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A review by vermidian
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
3.0
This book was a great historical fiction read in the sense that it's very informative of the time it's presenting. Is it entirely historically accurate? Not a chance. The whole premise of the book is fictionalized as a "what if" of the times as little is known about the actual subject of the painting. However, for a young adult reader, much can be gleaned from the life of a maid in Delft during this time period. For instance, I had no idea that men in the Netherlands during this time period would wear a special hat to show that their wife had given birth or throw fancy parties at the occasion of a birth to which everyone in the neighborhood was invited.
However, the story itself didn't much satisfy. Much like the women of the time period, things were chosen for them regularly. The end of the book is the character making a final decision for herself, which is thrust upon her due to the course of the actions in this book - most of which are out of her control. Griet, the main character who is fifteen or sixteen at the start of the book, has an unhealthy relationship with Vermeer, who is very definitely much older than she is when her crush begins. Not only is he in power over her well being, he deliberately does things that jeopardize not only her well being but the well being of her parents, who depend on her income, and those feelings never sour. The characters are also fairly one note. If a character is behaving a particular way at the start of the book toward Griet, they are still behaving much the same way to her at the end of the book. And few of the character relationships, from marriages to family relations to friends, are particularly healthy.
Ultimately, I didn't enjoy it that much but it was fairly easy to read. The writing flows decently well and it didn't ever bog me down with any one topic for too long. I found, however, that this is not a book I likely will ever want to reread.
However, the story itself didn't much satisfy. Much like the women of the time period, things were chosen for them regularly. The end of the book is the character making a final decision for herself, which is thrust upon her due to the course of the actions in this book - most of which are out of her control. Griet, the main character who is fifteen or sixteen at the start of the book, has an unhealthy relationship with Vermeer, who is very definitely much older than she is when her crush begins. Not only is he in power over her well being, he deliberately does things that jeopardize not only her well being but the well being of her parents, who depend on her income, and those feelings never sour. The characters are also fairly one note. If a character is behaving a particular way at the start of the book toward Griet, they are still behaving much the same way to her at the end of the book. And few of the character relationships, from marriages to family relations to friends, are particularly healthy.
Ultimately, I didn't enjoy it that much but it was fairly easy to read. The writing flows decently well and it didn't ever bog me down with any one topic for too long. I found, however, that this is not a book I likely will ever want to reread.