Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier ISBN: 0-452-28215-2 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: 08 January, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.05 (640 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Disappointment...
Comment: I heard a lot about this book, and it was a bestseller, so the reading group I'm in decided to read Girl With a Pearl Earring. We were all pretty disappointed...
The young girl Grit becomes a maid in the household of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. We hear about her life and passions, and her family, but she is a very unrealistic character, and you really feel that she is being written by a much older woman.
The writer shows none of Grit's emotions, just tells you what they are, in a very unconvincing and detached way.
It seems unlikely, that a girl so young should be as confident, unimpressed by life and manipulating as Grit is! It hardly affects her leave her family, to fall in love or loose her virginity, nothing really surprises her, and she apparently can do everything better than everyone else: this uneducated young maid is even able to tell the master painter how to paint better!
Appart from a cliched fascination with her MASTER Vermeer(that seems more like a badly formulated erotic fantasy of the author's than anything realistic) Grit shows no emotion, and the plot is unbalanced and boring. You never develop any sympathy for any of the characters, and the symbolism is MUCH to heavy.
The book left me cold an bored. The only reason why it gets 2 stars, is the description and information about Vermeers paintings, which were interesting. Chevalier completely fails to make a credible portrait of a young girl (Grit is more like a 40 year old woman), and the historcal descriptions aren't very good either.
Rating: 2
Summary: Missed opportunity
Comment: Girl with a Pearl Earring is a pale rendition of the life of a simpleton maid in 17th Century Holland. It is a linear slice that offers little insight in the trials and tedium of tending to a struggling artist's household and studio.
You will not explore the rich values of class distinction, religious casts, beoming of age, respect or creative genius. While these elements are present, they are reduced to clichés and left to the reader to surmise.
Chevalier's syntax and rhythm did not lend itself to the images, fears and angst that she was ushering us through.
Chevalier is narrating from a safe and comfortable position, she never managed to transcend her main character.
I am baffled that the book enjoyed such a wide following.
Rating: 5
Summary: Wonderful Time Trip
Comment: Girl with a Pearl Earring is a beautiful tale of a long time ago. This story is realistic and heart driven. Griet, the 17 year old girl who becomes a maid to help support her family, is the focal point of the story and of a painting by her master which causes all kinds of trouble. She works in the house of a famous painter whom she is in love with. Life is not as easy as it would seem when one is a maid and in love with their master. This story is a fast read with details that create a world based in 1664. I would strongly recommend it!
 |
Title: Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland ISBN: 014029628X Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 03 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
 |
Title: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd ISBN: 0142001740 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier ISBN: 0452283205 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 24 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: The Red Tent (Bestselling Backlist) by Anita Diamant ISBN: 0312195516 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier ISBN: 0525947671 Publisher: E P Dutton Pub. Date: 29 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
