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A review by xeyra1
Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
4.0
I was very curious about this author after having her books recommended by another BCer because I'd enjoyed other authors like Tracy Chevalier. Vreeland surely knows how to write and give a poetic and deeply descriptive vein to her writing, but this novel ended up not being quite what I expected.
It was original and different from others of this genre because it didn't explore a painting's conception throughout the whole novel (like in Chevalier's works) but instead explored its travels through its various owners. In effect, it's a collection of short stories that go back in time, which connection lies in the painting itself. Although it was a refreshing change, it also suffered from some of the failings of some short stories, like an inability to really and deeply flesh out characters. In fact, the characters in this book are secondary to the painting itself -- they sometimes seem to appear as background. I enjoyed the novel, but since I usually like to read a book for its characters, there was something lacking in this novel, at least for me.
One thing that annoyed me was that, although the painting, Girl in Hyacinth Blue, was thouroughly described throughout the book (as mentioned before, the painting itself is the main character in this novel), we never see it. The cover of the book does not despict the painting mentioned. There's a girl with a hyacinth blue skirt looking (and covering from view) at what's supposedly the painting in question. I would have really liked to have seen the painting of the girl sewing at the window, which is described often in the book, but you don't even get to see that in the cover... only in your imagination, I guess.
It was original and different from others of this genre because it didn't explore a painting's conception throughout the whole novel (like in Chevalier's works) but instead explored its travels through its various owners. In effect, it's a collection of short stories that go back in time, which connection lies in the painting itself. Although it was a refreshing change, it also suffered from some of the failings of some short stories, like an inability to really and deeply flesh out characters. In fact, the characters in this book are secondary to the painting itself -- they sometimes seem to appear as background. I enjoyed the novel, but since I usually like to read a book for its characters, there was something lacking in this novel, at least for me.
One thing that annoyed me was that, although the painting, Girl in Hyacinth Blue, was thouroughly described throughout the book (as mentioned before, the painting itself is the main character in this novel), we never see it. The cover of the book does not despict the painting mentioned. There's a girl with a hyacinth blue skirt looking (and covering from view) at what's supposedly the painting in question. I would have really liked to have seen the painting of the girl sewing at the window, which is described often in the book, but you don't even get to see that in the cover... only in your imagination, I guess.