Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Girl With the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

This novel was quite boring. Also, the overwrought, self-conscious similes and metaphors invoked by Griet, the narrator, seemed to me to reflect a kind of narcissistic wish fulfillment on behalf of the author--a somewhat desperate attempt to prove her aesthetic sensitivity through a heroine fashioned in her own psychological self-image. Many writers do this to some extent, but the good ones succeed in giving their characters a life of their own, while the not-so-good ones come off as painfully insecure. It's too bad, because Vermeer's painting itself is simply gorgeous.

RATING: 45%

(Image from www.flickr.com.)

2 comments:

Chris said...

Fuck art, let's dance.

John said...

Next time I come to Houston we'll have a NyQuil rave.