A new edition of the fictional tale inspired by Johannes Vermeer's enigmatic painting, Girl With A Pearl Earring.

It has been released to tie in with the film version. The narrator, a young Dutch girl named Griet, is a servant in the Vermeer household. Her beauty and self-possession soon attract the master's interest and he decides to paint her, much to the chagrin of his wife.

Although the story is imaginative, it never has much edge to it. Griet is prettier, cleverer and nicer than anyone else in the book, and consequently she's too wooden a character to be interesting. That aside, Chevalier's simple, precise style is refreshingly easy to digest. I read the whole thing in an hour and a half and didn't look up once.