Rating: 
Summary: More Than Brush Strokes
Review: Tracy Chevalier has come up with a very creative and ingenious plot and a very readable novel. It is easy to understand how she may have been inspired by this particular Vermeer painting and its subject, to tell her story, promise of which was captured for eternity by the most famous of the Dutch Masters.The delivery is less brilliant, and dialogues seem less than authentic at times. Sure, there are glimpses of the 17th century Dutch daily life, business of art of painting, grind of keeping a medieval house functioning and the fragility of human life, but one does not exactly get transported to the time and place while reading this novel. Still, it was a pleasant book, worth the read
Rating: 
Summary: Quick, poignant read
Review: I finished this book in one day. It was easy to read and also easy to get lost in the lives of it's characters. After I read it, I thought about it enough to go look at a book of Vermeer's work. I strongly suggest that anyone reading this have a collection of his work handy because of the references to specific works throughout the book. That Vermeer's paintings serve as another dimension to the work make it all the more pleasing.
Rating: 
Summary: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Review: A friend recommended to me that I read Girl in Hyacinth Blue, another book about a Vermeer painting. I was very disappointed. Unlike the latter, Girl with a Pearl Earring is a treasure. I was captivated by the characters in the novel, and could actually visualize the paintings as Griet, ( the main character) was describing. For anyone that has read this book, and loved it as much as I did, or are interested in reading it, I have a suggestion: GO TO CHEVALIER'S WEBSITE!!! All the Vermeer paintings mentioned in the novel are shown. It was so amazing to see the paintings that were described so brilliantly in the novel. Chevalier's novel has not only made me a fan of her writing, but also Vermeer's paintings. Please read this, your won't regret it. Oh... and try and read it before mid November, because then you will be able to see it on the big screen!!!
Rating:
Summary: What's with the Pearls?
Review: The Girl with a Pearl Earring is an intriguing novel, taking place in the seventeenth century. All around, it was a good book that held my interest.
This book is about a teenage girl named Griet, whose father is blinded in a bad accident. Conflict arises when Griet goes out to make a living for her family. There are so many dilemmas; among them the fact that she can only see her family once a week.
My favorite quote in this novel can be found in two or three parts. Whenever Griet runs, she thinks to herself, "Only thieves and children run." It is as if she is relating herself to either a child or a thief, though she does not say which.
My favorite character is Margaret, because she is a hard worker, and is willing to learn. She is one of the only people that call Griet by her name.
I also like it when the situation of the pearl earring arises. It is one of the main dilemmas that lead to the breathtaking climax. I am not going to reveal one of the most interesting parts of the book!
As much as I enjoyed this book, there are a few inappropriate sexual scenes. They should have been excluded from the story. If a person skips over these parts, he really wouldn't miss anything.
However, I would recommend this book to read because it is very interesting; the rising action is filled with many conflicts. After you are filled with suspense, you get to experience both the exciting climax, and the relieving resolution of The Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Rating: 
Summary: Thin plot...poor charactors....weak voiced writer
Review: The somber reality of 17th century poverty is realized, almost like Dickens, but the protagonist and even her family is too sketchily drawn. Like the hands of impressionists, instead of a master who used camera obscura to truly "see" his subject.
An aficionado of Vermeer will recoil at this book. The immature voice of the writer renders this portrayal of him, as in the horrible realm or romance novel lotharios, auster, emotionally blocked until they meet "the one" of their true desires, and overemotional (his temper is quite apparent to her, rather than intelligence).
Fact of the matter: Vermeer didn't have a brood of children because he didn't want to bed his wife. The romance angle overshadowed what could have been an excellent challenge, since it is a novel, to engage in a pupil-teacher exchange between them, albeit subverted from view by it's "taboo" of the age (perhaps, but although it is touched on, it is the only portion of the story that excites the mind!). Well, this poorly drawn Griet, who simply does not bare close scrutiny, turns this book into a teenage coming of age piece. Much is lost in this proposition of Vermeer's life.
The wife, the daughters placards for any real work on the authors part. Shame! Two people stand out Maria Thins and her servant.
Perhaps we can beg Ms Brookner to render the inner lives of lost historical figures. She, indeed, could do them justice, and with such subtle flavoring in her prose, it is rereadable, where this book by Ms Chevalier, is not.
Once done, you push it's sorry image out of your head, and know that it is a failed attempt.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to Put Down
Review: I read this book in one afternoon and was completely engrossed with it. The story at first appears to be a simple one of a maid coming to live with the household of Johannes Vermeer, but it reveals itself to be full of twists of emotion and complex human relationships. The author did a great job of blending fact and fiction and making it into a fascinating story.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book
Review: GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING is a quick and relatively simple read. Although there are some sleazy sexual come-ons by the rich patron and other scenes, the sexual content is fairly mild and it would be appropriate for a teenager, certainly one Griet's age. I think fans of historical fiction would enjoy it too, if for no other reason than Chevalier's concept of the story behind the painting certainly seems probable. It's a wonderful book I know I'll read, again. Buy it! Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: Brings to life for us a painter's subject
Review: This was such a good story. Chevalier is an intelligent writer, definitely brought to life the painter and the supposed girl in the painting. I won't go on and on about it, I just don't have words to describe how much I love her books, or why. I just tell everyone they need to read this.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Enlightening novel about the 17th Century
Review: I absolutly loved this book. I feel it depicted the life of Delft and the house of the beloved painter Vermeer. I had to read this book last year in 9th grade for honors English and I just fell in love with it. The characters are very well developed and you can feel the tention between Griet and Vermeer whenever they are together. Look for the movie soon!
Rating:
Summary: Wide eyed and innocent
Review: Have you ever been in love? Ever had a silly grin on your face when no one else is laughing? Has your foot ever tapped to its own accord from simple joy? I paint this picture of myself as I sat in a train station and started this novel. I was consumed with the passion and multiple layers of the work as an artist is impassioned at the easel. Chevalier uses a palette of words like Vemeer used hues to cast images and make breath catch in awe of creativity. She is a new master of the literary brushstroke, evoking mental pictures and emotions, showing rather than telling me the story and setting. I rarely read a book more than once, but the plot and the prose are both worthy of greater inspection. You won't put this one down.
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