Taken one element at a time, this book has little to recommend it. The plot is very thin. The characters are for the most part either uninteresting or unpleasant. There is no action and little dialog.Yet, somehow these elements combine to make a surprisingly good -- even great -- book.Part of the credit goes to the writing and part to the innovative and imaginative concept. I can just picture the author looking at Vermeer's painting and wondering, who was she? We've all done that. Yet, Tracy Chevalier went a step further and created a possible reality that rings true while never pretending to be anything but imaginings. An incredible accomplishment. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a Vermeer painting without thinking of this book.

I am a 20 something year old man and i loved this book. The movie is great too and it is intersteing to note the differences between them. Both my parents loved this book and I think it is not only a good story but intersting to get into the mind of a famous painter.

What a great concept--taking a breathtakingly beautiful painting and giving it life! I couldn't wait to read about this lovely girl with the pearl earring. What a disappointment, what a bore!Much has been written about the author's portayal of a 17th century Dutch household. True, there's historical information that's interesting, but it was like reading non-fiction, not a novel with well-developed characters and an intriquing story. The prose was tedious, the style undistinguished.Nothing about the book really drew me in, except the cover--I found myself looking back often, gazing upon that beautiful face and wondering what really was behind the pearl earring. Maybe there's a book in it.

I was not expecting anything as I picked up this book except a good read. I went through it very quickly, and it never lost my interest. I was ready for a novel set in the 1600's with details of life, not art. I enjoyed it very much.

A quiet and stirring book. As elegantly composed as a Vermeer painting itself, Tracy Chevalier seems to draw out of the darkness only the necessary scenes and dialogue.

The reader will find themselves drawn into this finely spun story, richly lavished on pages you can't help but turn quickly.I appreciated the main character keeping her dignity, and the book not turning into another good-girl-gone-wrong story. Bravo!More!