Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

5 reviews

sareidle's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Child death

jhbandcats's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A lovely book that imagines the life of Vermeer’s model in his most memorable painting, and what her relationship might have been like with the painter. 

I really liked that the book was told in the first person and the reader sees Griet, Vermeer’s wife’s maid and his model, grow into herself as a young woman. Within the confines of her circumstances, Griet does what she can to have a measure of independence, even if sometimes that independence is only in her unconventional thoughts. She’s a lonely young girl who is on her own when she first arrives at the Vermeer’s and she learns to use that isolation as a shield. 

I loved the attention to small quotidian details - taking a pail to the market for the meat or the fish and starching her cap by soaking it with potato peels. I liked the comparison the life of a lower class tile painter vs that of a well-to-do portrait painter. I loved watching Griet as she learned to really see, and her failed attempts to explain the the different colors of white to her father. 

This is a wonderful story, well-told, and a fascinating look at mid-17th C Holland. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Classism

mme_carton's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Grief, Body horror, Medical content, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Excrement, Violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

hope_sky321's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Grief, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

saintyeehaw's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Great read but might make you sad or frustrated if you're a woman. Focuses on the difficult choices and unfair treatment of women and lower classes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Ableism, and Stalking

Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent