Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I don't read a lot of books but this one was recommended by a friend. I literally could not put the book down. It draws you in and makes you eager to find out what happens next. Although it is a little predictable, I found the descriptions of everyday tasks and objects amazing. I could literally picture it all happening as I read it.I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great historical fiction
Review: This book will definately keep your interest. I couldn't put it down. It tells the story of The Girl with A Pearl Earing in Holland in 1660. The best thing about this book is that it was very easy to read. There was just enough information given to give you an idea of life in those times - but the book does not weight you down with historical facts. It keeps you interested by keeping the story moving - you keep wondering how it will end and where the girl will end up. It is a really good story.
Rating: 
Summary: Vapid, empty, lifeless characters...
Review: Given the number of reviews of this book, there is little chance that anyone will read mine. But since so many of them laud this simplistic story, I just had to. Yes, they are vapid, empty, lifeless characters, the writing is boring - if not bad at times - and there is no emotion at all. Okay, the idea's good - that deserves the two stars. But it's beyond me how so many people see this as an excellent book...
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: It took me a day to read "Girl with a Pearl Earring". I could not put it down. What a fascinating concept of telling a story- to describe a painting in progress. From the outset we are drawn into the world of Vermeer and get an insight into the lives of the serving class. Griet has little choice but to stay on as a servant for her master but manages to maintain her moral standards despite pressure from the master's sponsor and also from the master himself. Her solution at the end of the novel is realistic and inspiring. Well worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful...
Review: It is the 17th Century. In a town of Delft, Holland, Tracy Chevalier brings to life the subtle yet colorful imagery of that time. Her keen attention to detail and her ability to transfer those details into words wow you. There are no pretenses but only what the story is: It's a simple and elegant tale of 16 year old Griet who ends up becoming an employee of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. While she's there to help out her family financially, Griet learns more than she imagined. She is shown the beatuful yet painstaking art of painting and soon helping the great painter himself. But as Griet begins to learn more about life than what she's known, she also learns the harsher side of reality. For conflict between herself and other members of the Vermeer family is all but inevitable. I recognized the portriat on the cover. It was so thin and small looking, I didn't imagine anything grand to be sandwhiched between the cover. Low and behold, I was wrong. Some books only need a few pages to get the story out, yet with such volume; Girl With a Pearl Earring is one of them. Give it try, you'll see.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Painting Comes to Life
Review: Chevalier has done for this painting what well researched historical fiction does for history: taken a beautiful painting from a museum and brought it to life. She has given it a story that makes the reader wonder if this could be true, and if not, what can be seen in the picture that would tell the story of this girl-the one with the pearl earring.
Griet is just 16 years old when she is sent by her family to clean the studio of the famous painter, Johannes Vermeer. Since her father was blinded in an explosion in a tile factory, Griet must support her family by living and toiling as a maid in the Vermeer's rich home. Resented by Vermeer's wife, only Griet can enter his studio to clean, for she can do it with an artist's eye, replacing each item with the precision with which they were originally placed for a painting. She sees her hands age years from the hours of soaking, scrubbing and ironing for a family who does not appreciate her perfectionism. Her pleasure comes when she labors secretly for her master, mixing pigments in his workroom, now her bedroom.
Strong undercurrents of sexual attraction and restraint are the force de vivre in this creation: she is always waiting for him and he caring so much for her. He is bound by marriage and morals of the time, but he is also bound forever to the girl in the painting, the one with the pearl earring- the way the light plays with her eyes, her just slightly parted lips, and a wisp of hair.
Rating: 
Summary: mixed.
Review: Tracy Chevalier writes books that are easy to read. This one moves a little slower than the Angels book; both took some time to get going. The momentum can be rough, and her writing does not have any striking originality. but she did pick a good subject for sure. She has a knack for recreating periods (or what we think is a recreation of a period), so for one's interest in history, these books are good. There's also a feminist slant which is of interest. She does tend to stack her story with unpleasant characters. It's not brilliant writing for sure, but she gets an A for concept.
Rating:
Summary: Girl With History to Teach
Review: Middle and High School History and Art teachers looking for a great read-aloud need look no further. GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING has appeal. Although we cannot time travel, reading a book like this makes it possible to both travel back in time and be entertained. You learn about the most intimate details of 17th century life; the place of women in society, the struggle of the lower classes, tile-making and art of the century, Vermeer's art in particular, the creation of paints and color mixing, courting, prominence of religion, painters and patrons, and sexual awakenings. Even everyday washing and ironing was made interesting by Tracy Chevalier's artistic writing.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: Just finished "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and I loved it. I could barely put the book down. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the book being it is a fictional account of a real painting and a real artist, but Tracy Chevalier did a wonderful job with the story.
Rating:
Summary: Over-rated
Review: The book has a simple structure and there is nothing new or exciting in the story. This is the kind of book you should read on a plane ride but don't expect anything deep, meaningful or original.
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