Girl with a Pearl Earring: A Novel

I read "Girl With a Pearl Earring" because I was so enthralled by the 2003 film adaptation directed by Peter Webber from a script by Olivia Hetreed. When I saw the movie I was impressed by its visual elements but now that I have real Tracy Chevalier's novel I am really impressed by Hetreed's screenplay. Usually when I am inspired to read a novel after I see a film it is to get more of the story, thinking that less than half of what is in the book has made it to the screen. That is most decidedly not the case with "Girl With a Pearl Earring." Johannes Vermeer's 1665 oil on canvas painting, which hangs in The Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis in The Hague, is considered one of his masterworks. It is a portrait of a young girl, wearing a turban and a pearl earring, looking over her shoulder, her lips parted slightly, set against a black background. But if you are familiar with Vermeer's body of work, most of which represented the corner of his studio in which he worked, then clearly "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is an atypical work. This painting has raised a series of questions ever since it was rediscovered in 1882: Was the pearl real? What is she wearing a turban? Was the painting intended to be a portrait? Nothing is known about whom Vermeer used as his model, so the biggest question of all is Who was the girl in the painting? Chevalier answers all of these questions, and more, by creating a young girl named Griet. After her father, a tile maker, is blinded in a kiln accident Griet is sent to work cleaning in the house of Vermeer in the Dutch city of Delft. She is Protestant and the Vermeers are Catholic, which adds another element of strangeness to the young girl when she moves into the house. Vermeer's wife, Catharina, is about to deliver another baby, and Griet is to help with the household work. But she is also given the job of cleaning the master's studio, where she faces the daunting task of cleaning the objects on display without moving them from their position. Griet is a smart girl, which for some may well be the Achilles heel in the conceit spun by Chevalier since they may well conclude that neither Greit's education nor her experiences would allow her to come up with the deep thoughts she has at critical points in the narrative. But that intelligence is necessary to the story Chevalier wants to tell and the foundation for everything that follows is Griet's common sense conclusion that cleaning the widow's in Vermeer's studio will change the light that falls on his subjects. "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is about the art of painting and we learn, through Griet's eyes, something of Vermeer's technique, especially with his use of the camera obscura. But it is also something of a love story, in that Griet cannot help but be smitten with the man who ends up painting her portrait, even if the thought that something might actually happen between them never really enters her mind. For a time, in Chevalier's story, Griet serves as a muse of inspiration for a great painter who produced a true masterpiece. This is not a true story. Most of the characters really lived and you can travel to the Netherlands and see the actual painting, but Chevalier's answer to all of the questions swirling around Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" are only creative speculations. Yet in the final analysis Chevalier achieves the ultimate level that author's aspire to when they tell such tales in that we wish that this was indeed a true story. Chevalier makes Griet as memorable as the painting she inspires in this 2000 novel. On the back of the my copy of this novel author Deborah Moggach, author of "Tulip Fever," says that she read Chevalier's story with a book of Vermeer's paintings beside me. I read "Girl with a Pearl Earring" after not only seeing the movie but after checking out all of Vermeer's paintings online, so that when Chevalier talks about the paintings "Woman with a Pearl Necklace" and "The Concert" I was able to visualize them. I wish that reproductions of those paintings had been included in this novel as well as the cover picture of the titular artwork, the same way I wish that I could see the paintings and architecture that matter in Dan Brown's novels. Since you can easily find a couple of excellent websites with Vermeer's artwork I would strong recommend that even if you have also seen the movie, that you be able to have the same advantage as Griet and be able to study these great paintings.

Quite different from what I normally read, but I enjoyed it. The writing is very good and the story moved along at a good pace and was easy to follow. There was no building to a drama that would be solved for a happy ending. The story just told of Griet's life. Worth the time to read.

Wonderful paperback by a wonderful author

I chose the book because I am anticipating the arrival of Girl With a Pearl Earring in Atlanta, and I thought reading the book might enhance the experience of seeing the lovely painting. I was close to putting the book down by the time I was half way through it, because it was so boring. But boring was the life of a maid in those times, and so I continued reading. It is well written for Young Adult or Middle School students in the later grade levels, but not for anyone who enjoys enriched vocabulary or a plot that requires concentration.

I just loved this wonderful little piece of fiction. It took us right to mid sixteen hundred's Delft, Holland. Were the painters guild resides (St.Luke's) and other master painters of that time period resided i.e.; Johann Vermeer and Rembrandt were two and there were more all competing for money for their work from rich patrons. I love historical novels if they are done well. This writer takes you there to Delft and, tells the story of an ordinary girl,"Griet", who is sixteen years old and, has to grow-up quickly due to her fathers losing his place in a shop that paints tiles when he becomes blinded by a kiln accident at work he was also a member of the guild. Griet now has to go out an earn an income to help support the family as well as her brother. Griet has to learn a lot as she goes to a strange house. One filled with too many children to count. A wife,"Catharina", who is narcissistic and thinks her status is more than it is and, she is perpetually pregnant. The mother-in-law to Vermeer, "Maria Thins", who for the most part runs the career and finances of the home and of Johann Vermeer. The surly daughter "Cornelia" who is very mean, manipulative,and jealous concerning Griet the "new maid". Then Tanneke the well seasoned other maid who shows her the ropes and tells her the house gossip. Griet now lives in a home that follows a different religion then her own as she is Protestant and the Vermeer's are Catholic as Griet's mother tells her "to hold her ears during their Catholic prays!" What absolutely drew me to the book was the beautiful girl with a large pearl earring that seemed to glow for that time period. At that time I did not know a lot about Vermeer's work. I do now! The photo/portrait just really pulled me in! Every time I went past the book I was fascinated finally I got my wallet out. I have read this book twice. The second time after several years I got more out of it then the first time. I now look at that portrait and think of Griet the simple little 16 yr. old servant girl who couldn't read as stated by Catharina Vermeer. Griet had a bright, clever, mind. Which Johann Vermeer saw in her. Griet made out better then the Vermeer's in the long run. Although, she was sexually curious about "Master Vermeer" she ended up with someone that was not duty bound to have all those children as dictated by the dogma of an earlier Catholic church. Griet has a good husband, a couple of children and they work together in a business. I think she was duty bound to her heart and mind! There is a lot more to this book but, I don't want it to be spoiler alert. If you are a mystery person or action thriller this book is not for you. This book is a historical novel and the characters are more introspective.

