Tracy Chevalier's The Virgin Blue portrays the story of Ella Turner (turned Tournier) and Isabelle du Moulin - two women with similar paths. Chevalier uses the backdrop of quaint French villages to support the evolving mystery behind the women's journeys. The plot is wonderful, as well as the developed characters. I recommend this book to anyone who likes France, feminist topics, or genealogy. Or to anyone looking for a good thoughtful read.

'The Virgin Blue' was written some years before 'Girl with a pearl earring', but was kind of unnotice so far. Not only after the huge success of 'Girl' did 'Virgin' received its deserved attention. The book tells the story of two women that live centuries apart but with something that ties them together throughout the years.

Ella Tourner moves to France with her husband. Alone and with not so many things to do, she decides to investigates her family's origins. Eventually she'll come across Isabelle du Moulin --aka La Rousse. What binds these two woment together?

Since the first chapter we are aware that both lives will change drastically, otherwise there wouldn't be a reason for a novel. Ella will face problems in being accepted by French people; while Isabelle will not be accepted the people form her own village. Both women try to find rendenption in love-- but it may not be the right place.

Chevalier writes with confidence and brings us believable characters with heart and soul. The structure that she uses can be tricky for some writers, but in her hands it is useful --and she does have a point when she alternates the two stories. 'The Virgin Blue' is simple, but at the same time complex. I highly recommend for those who liked 'Girl...'.

I read a lot of non-fiction and was looking for something lighter. In that respect, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" delivers. It is an extremely quick read - I read it in short stretches over 2-3 days - and it certainly doesn't require your brain to do any heavy lifting.

While this was sort of what I wanted, I wound up disappointed that I didn't get more out of this book. In the end, the concept - historical fiction inspired by the Vermeer painting - is better than the finished product. Although I liked the idea of telling the story from Griet's point of view, I felt like something was missing. Perhaps this was by design. Maybe the author intentionally held back and chose not to delve deeper into the world she invented. I personally would have preferred more rather than less.

That being said, this is an enjoyable, albeit lightweight, diversion. I agree with other reviewers that "Girl with a Pearl Earring" would fit well in the "Young Adult" section.

Famous Dutch painter Vermeer left behind thirty-five works and little else. In Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier puts forth the possible story behind one of the more famous paintings.

Griet is a teenager when the failure of her father's eyesight causes him to abandon his tile-making trade. The family's financial instability forces her into work for a wealthy Catholic family and her brother into another artisan profession. Griet's new life with her "new family"-that of Vermer-is certainly different, in terms of religion, daily routine, social status, and financial status. After a few months, she adjusts to her new life and finds herself separating from her family.

Chevalier's descriptions of the Netherlands and of painting in the seventeenth-century helped the book because they provided a framework for everything else. Although I loved Griet, she seems too strong and too modern for the novel's time period; could a sixteen-year-old maid, with no formal education of any kind, really have outsmarted Vermeer? Her observations about her master's art seemed too astute and too quick, even if she was supposed to be a fast learner. Overall, I would recommend Girl with a Pearl Earring to anyone looking for a quick, engaging, and light novel.

I read this book very quickly, but found myself (and still do) coming back again and again to re-read bits of it. It's a story that stays with you long after you turn that final page.

Don't be fooled by the "simple" writing style. If you think the narrative is simple, I suggest sitting down and trying to write something-- anything!-- in Chevalier's style. It's a lot harder than it looks to convey a wealth of description with a bare minimum of words. That is one of Chevalier's greatest gifts in this book. The other is her simply marvelous characters, and her amazing ability to convey the essence of everyday life in a distant time and place.

Enough reviewers have summed up the plot here, so I won't add to their efforts, except to say that all the details fall together very nicely, and the story's conclusion satisfies on many levels.

I would imagine that someone will eventually make a movie out of this book; it's the kind of story Merchant-Ivory would probably bring to life brilliantly. My top pick for the role of Griet would be Natalie Portman. Ralph Finnes should play Vermeer, and Tilda Swinton should play Catharina.

I really had no idea what Falling Angels was even about when I started it ~ I only picked it up hoping I would enjoy it half as much as I did Chevalier's first novel, Girl With a Pearl Earring. Falling Angels not only met my expectations, it fully exceeded them. From page one (I didn't know Victorians did THAT!) I knew I was in for a rollercoaster ride of a book.

Neighbors Kitty Coleman and the Gertrude Waterhouse are as different as night and day. Kitty is forward thinking and restless in her role as wife and mother. Gertrude is firmly, and happily, ensconced in the oppressive Victorian mores of the day. To their horror their young daughters, Maude and Lavinia, become the best of friends and the two families are forced to interact. Over the course of nearly a decade, starting with the death of Queen Victoria, we watch as the Colemans and the Waterhouses struggle with each other, themselves, and the changing times as England moves into the new century.

Tracy Chevalier is an author I will seek out again and again ~ I can't wait to see where she takes us next.

I am always a little wary of second novels, particularly ones which follow a debut as impressive as GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, but I am here to tell you that the talent which beamed from every page of GIRL shines more brightly still in FALLING ANGELS. Chevalier can take her place among luminaries such as Edith Wharton and James Joyce in her ability to closely observe the ordinary details of individual lives, elevating them to the extraordinary. In this second novel, Chevalier simultaneously unveils the threads of 8 (or more) lives which intersect at a cemetary. But the novel is about the living, and Chevalier brilliantly and effortlessly limns remarkable portraits of characters ranging in age from 5 to 50 with equal depth and ability. The writing is gorgeous, and the story of the friendship of two young girls coming of age in Edwardian London, the travails of their parents, and the clash of morals in a new age is nothing short of brilliant. Brava, Tracy Chevalier! Let's hope we don't have long to wait for her third effort. If she keeps topping herself with each novel, I predict a Pulitzer in her future. READ THIS BOOK!

I just finished Falling Angels, which I read mostly due to an interest in Victorian England but also because I enjoyed "Girl With the Pearl Earring" so much. I found myself deeply drawn into this book. I have to admit it made me a little moody - large parts of it take place in a cemetery and there is a pervading sense of mortality throughout, but I also enjoyed seeing the same story from the viewpoints of a variety of characters. I didn't feel that the commentary by Jenny and Mrs. Baker was "unnecessary," but that it added to a fuller understanding of all of the issues the characters were involved in. A very interesting commentary on English womanhood during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, taking age, class, and educational differences into account.