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Summary: A story as wonderful as the painting on the cover!
Review: WONDERFUL!!! I found myself reading this book in a day, unable to put it down! The author made this story so real, you begin to wonder if this is really how the painting came to be. I found myself flipping from the pages to the cover (the painting) and back again. LOVELY!
Jennifer
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Summary: If you like historical fiction this book is for you
Review: This book had me from the first sentence. It tells a believable story behind one of Vermeer's finest paintings.Although fiction, you begin to believe this actually happend.It is also a story about a young girl becoming a woman in the 1600's and it tells this part of her life in a tactful manner. I could not put it down and read it within a day. I would love to see more books like this in the future.
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Summary: Story as beautiful as the painting
Review: I read another book, Girl in the Hyacinth Blue, recently and enjoyed it very much. It also concerned Vermeer, but from a much different standpoint. That book was more about his painting, this book was more about the man and his time period. I really enjoyed the story of Griet, the daughter of a blind man, who must feed her family because of he father's trade accident. (The kiln exploded at his work, and blinded him leaving him without a way to support the family of 5) Griet is thrown into a maid position for a Catholic family (her family is Protestant) in the city of Delft, Holland. The household is full of children and she must serve two mistresses, but she finds herself much more intrigued and drawn to the master of the house, Johannes Vermeer. The story tells of Griet's growing up, and her feelings for her master--she evantually sits for a painting that goes down in history as his most noted painting--a girl looking over her left shoulder, wearing a pearl earring. It is a beautiful historical fiction, I could not put it down. Chevalier is a wonderful writer, and I really look forward to her other books!
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Summary: Beautiful Book
Review: The texture and the passion of this book absorbed me as only the best reads do. It was stunning.
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Summary: a fun, light read
Review: I picked up this book to read after a friend of mine raved about it. I think that because of her love for the book I went in with high expecatations. I will give it this: it was a fun read, an easy read, and a midly entertaining read. I just felt that it was a little too bland and just shy of really making an impression. If you are look for relief from heavier and more challenging read, then this book would be perfect.
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Summary: THE PAINTER VERMEER'S SECRET HELPER
Review: A talented but lazy portrait painter in 17th century Holland realizes he needs a helper but is reluctant to hire anyone, lest his secret color formulas be discovered. His ambitious mother-in-law, who lives with his ever-growing family, decides his wife could use another maid/laundress. So the painter, a local known as Vermeer, hires a young girl of 14. The daughter of a blinded unemployed tile painter, she brings a treasure trove of skills with her. Only no one may know she helps the master. The painter's struggles of getting a painting right, coupled with his daily distractions of his ever pregnant jealous wife, sneaky mother-in-law and nearly a dozen children provide the reader with a glimpse of how life was conducted in a Dutch manor house of the 1600's. Told from the maid's point of view, a young girl is sent away from her family to live her life in servitude to the painter. She proves herself in more ways than one. Love, deceit, art history and romance make this book a keeper.
I wish it was another two hundred pages!
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Summary: Amazing
Review: This is a fascinating story based on a mysterious painting. It's addictive and beautifully written. My one complaint is that the ending seemed to me like it lacked...something. It just wasn't as spectacular as one would expect from a book this great.
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Summary: Smart and Captivating
Review: I found this to be a great read, based on quite an interesting premise. From one mysterious painting is weaved this very rich account of family life in 17th century Holland. Among other things, it's an enchanting story of growth and strength of character through a brief, transitional period in the life of one young woman. I enjoyed this novel so much that, after reading it, I went on a bit of a historical-fiction kick. Downside: few other novels measured up to the enjoyment level I found in this work. If you're looking for a story to transport you to another place and time, this is one to pick up.
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Summary: I didn't want it to end!
Review: I quickly found myself absorbed into 17th century Holland. The story is about a young girl named Griet who went to work for the master artist Vermeer. We doubt that the girl was a real person, but it seems to be entirely plausible. Tracy Chevalier's writing is tangible, colorful, expressive. The explanations of how a great artist must have painted were fascinating. I was sad to finish this book. I wanted the experience to continue! This is one of the few books that I would read again.
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Summary: Wonderful read for any artist.
Review: "Girl with the Pearl Earring" is a wonderful read for any emerging or struggling artist, or even those fascinated by art history. Chevalier takes the reader into the world of competitive Dutch art, where a now famous artist whose paintings sell for very high numbers, struggled to compose and find inspiration in a world not-so-glamorous. It's inspiring to know that even great artists like Vermeer faced the same struggles that today's artists do. The details of how the pigments were created, stored, and cherished is enlighting, while the veiw of the possible 'model', Griet, brings greater depth to an already fasniating and intriguing painting. Was the girl with the pearl earring thinking of deep secrets as she sat for the artist, or simply thinking of surviving in trying Times. Definately a keeper!
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