narrative pretty soon and it read very lightly, very easily. I was longing for such a book for some time. Reading it was as easy as watching TV, but still it was good literature and not a cheap action tome.
The first-person narrator was done very well, I thought, G More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 14, 2009

Jon rated it:

A real gem of a book, short and easy but so rich and colourful. While not a great deal happens throughout the book there is a constant feeling of tension building and the language is beautiful. The Reader is transported perfectly to 17th Century Delft. The background to the paintings sends you running off to google for a closer look even if youre not an art fiend.

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2009

Lorraine rated it:

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0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2009

Suzette rated it:

I quite enjoyed this book. I'm an art lover and that's what drew me in. I was impressed with the creative idea of writing a story based on a work of art, and I think the author wrote an interesting and believable story.

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 12, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

This is the story of Griet - a maid in 1600's Delft Holland and the imagined subject of Vermeer's famous painting. I really enjoyed this book. I love thinking that Chevalier was looking at this painting and thought - What is this story? Who is this girl? The stunted writer in me thinks this would be a really fun writing exercise.

I really have to give Chevalier credit. This book was easy to read and very engaging. I am a fan.

On a side note - the movie made from this (wit More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2008

Antof9 rated it:

First, I have to say that this reminded me quite a bit of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. I have no idea which was written first (probably this one, I suppose), but it was very like that. That said ...

I liked the Dutchness of this book, because my father is Dutch, and I pretty much like all things Dutch (not to be confused with this website, which I also like). In addition, I have an aunt named Griet, so I immediately liked the main character :) However, in general, I don't re More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 13, 2009

Ana T. rated it:

Girl With a Pearl Earring is one of those books that have been so talked about in a positive way that when the opportunity arised to read it I couldn't help myself.

I do feel that Chevalier is very good at conveying the right atmosphere for her novels. This is the second one I read and in both of them there's an artistic atmosphere, if you can call it that, and a great concern with describing not only the works of art involved but also the materials and techniques the characters use. More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2008

Ebookwormy rated it:

This book was within a stack I picked up from my mom's house; she told me this was a book my brother was required to read in high school. I knew it was a popular book, so I thought i'd give it a try - if only to be conversational.

The style of this book is very subtle and effective. With attention to detail, the reader is methodically introduced to the culture of 17th century Holland. While we learn a little about the city, I think the main achievement is in helping us to understand h More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

A historical Fiction, that gave me insights to how this painter painted in an entertaining way. Apparently it is also a movie which I have not seen. I really liked how the book was able to take you in his studio and show his tools he used. I also like how the author described how the people were painted, and how he used his colors and how the colors were made. Ect. The story made you want to make up your own stories about people in paintings and to wonder about the time period.

More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 26, 2008

Karschtl rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 04, 2008

Marisa rated it:

Girl with a Pearl Earring surrounds a fictional character with historical facts.

While little is known of the woman in Vermeer's painting, this book attempts to discover more about her and the story of Vermeer's inspiration.

This story reminds me a lot of "Memoirs of a Geisha", another of my favorite books. The only differece being the location: Holland in 1660.

Griet comes to work as a maid for Johannes and Catharina Vermeer, the latter being a tyrann More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2008

Hong rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 03, 2007

Melissa rated it:

The book is quite well written with beautiful descriptions, and an obvious amount of research done on the time period and the painter, as well as painting techniques of the 1600s. However, the characters, with the exception of the main character, Griet, are very one-sided. I wondered why Griet seemed to know so much more about life than anyone else in the book. It was not a fault of the narration, but I think a real oversight in the writing. For example, the patron of the painter, Pieter, and ev More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 26, 2009

Coco rated it:

I thought this was a beautiful story and I loved the fact that Chevalier created a whole world by gazing at this painting. Griet and her story came to life for me and the exquisite scene where she pierces her ear for Vermeer brought tears to my eyes. I enjoy historical fiction and learning about the 17h century and how Vermeer earned his living and the way the household was run was fascinating. Chevalier's description of making the colors for the paint for so tactile. Sumptuous.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Emily rated it:

Again, I wish I could give half stars, because I'd probably give this book three and a half. It indulged my love of historical fiction, especially that which includes famous artists as characters, and that alone would've made me appreciate it. Unlike "Falling Angels," Chevalier's writing in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was excellent and at moment exquisite. Her ability to place meaning in minute details and create sexual and artistic tension between Greit and Vermeer was ess More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 11, 2008

Jasmine rated it:

The model who sat for Vermeer's painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring, is unknown; scholars speculate that she was a maid who worked in the Vermeer home. This amazing little book, which brings 17th Century Holland alive, is Tracy Chevalier's imagining of how that maid, Griet, came to work for the Vermeers, how she fared in a Catholic household as a Protestant, how she navigated a household characterized by deceit and cunning, and how she came to sit for the famous painting. Not a word is wasted More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 19, 2007

Bridget rated it:

I think what struck me most about this book was that reading it was like looking at a painting. Chevalier has this beautiful, ornate style that creates layers of description on the page, echoing the work of Vermeer. Told through the eyes of Griet, one of Vermeer's maids, the novel unfolds in an intricacy that had me envisioning the way he crushes the minerals to make the paints or imagining the smell of the meat market with utter clarity. I was impressed, too, by Griet's firecracker personali More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2011

Kim rated it:

This is the best time to write my review on this book while I'm still at the best memory and my best spirit. The book is beautifully written along with its Delft setting at the 17th century.

One thing I love about this book is the relationship between Griet and Vermeer. While reading the book, I can feel the sexual tension slowly growing between them. Though I find Pieter the Son very handsome, I find Vermeer's mysterious charm handsomer. As a painter, maybe Griet is smitten by Vermeer More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 02, 2008

Stephanie rated it:

This book is actually very boring. The description of characters and settings are well written, and make it easy to visualize. But the actual story and the pace at which is moves tends to drag. I guess the writer really wanted to mimic that banal dutch lifestyle belonging to the main character. The "scandal" in the story, in my opinion wasn't much of a scandal. Not that a book has to be oozing with betrayal and sexuality to be good, its just that this story didn't tap into enough basic More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)