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The Wordy Birds Reading Challenge category for August is a book set outside the UK. I chose Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which is another book that's been on my reading shelf for a very long time. It's the fictional account of how a real painting by Vermeer came to be created, imagining how a maid in his household became the subject of the painting. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be excellent. I was a bit distracted to begin with, because something about the setting and character interactions reminded me of the recent TV adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, so I kept seeing the visuals from that in my mind's eye as I was reading. However, Pearl Earring has a strong identity of its own that quickly asserted itself.
The character of Griet is complex and compelling, making for an interesting and sympathetic narrator. She is young and deferent, but also intelligent and observant, and she has desires beyond her station that provide layers to the story. It's a domestic and very mundane setting, and not a lot actually happens, but the tension is very skilfully built up as the story progresses. I was really invested in the characters by the end, and fully immersed in the world of the household. Griet's powerlessness in her situation and the expectations of others that surround and entrap her are very effectively portrayed. The book is about choice and power, and the lack thereof for certain people, and I felt Griet's lack of agency intensely throughout.
A few days after completing the book, I watched the film version with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. It's a very sparse film that is much more about silence than action, and it conveys the tensions of the book very well. I felt it took a few shortcuts in the characterisation and set-up early on, which meant I understood what the situation was, but didn't really feel emotionally connected to the characters. By the end, though, the tension really ratcheted up, and parts of it were quite uncomfortable viewing. As is always the case with adaptations of books, a lot of important detail was left out, and there were some dramatic changes that I didn't quite agree with. But, overall, it was a compelling film and encapsulated the essence of the novel well.
The character of Griet is complex and compelling, making for an interesting and sympathetic narrator. She is young and deferent, but also intelligent and observant, and she has desires beyond her station that provide layers to the story. It's a domestic and very mundane setting, and not a lot actually happens, but the tension is very skilfully built up as the story progresses. I was really invested in the characters by the end, and fully immersed in the world of the household. Griet's powerlessness in her situation and the expectations of others that surround and entrap her are very effectively portrayed. The book is about choice and power, and the lack thereof for certain people, and I felt Griet's lack of agency intensely throughout.
A few days after completing the book, I watched the film version with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. It's a very sparse film that is much more about silence than action, and it conveys the tensions of the book very well. I felt it took a few shortcuts in the characterisation and set-up early on, which meant I understood what the situation was, but didn't really feel emotionally connected to the characters. By the end, though, the tension really ratcheted up, and parts of it were quite uncomfortable viewing. As is always the case with adaptations of books, a lot of important detail was left out, and there were some dramatic changes that I didn't quite agree with. But, overall, it was a compelling film and encapsulated the essence of the novel well.
