Desearía haber escrito yo este libro. Gracias a mi profesora de HdA de segundo de bachillerato por hacerme adorar su asignatura y haberme recomendado este libro. No conocía a la autora, pero adoré la historia y me vi la película poco después. No sabía que los libros se podían vivir a través de todos los sentidos, dejando de lado la obviedad del sentido de la vista, hasta que leí esta joya.

Lo que más he disfrutado de esta novela es que da un sentido a la mirada de la joven que aparece en el cuadro. Me gusta que la autora utilice la ambigüedad de la obra para crear toda la historia, y para darle un sentido. Gracias a esta historia y TSHOEH empecé a adorar la ficción histórica; la novela gana muchísimo gracias a lo bien informada que la autora está acerca de la pintura de aquel tiempo, de cómo se construyen las escenas, se crean las pinturas, el uso de la cámara oscura, etc. Me quedo con esas pinceladas y con una historia que es entretenida y fácil de leer.

Griet es una joven discreta, observadora, inteligente y fuerte. Sabe cuándo es el mejor momento para el silencio, la verdad o un cumplido oportuno y no se deja mangonear ni engañar. Sin embargo, sentía a través de las páginas que había tensión entre ellos dos. Reconozco que me hubiera gustado otro final distinto (aunque lloré con el del libro), pero la sociedad de entonces no era justa. También eran de religiones diferentes, por lo que era prácticamente imposible.

Siempre me he sentido muy curiosa sobre este cuadro y la novela me abrió la mente a miles de posibles historias detrás de este cuadro.

La lectura es muy amena y sencilla. No tiene términos muy complejos de pintura. El retrato de la ciudad es claro, sin caer en demasiadas descripciones.

Λατρεύω αυτό τον πίνακα οπότε όταν έμαθα πως υπάρχει βιβλίο εμπνευσμένο από αυτόν έπρεπε να το διαβάσω! Τελικά μου άρεσε αρκετά αλλά όχι όσο ήλπιζα! Ίσως να είχα πολύ υψηλές προσδοκίες!

An evocative look at life in Delft, Holland in the 1600’s. A quietly gripping tale of what might have been.
The story is a fictionalised account of the circumstances surrounding the painting of Vermeer’s masterpiece ‘Girl with a pearl earring’.
Griet, the central character, is a strong, honourable, modest and likeable character and the events that overtake her, because of the sensibilities of the age, are tense and exciting. The writing is smooth, exact and fluent.
I would often flick to the cover to look at the painting, adding extra life to this great novel.

Εντάξει, πείτε ότι θέλετε αλλά εγώ δεν είμαι φαν της ζωγραφικής- ούτε που ήξερα ότι υπάρχει ζωγράφος με το όνομα Vermeer. Και ούτ�� που διάβασα το οπισθόφυλλο πολύ προσεχτικά, μπήκα στο βιβλιοπωλείο, βρήκα φτηνό βιβλίο, διάβασα τις πρώτες σειρές του οπισθόφυλλου και το πήρα. Και στην πορεία ανακάλυψα ότι αυτός ο ζωγράφος πράγματι υπήρξε!!! Οπότε από ένα σημείο και μετά διάβαζα βλέποντας ταυτόχρονα τα έργα που περιγράφονταν στο ίντερνετ και πραγματικά το χάρηκα. Και μπράβο στη συγγραφέα που κατάφερε να δέσει με όμορφο τρόπο αληθινά γεγονότα και να τα κάνει μια τόσο όμορφη ιστορία.
Εκτός από τα έργα του ζωγράφου που περιγράφει, μου άρεσε η περιγραφή του τρόπου ζωής των υπηρετριών του 17ου αιώνα, σπάνια συναντώ βιβλία που περιγράφουν τη ζωή εκείνης της εποχής.
Είναι καλογραμμένο το βιβλίο και διαβάζεται εύκολα.

I've been hearing good things about this book for years. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, everyone I know?? I found the prose artificially concise (as if she had purposely limited her vocabulary by a factor of ten, or as if the narrator was Dutch but just learning English), the characters completely flat and unbelievable, and the rise in drama both ill-explained and uninteresting. I did not like or feel compassionate toward a single character, I didn't feel any catharsis about ANYTHING, and I understood nary a motivation. Chevalier set up the Vermeer household as a jealous, gossipy, backstabbing mess, yes -- but she shouldn't have expected that to explain why the main character felt she'd "be ruined" if the lady of the house found out that she was excelling at her job. And also, good god, please don't over-explain every single metaphor, image, and implication. "The butcher said one thing, but I think he may have been implying another -- something I was meant to catch onto. I just wonder what it could be! Oh, perhaps..." just doesn't sit so well with me. I understand what the butcher said. If the narrator is as unflinchingly, humorlessly intelligent and perceptive as she is made out to be, she understands too. This is literature-lite. I kept turning the pages, and I did enjoy the time spent on my butt, eating cookie dough, with the book in my lap -- but the awkward prose never let me engage with the story enough to stop criticizing it.

I didn't expect this book to be so easy to read, I thought it would be heavier and more descriptive.

Reading this book was like reading the diary of Griet. A sixteen year old girl writing about her life as a maid. She went about doing her daily chores and taking care of the children. Things started to pick up when she assisted Vermeer. The relationship between Griet and Vermeer was vague as he was such a mysterious man.

3.5 stars. Sad to say, I wasn't impressed. It was just alright for me, the characters weren't developed well and the plot wasn't captivating enough. The book was inspired by the famous painting but I wasn't inspired by the book.

