A great book from a talented writer.

In contest to the major complaints about this book, which I have read in reviews on other sites:

1). “It’s a boring book and lacks action.” Anyone who reads a book that is, at its heart, about the artistry of Vermeer and then complains about its lack of action just confuses me. Have you even SEEN a painting by Vermeer? I suppose a painting of a woman standing by a window holding a piece of paper is boring, too. If you don’t get the point.

2). “The main character is arrogant and annoying.” Yes, sometimes she is. But you know what is most annoying of all? Books narrated by main characters that don’t ever do things that normal human beings do, like overstep their boundaries and assume they know it all. Griet is an intelligent and emotionally sensitive eye into Vermeer’s world; we should be grateful that she is both endearing and irritating, smart and full of hubris. It makes her real and not predictable.

3). “The movie was better”. The movie is never, ever, ever better. Ever. Now shut up and go watch television; books are not for you.

4). “The characters lack depth.” How is this even possible in a novel that is almost exclusively psychological in content? The book would be about ten pages long if the author didn’t manage to present complicated portraits on the individuals in the story. I suspect readers doing a lot of skimming looking for action, then claiming that the characters were weak just to save face for not having the patience to read the novel in the first place.

This book is beautiful. It is very atmospheric, and there are some very touching moments in it. I found myself getting completely lost in the story, and the characters are all very believeable.

It tells the story of how a girl named Griet becomes a maid to the artist Johannes Vermeer and his family. However, she finds herself drawn to Vermeer, which has consequences for everybody. I don’t want to say more than that, because I don’t want to give anything away!

I would definitely recommend this book, even for those who are not fans of historical fiction (I’m a recent convert to the genere myself) – it’s not a long book, and I enjoyed it so much, I just wanted to read it greedily in one sitting!