Rating: 
Summary: This historical fiction is a gem
Review: I have been intrigued by Vermeer's works, particulary his attention to detail and "picture within a picture". While little is known of his life, Chevalier weaves a fascinating tale told by Griet, a 17 year old girl pressed into service as a maid for the Vermeer family to aid Griet's starving family. Through Griet's eyes we see what daily life might have been like in 17th century Holland. What is particularly fascinating is the exposition of how Vermeer painted--his vision, his treatment of colors and his use of a new instrument to get a different perspective on his subjects. Griet is a very appealing heroine. We identify with her fears in leaving home and living in a "Papist" house; her sorrows from the woes of her family, and her curiosity and intelligence when she is asked to help the artist. As is obvious from the title, Griet also serves as the model for one of Vermeer's most haunting masterpieces. All of these elements add to the pleasure of this book. I was totally engrossed with this story and finished reading it in one day.
Rating: 
Summary: Innocence lost
Review: As a professional historian and a fan of Vermeer's paintings, I was hesitent to pick up this book, fearing that I might be unfairly critical. I was relieved to find a beautifully researched and written novel about the subject of one of the 17th century's greatest paintings. Griet is a sixteen year-old girl forced into becoming a maid for the Vermeer family when her father loses his sight. This begins a long courtship of sorts between Griet and Jan Vermeer. I was afraid that the resolution of this tension would "paint" Vermeer in an overly-speculative negative or positive light. Instead, the release of this sexual tension is largely symbolic, and occurs in the grinding of pigments or the rape-like piercing of Griet's ear. Vermeer is left in shadows, which is where he belongs, since the historical record about him is vague. Chevalier obviously understands the power of his paintings, however, as she is careful to fill her scenes with the everyday objects that Vermeer deified in his work, partly as substitutes for the less acceptable icons of his Catholic faith. As a result, Vermeer's paintings are rich in domestic detail, as is Chevalier's book. I found myself frequently looking at the cover art as I read the book, to see if I saw in the face in the painting the same things that Chevalier found. It's all there, in the painting and the book: innocence, loss, desire, sadness.
Rating:
Summary: A gentle, thoughtful book
Review: This book was a gentle, thoughtful look at life through a young girl's eyes. Greit had a special eye and talent. In another day and time, she might have been the master painter. But she was a servant and a girl--- a fate from which she had no escape. Her feelings are sometimes confused, sometimes overwhelming. There is an underlying tension that continues through the entire book. She is believeable as a young girl and the author's language brings old Delft to life. I really enjoyed this book.
Rating:
Summary: Griet is not too perfect
Review: I absolutely adore this book. It does the picture credit by giving a personality to those haunted silver eyes. I won't repeat what other raving reviews have already said, but I agree when they called this a charming jewel of a story. Some people commented that Griet was too perfect. They called her an "angel genius" who knew the perfect way to do everything. While I sort of agree, and feel sorry for poor stupid Tanneke, the old, loyal, dim-witted maid whom Griet replaces, I don't agree that Griet is perfect. She is lonely and friendless. The only person close to a friend is Pieter, the butcher's son, who I never liked. Even Griet senses what he wants from her, and her mentions of his hands always being bloody show how unideal he is. Other than he, she has no one. Tanneke is bitter; Maria Thins is aloof; Catharina is jealous and Cornelia is...Cornelia. Although loneliness is not a failing inside Griet, it keeps us feeling sorry for her, instead of being jealous at her luckiness.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy, Entertaining Read
Review: I'm not a fast reader by any means. But I managed to tear through this book in 3 days, hour-and-a-half sittings at a time(fast for me, anyway). I first dismissed this book as a period piece. It is, but Chevalier keeps the plot fast-paced and doesn't bog the story down with detail. At the core is the story of a Dutch maid and her working and semi-seunsual relationship with the painter Vermeer. Not quite as multi-layered as I like from a novel, I was very entertained and had a hard time putting it down. "Girl with a Pearl Earring" would be a good start for any book club. And if you're looking for an excellent follow-up book about a passionate artist try Chaim Potok's "My Name is Asher Lev."
Rating:
Summary: Like the critics say: A jewel of a novel
Review: "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a magnificent little story about one of Veneer's most famous paintings. Although the events are made up, I found myself really believing the story Chevalier spins about the model of the painting, her being forced to work for the Veneer family, the turmoils she endures in that home and her own, the conflicting emotions she has for the painter and for Pieter, the butcher's son. The setting is real, the descriptions clear but not too cluttering, and the characters' motivations clear. Heaven knows I wanted to slap Cornelia several times in the book! I highly recommend this book, especially for book clubs. Much can be discussed about this work, not the least of which are the symbolism of the earrings and the ways in which men in the book treat women.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful surprise!
Review: I wouldn't have picked this book up by myself but read it because it was a choice of my book club. It was a wonderful surprise! Even though it was set in the 1600's it was easy to read and a story that tells much more than just a story. Hidden meanings that were conveyed by our club members. A good book that will surprise you!
Rating:
Summary: Quite different from what you'd expect
Review: Reminiscent of the Girl in Hyacinth Blue, the story of another Vermeer painting, this is the tale of a young maid in the Vermeer household who becomes the subject of one of his paintings.
Griet is a young girl from the family of a tile painter in Delft who for financial reasons is forced to find work in the house of Vermeer. At first working in the household solely as a maid and admiring his paintings Griet comes to assist the painter in producing his paintings from the grinding of materials which produce luscious sounding colors to becoming the subject of one of his 35 paintings.
Written from the point of view of a young girl growing up in a working environment filled with the family of Vermeer including his many children, difficult wife and fascinating mother-in-law to the painter himself this book follows Griet's life for the several years that she stays with the family and becomes an integral part in the course of several paintings' completion.
The author conveys well 17th century life from a young person's point of view but what is particularly well done is Griet's concept of her master's work. Developing a keen eye for color and crucial to the subtle work required in such gifted artistry she provides us with a view to works in progress from blank canvas to completed painting.
An excellent book which is quite different from anything I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: good, though not great
Review: This is a fairly interesting novel from the standpoint of portraying what it was like for a great artist to work in 17C Holland, that is, Vermeer. The frame of the story is from the point of view of a maid, whose family has fallen from relative affluence and hence she was forced into degrading labor in spite of her considerable intelligence. The sensibility is extremely delicate and prosaic, in that what the maid worries incessantly about are everyday battles for status within the household with children, another maid, and Vermeer's spoilt and narrow-minded spouse. Indeed, the maid's world, while complete in all its distressing detail, is petty to the point of boredom for the reader, or at least for me. Because her personal freedom and possibility were so sadly limited, I could not identify beyond a certain point with her anxieties and hopes as she was forced into a succession of servitudes and humiliations. Moreover, there is not a single jot of humor. Nonetheless, late in the book, her relationship with Vermeer becomes very interesting indeed, as he puts her into a painting as a model for a rich patron - the psychology is subtle and far-reaching. The reader also gets some perspective on the tensions between Catholic and Protestant groups that persisted even in the tolerant cities of Holland. Recommended, but tepidly.
Rating:
Summary: Very easy reading
Review: This was the first book I read in a day. It was lighthearted and did not go into all the intricate details about painting. It gave you a few ideas on how a young maid lived/worked and how she learned to see not just the painting but the details on the painting and colors.
|
