carlyvig 's review for:

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

3.5

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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I read this book as a teen after watching the movie and was obsessed with it. Decided to pick it up as an adult as a quick, nostalgic read. 

It was just that- not overly complicated and it didn’t require me to think too hard. 

I didn’t remember the story being as depressing as it is.

Greit feels like a young girl who has no choice in her life. Her family has fallen on hard times. She’s being basically bullied by the head maid as well as the lady of her house. She’s forced into being the subject of a painting where she is forced to be sneaky and pierce her own ear. She’s forced to be in an intimate situation with her married, mysterious ass off a boss. And then she’s basically forced into a marriage with the butcher’s son.

It wasn’t a knock-my-socks-off reading experience, but I did enjoy the nostalgia of it.