Tracy A. reviewed on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I can't agree with the positive reviews of this book. I've been a great fan of Vermeer's luminous paintings for a long time, and my enthusiasm for a fictional novel about him rapidly turned to disappointment and boredom with the shallow and unsatisfying treatment he receives in the story.
The concept of writing a background story for one of Vermeer's paintings is a great one, but the author does not do justice to it. It's all very flat: one-dimensional characters, an impossibly emotionless protagonist, illogical plot developments, a simplistic writing style, and little specific detail. In fact, there's little description of anything, certainly nothing very vivid that might help the reader imagine 16th century Holland. It seemed more like the outline of an historical novel than a finished one. I generally find it hard to stop reading a novel halfway through, even ones I don't like, but I actually put this one down happily and with no regrets.
The only explanation I can think of for why this book is so successful is that its subjects, Jan Vermeer, the Renaissance, and sexual coming-of-age, are sufficiently interesting topics in themselves that many readers will forgive the poor writing.
The concept of writing a background story for one of Vermeer's paintings is a great one, but the author does not do justice to it. It's all very flat: one-dimensional characters, an impossibly emotionless protagonist, illogical plot developments, a simplistic writing style, and little specific detail. In fact, there's little description of anything, certainly nothing very vivid that might help the reader imagine 16th century Holland. It seemed more like the outline of an historical novel than a finished one. I generally find it hard to stop reading a novel halfway through, even ones I don't like, but I actually put this one down happily and with no regrets.
The only explanation I can think of for why this book is so successful is that its subjects, Jan Vermeer, the Renaissance, and sexual coming-of-age, are sufficiently interesting topics in themselves that many readers will forgive the poor writing.
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