I agree that Katharine Weber is a talented writer, however the book as a whole was uneven and by the end, uninspired. The photography imagery was overused often failed to conjure the picture [pitcher] or mood Weber seemed to be reaching for. The journal portion of the book was stunning; the third-person traditional narratives less so. In an attempt to create a novel as told through snapshots, Weber left me feeling unengaged and disinterested. Although I loved her word play and Harriet's voice in the beginning, I felt the novel ran out of steam and became much more pedestrian by its conclusion.

I had an intuition about reading this book and I was right. It's rich, dense, withstructural decisions with which one might not agree, BUT it is wonderfully memorable, complex, a rare great read. In addition, as said in my long title, above, reading this as a writer: it's a goldmine. Because Ms. Weber carries this book with a consciousness that mixes the mundane life we all live with a literary savvy we can also enjoy (what some of us live too). To put this simply: the plot can take anyone along but the real treat is to see how an "intellectual" can create an accessible world that has so many philosophical and photographic insights also dispersed throughout. I read the middle flashback section after the first and last because I needed to keep with chronology. But, however you choose to read this, do so. Recommended for those who love a good read and recommended especially for writers. Many many tricks of the trade are embedded if one reads this with a writer's eye. Thanks, Ms. Weber, for a book that seriously challanged this non-fiction writer to reach for more range in my own work. A marvel.

Ms. Weber's book has the convention of a young woman trying to come to terms with a new love, long-buried family secrets, and witnessing a dear friend's involvement in an unhealthy relationship. But she gives the conventions a twist that are very surprising, and the result is wholly satisfying. Nice work, and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Weber.

for anyone looking for another "Girl With a Pearl Earing", do not expect anything similar in this book. Being a very dedicated Vermeer fan, i was excited to learn of this book but was dissapointed by it. while parts were interesting, the majority of the book was dull and the plot moved along slowly. i never even began to sympathize with the main character, patricia dolan, and i felt that the attempt made by the author to make the character more sympathetic was sappy and uninteresting. the only reason that i gave it two stars instead of one is a small plot twist at the end that i thought was slightly clever.

What do art historians and radical Irish political groups have in common? In this book, a (fictional) Vermeer painting owned by the Queen of England. Patricia Dolan, bereft Irish-American reference librarian at the Frick, falls hard for her Irish cousin and within weeks finds herself ensconced in a remote cottage in Ireland with one of the objects of her desire--the tiny "kidnapped" Vermeer painting that is being held for ransom. Patricia tells us her story in retrospect in the form of a plain-spoken journal and simultaneously reveals her interconnected, immediate musings on loss, love, art history, philosophy (Walter Benjamin in particular), national identity, politics and geneaology. To her credit, Weber clearly and cleverly conveys her complex tale in this slim and compelling novel that manages to be, like a Vermeer painting, both understated and profound.

Historical art expert Patricia Dolan has never fully recovered from the death of her daughter that subsequently led to her divorce. She throws herself fully into her work at New York's Frick Art Reference Library to forget her inner pain.

Her distant cousin, Michael O'Driscoll comes to New York to obtain her help. Soon, the duo becomes lovers. She leaves America to live in a cottage in a remote part of Ireland. As the long winter sets in, Patricia has only a stolen painting by Vermeer, THE MUSIC LESSON, as company. As she keeps a diary, Patricia soon begins to transform herself, guided by the painting that is her sole companion. She now knows that she must choose between the beauty of art and the mundane pragmatic world of politics where love is not part of the equation.

THE MUSIC LESSON is a clever, but strange psychological thriller that will elate sub-genre fans. The novel is mostly told through Patricia's diary, but that device does not slow down the tale for even a nanosecond. The story line is crisp though readers will question the naive motivations of Patricia even in her numb state. However, what makes this novel a winner is the characters, especially Patricia and the person in the painting. As with OBJECTS IN MIRRORS ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR, Katherine Weber scribes a taut thrilling tale of self awareness.

Harriet Klausner 3/17/99