La joven de la perla

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Summary: A Cinderella Story about Life in an Artist's Home
Review:
Vermeer's famous portrait of a girl with a pearl earring and her hair covered completely in fabric has always beguiled me. The style of the painting, the expression, the clothes, the earring, the direct stare and longing in the mouth and eyes have always made me want to know more about the model.

Ms. Chevalier's book dealt with those questions quite well, and took my understanding of the subject to new depths that I had not considered before. If I had only gained that increased understanding of the painting, I would have found this to be a worthy book.

The story is also filled with interesting details about the artistic methods of the time and preparation of materials. That information was an unexpected bonus.

Vermeer is known for having produced few works. Ms. Chevalier has provided many intriguing ideas about why that might have been the case.

On top of these artistic questions, Ms. Chevalier has written a lively story of a young woman whose family falls on hard times so that she has to take up work as a maid in Vermeer's household. She finds herself at the bottom of the pecking order and is often treated unfairly. Like Cinderella, her true qualities are eventually appreciated and she finds her Prince Charming. The story also provides many helpful details about town life in Delft during the 1700s.

The Cinderella story was a bit overdeveloped compared to the artistic aspects of the story. Had the two aspects been in better balance I would have found this to be a five star book.

If you normally enjoy historical romances, you will probably like this book better than I did.

Keep smiling!

Rating:
Summary: A SPELLBINDING WORK OF HISTORICAL FICTION...
Review: In this Spanish text edition, this gifted author weaves a mesmerizing tale around Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's most famous painting, creating an incandescent and luminous work of her own. His painting is a simple, though enigmatic, portrait of a girl with a pearl earring, about which little is known. The author, however, a born storyteller, creates a living, breathing story around it, using a singular, first person narrative. Told in spare, elegant prose, the author leaps into literary renown with this book.

The events in the book are viewed through the eyes of Griet, a sixteen year old Dutch girl, whose changed family circumstances force her into taking a position as a maid in the home of a renowned painter, the taciturn Johannes Vermeer. There, the painter resides with his tempestuous wife, Catharina, their brood of unruly children, his commanding and shrewd mother-in-law, Maria Thins, and their loyal housekeeper and cook, Tanneke. The author lovingly details seventeenth century life in the Dutch city of Delft. It is here that Griet's story unfolds.

Sensitive and perceptive, Griet is attuned to the under currents in the Vermeer household and, at first, takes care not to draw attention to herself. Still, she, the daughter of a tile painter, is curious about Vermeer's artistry and is drawn to his work and his methods. Vermeer, sensing a kindred artistic spirit in Griet, draws her into his world of paint, color, light, and beauty, creating an intimacy of the spirit between the two.

Still, Griet, a girl on the brink of becoming a woman, finds herself confused and breathlessly desiring more than she may have. Her longing for more than a communion of the spirit with Vermeer is palpable. It is, therefore, not surprising that the undercurrents in the Vermeer household should come bubbling to the surface and engulf Griet, much to her consternation.

This is a stunning literary work that fully realizes the promise that the author showed in her debut novel, "The Virgin Blue". She is an author that understands the less is often more, and she makes every word count. Deliberate and spare, her prose is lyrical in its simplicity, weaving a tale that will keep the reader spellbound. This is historical fiction at its finest. Bravo!