Fascinating work of historical fiction. The audiobook format enhances the book's structure as a series of different stories linked to a single object, with each of the different narrators well suited to the characters they portray. I found each story completely engrossing, and several times sat in my garage to finish a chapter.
This unabridged audiobook on CDs contains 8 interlinked stories tied together by a painting of the books title. The painting, GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE, was believed to be painted by Johannes Vermeer - the paintings papers lost over time.
The first story takes place in recent days and each succeeding story traces the path of this painting back through time. So there are a series of brief chapter-sized vignettes which are narrated by 8 different narrators. All of the narrators do an EXCELLENT job in capturing the emotions and feelings of the characters they present. I listened to the stories from an easy chair in my house. I dont know if I would have appreciated the stories as much if I were listening in my car. This may be due to the shortness of each vignette. As a rule I am not a fan of short stories but this presentation was different.
It was said that Vermeer painted very little in his late years and he was only 43 years old when he died. It is believed that his death was due to financial pressures. His wife was left to raise their 11 children. He was born in 1632 in Delft, a town of about 25,000 people best known for its blue and white glazed earthen ware, During his life his fame did not spread far outside of Delft. While he was alive, he barely could make ends meet. He painted only one or two paintings a years, and so fewer than 36 of his paintingsare known to exist, one of them: The Girl with a Pearl Earring.
If you like listening to audiobooks, you should give this one a try. It nicely done. (You can read other reviews of the story to see how other people liked the book; the reviews are under the paperback version of this title.)
The first story takes place in recent days and each succeeding story traces the path of this painting back through time. So there are a series of brief chapter-sized vignettes which are narrated by 8 different narrators. All of the narrators do an EXCELLENT job in capturing the emotions and feelings of the characters they present. I listened to the stories from an easy chair in my house. I dont know if I would have appreciated the stories as much if I were listening in my car. This may be due to the shortness of each vignette. As a rule I am not a fan of short stories but this presentation was different.
It was said that Vermeer painted very little in his late years and he was only 43 years old when he died. It is believed that his death was due to financial pressures. His wife was left to raise their 11 children. He was born in 1632 in Delft, a town of about 25,000 people best known for its blue and white glazed earthen ware, During his life his fame did not spread far outside of Delft. While he was alive, he barely could make ends meet. He painted only one or two paintings a years, and so fewer than 36 of his paintingsare known to exist, one of them: The Girl with a Pearl Earring.
If you like listening to audiobooks, you should give this one a try. It nicely done. (You can read other reviews of the story to see how other people liked the book; the reviews are under the paperback version of this title.)