The fictional story behind Vermeer's famous painting revolves around sixteen-year old Griet, who becomes a maid in the artist's home to help her struggling family. She is a quiet, intelligent girl, fully aware of her rather helpless situation: She must do the hardest work from morning til night without sympathy or kindness in the cold house. She does, however, greatly admire the elusive Vermeer, and to her shock and secret joy, he asks her one day to be his model for a painting. Since the uneducated Griet is the story's narrator, author Chevalier has written in a very simple, uncluttered style: There are virtually no compound sentences, few adjectives, and even fewer words describing emotions. This is because Griet's lot in life is to serve; it makes no difference how she feels about people, events, or tasks, so she doesn't dwell on them. Griet never refers to Vermeer by name; he is always "The Master," or simply "Him." While a bit of an affectation on the part of the author, it reflects Griet's view of him as bigger than life; godlike. She never puts into words her feelings for him and we learn little about Vermeer, except that he took scant notice of his homelife, which was rife with domestic conflict. The book is a leisurely-paced picture of life in 17th century Delft. The last chapter was the most intense and was a satisfying end to Griet's quiet story.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier Inspired by a painting by Dutch artist Vermeer, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING is a fictional account of how this famous painting came to be. Just as Johannes Vermeer painted this anonymous girl back in the 1660's, author Tracy Chevalier painted a beautiful picture of the world of 17th century Holland and the world of this young girl who eventually becomes the subject of one of his paintings. Ms Chevalier's story starts with the introduction of Griet, a young teenage girl who lives with her parents and younger sister in a very humble home in the town of Delft. She is helping chop vegetables in their kitchen when her parents receive a visit from two stately looking guests. Griet finds out soon enough that this couple is Johannes Vermeer the painter, and his lovely wife Catharina. Johannes notices how Griet is separating the vegetables by color and his observation does not go unnoticed by Griet. This first brief encounter between them is the spark that starts their new "relationship". Griet learns then that she is expected in a few days to start working for the Vermeers as their maid. Griet's father is no longer able to work due to an accident he had on the job, and now it is up to Griet to help the family out. Her older brother has already left home, and is learning to make a living at what their father used to do: Make tiles. A few days later, Griet is living with the Vermeer's and their children and servants. They live lavishly for these times, and Griet soon becomes accustomed to her new life. She returns on weekends to visit her family, but she has to stay with the Vermeers during the workweek. Griet has many duties as a maid, including doing the laundry and helping out with the children. She slowly bonds with the children, all except Cornelia, who seems to be a trouble maker and tries her best to get Griet into trouble with her parents. This becomes especially evident when, for some reason, Johannes decides to make Griet his assistant, on top of all the duties Griet has to perform as their maid. Because of Catharina's jealousies, his wife is not to know about this special role that Griet was about to play in the house. With the help of Catharina's mother, Griet finds ways to secretly help Johannes "grind" his colors and do other necessary things to help him prepare for painting, in the hopes that Catharina doesn't find out. Griet falls in love with his paintings, and with him. And soon, all she can think about is him. Since she is now his special assistant, she is privy to his private world of painting, a world that even Catharina is not allowed to trespass. Through the eyes of Griet the reader sees how Vermeer created his beautiful works of art, using a creation that was the forerunner of today's camera. A new world opens up for Griet. Because of this, Griet also knows that she is headed towards danger of losing her job. GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING in my opinion was a literary work of art. Maybe I was heavily influenced by the cover, which depicts the actual painting of this girl that Vermeer made famous back in the 17th century. Regardless of the reason, I personally enjoyed this fictional tale of the creation of one of Holland's most famous paintings of the renaissance era.

Beautiful, complex story and so well-written. The characters are well-drawn, and the dynamic between Vermeer and Griet is fascinating. Really enjoyed this book.

Pedido veio em duplicidade e COBRANÇA também

La historia es muy bonita. El libro es fácil de leer y luego existe la película de esta historia. Como siempre el libro es mejor que la película.

A very good read. The plot and the characters were interesting. I highly recommend it. I'm not an English native speaker but this historical novel can be read by B2-C1 foreign learners.

Había visto la película pero siempre me queda con la duda del final, con el libro me aclaran todo, la novela es entretenida y sirve para practicar el inglés.

A good read