Girl with a Pearl Earring: A Novel

by Tracy Chevalier

Book Overview

The New York Times bestselling novel by the author of A Single Thread and At the Edge of the OrchardTranslated into thirty-nine languages and made into an Oscar-nominated film, starring Scarlett... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452282152
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.7" x 0.6" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Awesome book

I love this book so much and its easy to read!

A beauty

This book caught me by surprise, I honestly don’t remember what made me order this but I’m so glad I did. Such an easy read, the characters felt so real to me. I was sucked into the story.

The story paints a picture

Pun intended. This story painted a picture for me of the town of Delft, Griet and her family, her work and her life working for the Vermeer family. I found it to be an immersive tale that kept me turning pages. Highly recommend.

Great backstory to one of my favorite paintings

Enjoyed the authors story telling and giving the girl in the painting a life we never knew. Paired with accurate dates, names and places, this book really teleported me to the 1660's. Loved it.

Immoral

This books has a severe lack of morals that I wish I had known better before reading it. About a maid and master who are in love, though they never act on it they remain in love always (even after both are married). Along with several inappropriate and descriptive scenes I skipped. Just through the book away knowing I could not keep it on my shelf and want my kids to read it ever.

Incredible!

Fantastic read. Don't plan on putting this book down once you pick it up!

Gripping and Poignant

This on-the-edge, "almost a love story", is exquisite to me. The intensity of Griet's feelings, despite her apparent calm, is apparent on every page and vividly brought to life for the reader. Just like the painting itself which, so still and calm on the surface, speaks volumes through the ardent eyes and questioning mouth of the "girl with the pearl earring," Griet's inner life is revealed to us through the magic of Chevalier's words. That Chevalier could spin such a gripping tale from a single painting is a testimony to the inherent power of art. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words--in this case, many thousands! Sarah Bruce Kelly Author of THE RED PRIEST'S ANNINA

beautiful book

Don't plan on accomplishing much for a few days, as your nose will be in this book right up to the end. Gorgeous writing, sweeping word pictures that transport you, and poignant characters that will draw you into their lives. Tremendous book!

A Romantic's Delight

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is an amazing book that brings the story behind the Vermeer painting to life. This book brings you back to the1660's Delft into to the life of Griet, a 16 year old, protestant, Dutch girl. While reading this book you feel Griet's excitement, fear, and love. Girl with a Pearl Earring is exciting and romantic. Young Griet is forced to work as a maid in a place very strange to her to help support her family. She is sent to work for Johannes Vermeer, a famous painter, on his large estate filled with his 5 unruly children, cruel jealous wife, Catharine, and strict pampered mother, Maria Thins. Griet immediately has her hands full with all the house hold chores when she catches the eye of her master, Vermeer. In order to keep her job, Griet must keep her priorities straight and mind focused. Griet must keep here place in this strange place where she is not accepted and can get in trouble anywhere she turns. Girl with a Pearl Earring is a book that you will pick up and never want to put down. It's an easy read full of love and adventure. For any readers out there that eat up any character romance they can find, this is a book for you. Readers that can also grow attached to any characters will feel the pain and emotions of this book. I really love this book and as a young romantic, this book really kept me reading. When I reached the end of the book I was entirely disappointed only because it ended. I applaud Tracy Chevalier for presenting this wonderful, touching book that brings all the characters to life. Romantics of all ages will really find this book irresistible and enjoyable.

A Cinderella Story about Life in an Artist's Home

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!

Exquisite writing and a compelling story

This is a gem of a novel, and 17th century Delft comes alive in the deceptively simple but beautiful prose. Unlike many other historical novels, Chevalier's characters are not merely 20th century people wearing period clothing-- they are 17th-century people with 17th century values and world-views.I was cheering for Griet, an intelligent and lively misfit in the restricted world of a maid-of-all-work, as she discovers that she has an artist's eye and that there's a world out there more interesting and more rewarding than what's in store for her. But this novel has very bittersweet ending, and I did not have as much respect for Griet by the end of the book as I did in the beginning. Life is full of compromises, and Griet's compromises end up hobbling her, I think.Anyhow, the book is exquisitely written and the characters stay with you after the last page is turned. I'm glad I read it, and if you like quality historical fiction, you'll enjoy it, too.