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Girl with a Pearl Earring

By: Tracy Chevalier
Narrated by: Hattie Morahan
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Summary

An international best seller with over two million copies sold, this is a story of an artist's desire for beauty and the ultimate corruption of innocence.

17th Century Holland. When Griet becomes a maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer in the town of Delft, she thinks she knows her role: housework, laundry and the care of his six children. But as she becomes part of his world and his work, their growing intimacy spreads tension and deception in the ordered household and, as the scandal seeps out, into the town beyond.

Tracy Chevalier's extraordinary historical novel on the corruption of innocence and the price of genius is a contemporary classic.

©2006 Tracy Chevalier (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
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What listeners say about Girl with a Pearl Earring

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent historic novel

This historic novel was excellent and beautifully written and narrated- excuse the pun but the story painted the characters and situations perfectly- and the ending was brilliant!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Utter brilliance

This book is beautifully crafted, the author transports you to 17th century Holland into the home of The painter Vermeer. The descriptions are colorful and rich and the story so vivid it fills your imagination. One of the best books I've ever read.

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1 person found this helpful

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Delicious

Unfolds so gently, so silkily, and builds in intensity and tension until you are holding your breath. I was completely immersed in time and place. The research was so subtle, the characters and descriptions so vivid. Narration was excellent. I loved this.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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love love love

Where does Girl with a Pearl Earring rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's in the top ten.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Girl with a Pearl Earring?

It was all memorable, I loved the pace and countenance

What does Hattie Morahan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

She brings the story alive. Books that have a narrator really lend themselves well to the format.

Any additional comments?

I have seen the film and in comparison to the book It seems clumsy and misses the subtleties of the story. You realise that films flatten such stories as you can't know what people are thinking in the same way. The film misses so much of the point of the relationship that I could hardly bear to watch it.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful.

A picture paints a thousand words, isn't that how the saying goes? These words painted a picture for me. I loved it and it's a favourite listen if I need a little quiet time. Don't bother if you want action and adventure, do if you want to sink heart and soul into 17th Century Holland and follow one life through the streets, sights smells and all.

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14 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wistful, evocative, compelling

I've seen the film and was looking for an audio book that I could lose myself in, and happily sleep to at night. This is a beautiful story, sensitively read by the wonderful Hattie Morahan. who played Elinor Dashwood in the TV rendition of Sense and Sensibility.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I have lost a friend

I enjoyed this so much that I limited how much I listened to it - I didn’t want it to run out. If I didn’t hear a sentence properly, I’d rewind it one minute, to hear it again, with full context and my full attention. I shall miss my time in Griet’s world.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Nice but too simple.

I had high hopes for this book given the great reviews. The narrater had a soothing voice which made listening a relaxing experience, the story was very well written and the characters were complex and layered but overall the story was far too simple for my taste. I kept hoping for the pace to pick up but in the end I just wanted to get through it so I could move onto something else. If you like a few twists and turns, this probably isn't the book for you.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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the Narrator Lets This Story Down

The narrator has no idea of creating atmosphere and drama. I listened to the very end out of curiosity as I have listened to two other audio versions of this and enjoyed both. However, this narrator is ok at reading, she just has no drama. She spoils the ending which should be an enraged shouting finale (the wife is distraught) but it is nothing but a HUGE let down of whispering! This makes the whole story pointless as if the wife nor the girl Greta have any feelings.


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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved this book

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this book as it’s not the sort of thing I would normally pick up. However I have to say that I absolutely loved it and was gripped by it straight away. I’d highly recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful