Title: Girl With The Pearl EarringAuthor: Tracy Chevalier
Publisher: Highbridge Company
Published Date: March 23, 2007
Genre: Historical Fiction, Art, Classic
Format: Audiobook
Audio Time: 4 hr 18 min
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Goodreads Summary:
Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story of Griet, a 16-year-old Dutch girl, who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Her calm and perceptive manner not only helps her in her household duties, but also attracts Vermeer's attention. He slowly draws her into the world of his paintings and ultimately has her sit for him as a model.
In this richly imagined portrait of the young woman who inspired on of Vermeer's most celebrated paintings, Tracy Chevalier transports readers to a bygone time and place. History and fiction merge seamlessly in a luminous tale of artistic vision, sensual awakening, and daily life in the Netherlands of the 17th-century.
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My Review
This was a book that I've wanted to read but was also a little scared to read as it as a classic. I am so glad I decided to get the audiobook from the library which made it a little less daunting to me.
Girl with the pearl earring follows a young girl (Griet) who becomes a maid after her family falls on hard times. Who does she end up working for? Well, of course, the painter Vermeer who mostly keeps to himself and the house is run by his mother in law ( I think) as his wife is always taking care of the kids or dealing with a new pregnancy (she's pregnant multiple times throughout the book). Griet slowly starts getting more responsibility and makes friends with some of the staff, but also ends up struggling with Vermeer's children who get slightly jealous of her at times.
Overall I did really like this book. It didn't really feel like a classic while I was listening to it. I loved learning about Vermeer and his art as I don't really know anything about art in general. Seeing everything through Griet's eyes was interesting as well as she had come from an art family already and knew how to do certain things which helped her in this house. The ending though I knew it was going to happen I wasn't excited about it. I was hoping for so much better for her as she was smart and knew a lot. I was glad that certain things didn't happen because it felt like it could go there at certain times because of creepy dudes.
If you're intimidated by this book because it's a modern classic don't be. It was really easy to read and follow along with.
“You're so calm and quiet, you never say. But there are things inside you. I see them sometimes, hiding in your eyes.”
This was a book that I've wanted to read but was also a little scared to read as it as a classic. I am so glad I decided to get the audiobook from the library which made it a little less daunting to me.
Girl with the pearl earring follows a young girl (Griet) who becomes a maid after her family falls on hard times. Who does she end up working for? Well, of course, the painter Vermeer who mostly keeps to himself and the house is run by his mother in law ( I think) as his wife is always taking care of the kids or dealing with a new pregnancy (she's pregnant multiple times throughout the book). Griet slowly starts getting more responsibility and makes friends with some of the staff, but also ends up struggling with Vermeer's children who get slightly jealous of her at times.
“It was not a house where secrets could be kept easily.”
Overall I did really like this book. It didn't really feel like a classic while I was listening to it. I loved learning about Vermeer and his art as I don't really know anything about art in general. Seeing everything through Griet's eyes was interesting as well as she had come from an art family already and knew how to do certain things which helped her in this house. The ending though I knew it was going to happen I wasn't excited about it. I was hoping for so much better for her as she was smart and knew a lot. I was glad that certain things didn't happen because it felt like it could go there at certain times because of creepy dudes.
If you're intimidated by this book because it's a modern classic don't be. It was really easy to read and follow along with.
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