I avoided this book because I had seen most of the movie and heard it was a good adaptation but then I discovered another Chevalier book and decided to backtrack... I'm glad I did.

What a wonderful book-- captures the essence of a young girl's first infatuation and the disappointment of reality. It also captured the time period artfully-- and I loved the character of Griet and how she grew in the short time the book covered.

I was slightly disappointed in the ending-- I think it would have been more powerful to leave the reader with the choice of which path Griet's life would take her.

Another plus-- this was a quick read, despite the languid descriptions, it was only a few hundred pages-- perfect for turning off the TV early!

(Reviewed 2/24/09)

Vermeer's famous painting, The Girl with a Pearl Earring, allows Tracy Chevalier to imagine a special relationship between the painter and Griet, a young and pretty servant committed to the family's service. Unfortunately, proximity could make one think that the young servant served as a model for the painter of the painting, arousing Vermeer's wife's jealousy and causing a scandal in the Delft of the 17th century.
Well, it captured the painter's universe and the Dutch society of his time; I agree with this story despite everything. The one who nicknamed the "Sphinx of Delft," as his biography long remained obscure, and who painted only thirty-four pictures, some of which have become among the most famous in the history of painting, deserved better than this romance. However, Griet is not Tess d'Urberville, and Tracy Chevalier is not Thomas Hardy.

Excellent work of imagination; evocative and pictorial.

Girl With a Pearl Earring tells a short story using a lot of words. Even though the novel spans more than a decade, not too much of note happens besides Vermeer's painting. The book is more like an historical account of an ordinary life with occasional excitement sprinkled in.
I got a little bored at times. I thought Tracy Chevalier spent too much time describing commonplace objects and scenes (washing clothes, dusting, shopping) and not enough time giving insight on Griet's character and the household drama. However I was never so bored that I considered DNFing this book. The plot was always moving forward, even if it was subtle.

I adored the author's prose. She liked comparing intangible concepts to tangible objects. For example:

n  "I could hear rich carpets in their voices, books and pearls and fur."n

Those similes and metaphors were very well done.

Tracy Chevalier did a wonderful job of centering the story around Vermeer by only ever referring to him with pronouns. Griet would think of Vermeer solely as "he" (or very rarely "my master", but never his name) and it gave the impression that Vermeer was the only man in the world to Griet.

n  "I did not mind the cold so much when he was there. When he stood close to me I could feel the warmth of his body."n

The author never outright stated Griet's feelings for Vermeer in the book, but made them clear through occasional hints:

n  "I did not like to think of him that way, with his wife and children. I preferred to think of him alone in his studio. Or not alone, but only with me."n

There were many aspects of Girl With a Pearl Earring that the reader had to infer from hints. It wasn't an easy read but still a very good one.

Dar vienas sodrus, išraiškingas saldainis šio žanro asorti dėžutėje. Ir vėl labai gražus tikro istorijos herojaus pasiskolinimas romanui. Žinoma, nebūktit naivūs arba pikti ir neįsivaizduokit, kad skaitot Johannes Vermeerio biografiją. Kaip kad „Mažėje“ buvo pasiskolinta Madame Tussaud, taip ir čia - tapytojas greičiau tapo romano atspirtimi, nuo kurios vėliau nusipynė pasakojimas, nei kad buvo atpasakota jo gyvenimo istorija, padabinta beletristika.
Tai iškart ir sufleruoju - jei mėgavotės Mažės istorija, tai patiks ir ši. Na arba - atvirkščiai.

Man „Mergina su perlo auskaru“ apskritai pasirodė toks puikus miksas tarp lengvai skaitomo, kabinančio romano ir subtilaus, liūdnoko pasakojimo: ryškus savo nuotaikomis, sodrus savo vaizdiniais, įsimintinas įvairiais charakteriais, tačiau ne perdėm melancholiškas, lėtas ar meniškas - jog reiklautų atidumo ir susikaupimo. Ir tikrai - čia jokios saldybės ar naivumo, tačiau ir aukštomis materijomis nebandoma maivytis; na man atrodo - romanas turi viską, kad atitiktų savo žanro reikalavimus ir nevirstų tik vidutinišku skaitalėliu.

Kodėl tada ne šedevras, kodėl tada 4* iš 5? Na nes istorinių romanų kartelę stipriai į aukštumas man iškėlusi Kristina Sabaliauskaitė. Nes turėjo aiškų moralą ir pastatė į akistatą su to laikmečio realybe, tačiau nepalietė taip, kad įgeltų asmeniškai. Nes, matyt, pritrūko kažkokios tai razinos.
Bet be kita ko - vertas dėmesio kūrinys.

I enjoyed this book. The story is subtle making it the perfect example that less is more in a story.

Some of my thoughts as I read:
1. The society of the time classified everyone as a "have" or a "have not". For a girl who was in between it was a matter of time before she was forced to one side or the other. She never fit in either world.
2. Clearly this girl had a raw, undeveloped talent for art. Had she lived in a different century would she have been the artist instead of the muse? Her role was so defined she didn't even question the possibility herself.
3. The fictional Vermeer was a coward. I hope the real one was not.
4. I didn't blame the wife. Would you? She had eleven children and a husband who cruelly excluded her from his art.
5. Be careful of the passion you feel for a painter with OCD tendencies when you're eighteen--it never lasts.
6. She should have kept the earrings and worn them with pride.
7. The painting is captivating.
8. I would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for the groping.