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Loading... Pike med perleøredobb (original 1999; edition 2003)by Tracy Chevalier, Ragnhild Eikli (Overs.)
Work InformationGirl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (1999)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I had a copy of this on my TBR pile, so I am happy to be able to cross this one off of this list, and to put the book in one of our nearby little free libraries, for someone else to read. Probably everyone else here has read this one? Historical fiction about a young woman working as a maid for Vermeer. I was really enjoying the book at first, for the depiction of life in the Netherlands in 1664. In the end, I felt there was a lot of housecleaning and laundry, and not enough plot. So, 3 1/2 stars. ( ) Thoroughly enjoyable. I won't go so far as to say it's a new Wuthering Heights or anything, but it was only on later reflection did I feel like there was a missed opportunity for this book to become a classic. The maid was fittingly painted in brilliant color, Vermeer (but only his shadow) in bold dark relief, but the other characters were maybe a little flat. I couldn't help but be disappointed in Maria Thins who seemed to lose depth by the end. And what a steamy, creative, and unnecessary sex scene! While I definitely enjoyed the book and thought that the premise was terrific, I found that Griet's prudishness - which really only served to lengthen a book which could have been quite shorter - got on my nerves. All other facets, however, were lovely: the description of Vermeer's works, his work method, the comings and goings of the household including jealousies and intrigues, Griet's family and its troubles - all were interesting, fluid, and sounded true to the times. It's a beautiful testimony to the world-known painting and a well-imagined tale rooted in art history.
For a while it seems that it will be... an artist romance. Tracy Chevalier steers her novel deliberately close and tacks abruptly away. The book she has written, despite a lush note or two and occasional incident overload, is something far different and better... [Instead, it is] a brainy novel whose passion is ideas. Chevalier's exploration into the soul of this complex but nave young woman is moving, and her depiction of 17th-century Delft is marvelously evocative. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inHas the adaptationHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Historical Fiction.
HTML: 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. .No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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