It’s a good read. For other people’s lengthy reviews, check out amazon .com.
This is historical/speculative fiction. The author started with Dutch painter Vermeer’s most famous work, titled, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, and imagined an entire story behind its creation; what was the painter like, his family, and the servant girl he painted.
Before reading this novel, I may have seen The Girl with the Pearl Earring somewhere – possibly when I went to Holland as a 20-year-old who still went to museums because “that’s what you do on vacation”. If I did see it, I don’t remember it. It’s just a portrait, after all, a relic of the era before cameras.
At least, that was my attitude before this book.
Author, Tracy Chevalier did a great job. Her storytelling is concise and entertaining. The descriptions tell you just enough to visualize each scene, the dialog is loaded with tension, and a sense of impending doom mixed with sexual anticipation keeps you turning pages. You’ll feel like you’re in Delft, Holland, circa 1664, trapped in the body of a servant girl (always a fantasy of mine). No, the writing’s not funny, though Griet (the heroine) gets a bit cheeky in places. If you watch lots of daytime television, you might laugh. I didn’t. But the writing moves along so well that comedy doesn’t feel necessary. And besides, were people even funny back in olden times? They still worried about the plague and starving to death.
So it’s an entertaining read, but how about the self-improvement angle? Am I now a better person, one who’ll go to museums to see works by Vermeer, to stand meditatively, silently, with hands clasped behind his back? Maybe. The Girl with the Pearl Earring definitely shows what might have gone into paintings when painting was the cutting edge, sexy art.
“And how about the movie?” you might ask. “Why shouldn’t I just watch in two hours what took you a weekend to read? Books are just a relic of life before we had film.”
That’s true, if you’re a shallow twit. The movie is about 85% as good as the book. Scarlet Johannsen played an excellent, pouty-lipped Griet. But my guess is you won’t remember the film for long. The book, however, could stay with you for the rest of your life.