Girl with a Pearl Earring - A Book Review

When I read the author’s simple yet beautiful prose, I find myself identifying with the main character’s inner struggles of wishing for something forbidden. Of being willing to risk the displeasure of those who love me for the sake of art itself. I too experience the wonder of her first peak through the camera obscura – a mysterious device when seen through the eyes of a simple maid.

Chevalier through her extensive research of the era has does a masterful job of presenting the essence of seventeenth century Holland. She teaches us about a class structure made up of the wealthy, the artists’ guild, the working men, the servant class and how fortune or misfortune might cause one to move between the classes. She reminds us of the past dangers of plague, as well as quarantines and irrevocable loss. She brings to light the petty jealousies, manipulations, and impossible longings of all humankind. With the carefulness of her storytelling, she relates to us the balance between passion and prudence, longing and necessity, dreams and clever wisdom enticing us ever-onward to the inevitable conclusion of her tale.

Don’t miss it.

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