I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. Things were a bit confusing at first until I figured out the rhythm of the book. Vreeland is writing on a timeline spanning hundreds of years but she begins at the end and works backwards. I did not like this method at all and was frustrated that there wasn't a clear changing of hands between time periods---it made it hard to see these as connected stories surrounding this one painting. Instead, it seemed like I was reading a disconnected collection of short stories. It also would have been so nice to have dates at the beginning of each chapter to help imagine the setting. Instead, by the time I had the approximate decade figured out, the story was over. I also would have liked to see her interview at the beginning of the book as a forward. This would have explained some things and helped set the tone for an otherwise convoluted bunch of stories. These things made it very difficult to connect with these stories.

I do give Vreeland very high marks for research though. Everything from early 18th century drainage mills to Erasmus to pigeon keeping was described in satisfactory detail.

I did love the last two stories, though the "mystery" she alludes to in her interview was not at all a mystery---it was pretty clear from the beginning of the story who was the true artist. ( )

I love Vreeland's books. This is not my favorite though. ( )

Beautifully-written historical fiction, told in reverse chronological order through a series of eight interconnected short stories, about the provenance of a fictional painting purported to be by Vermeer.
I was impressed by the author’s ability to create the mood of each time-period over the course of approximately three hundred years. I thought the author did an excellent job of showing how each of the painting’s custodians imbued a personal meaning into the artwork and did not part with it lightly, revealing the power of art to impact the life of an individual. Themes include the timelessness of great works of art and how art evokes different, but equally valid, reactions in each person. If you enjoyed [b:Girl with a Pearl Earring|2865|Girl with a Pearl Earring|Tracy Chevalier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327197580s/2865.jpg|3358875] or [b:The Last Painting of Sara de Vos|25664459|The Last Painting of Sara de Vos|Dominic Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494524049s/25664459.jpg|45487238], you will likely appreciate [b:Girl in Hyacinth Blue|321577|Girl in Hyacinth Blue|Susan Vreeland|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364742503s/321577.jpg|19815]. Recommended to fans of historical fiction or art-related literature.
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Loved it - traces a painting backwards from the hands of a math teacher to it's origin. Through several centuries, it
affects the owner's lives in different but impactful ways. How does beauty transform us? Why do we crave it? Can we own it? Will it last? ( )

Really good read. Interesting novel. ( )