A Dutch painting of a young girl survives three and a half centuries through loss, flood, anonymity, theft, secrecy, even the Holocaust. This is the story of its owners whose lives are influenced by its beauty and mystery.
Despite their unsatisfied longings, their own and others’ flaws, the girl in hyacinth blue has the power to engender love in all its human variety.
This luminous story begins in the present day, when a professor invites a colleague to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer–but why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of events that trace the ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work’s inspiration. As the painting moves through each owner’s hands, what was long hidden quietly surfaces, illuminating poignant moments in multiple lives. Susan Vreeland’s characters remind us, through their love of this mysterious painting, how beauty transforms and why we reach for it, what lasts and what in our lives is singular and unforgettable.
This historical romance is selling for $2.99 today.
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I’d love to hear from anyone else who has read this book. I’ve looked at it several times as the subject totally intrigues me, but I’ve been put off buying based on the negative reviews. At $2.99 I may go ahead and splurge, but I’d sure like to hear from other DCR readers.
Mrs. Mac I will put out a plea tomorrow morning for input.
–Paula
I haven’t read this particular book, but I have read “The Passion of Artemisa” and “The Forest Lover” by the same author and thoroughly enjoyed them both. Susan Vreeland is a very good writer, and I’m an art history fan, so I love books that explore that area of study.
Jacqueline –
Thank you for your comments about Susan Vreeland. To “thoroughly enjoy” an author’s work is high praise.
–Paula
Thank you, Jacqueline. I’ll have to watch for those other books to become “cheap reads”.
~Mrs. Mac