I read Girl with a Pearl Earring when it was published, and really liked it. It grabbed me from page one. Like you, I love Vermeer, and have tried to see as many of his paintings as possible (I actually saw the Girl with the Pearl Earring in The Hague about 3 years before the book).
I liked the movie because it made me feel I was within one of Vermeer's painting, though I would have preferred it more faithful to the book.
The book spoiled the painting probably for everybody who has read it, I can't see a picture of the painting without thinking I am looking at Griet.

I read T. Chevalier's first book (though published in the US after GwPE), The Virgin Blue and did not like it. I don't remember exactly why, I read it long time ago.

A friend gave me The Lady and the Unicorn, and I liked it more than I thought I would. I will never look at tapestries the same way after that book.

I read this book some years ago now and watched the film, but only on TV . . .the big screen would have done more for those frosty Dutch landscapes.
I think so little in known about Vermeer's life and he produced so few paintings, it was wise of Chevalier not to 'over-egg' her story. And I enjoyed the quiet pace and 'understatedness' of the movie.
Think, in contrast, of the lurid purple-prose of The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, about the life of Michelangelo; enough to put you off looking at the Sistine Chapel for life. ;-)
I thought The Virgin Blue had an unusual and interesting 'plot', from a part of history that is not taught/widely known about.
Falling Angels about Women's Rights in Edwardian England, didn't work for me. I know Chevalier lives (lived?) in the UK but I felt her characters didn't 'act' in an English way, especially for those days. The mother 'having sex' with the graveyard keeper seemed most unlikely . . . and if you don't want to read scenes/insinuations about paedophilia and small children it is best to stay clear of the book altogether.

I loved Girl With a Pearl Earring and read it together with Susan Vreeland's Girl in Hyacinth Blue (the book is about a fictitious 36th Vermeer and traces the painting's history backwards in time). I really enjoyed both books and they led to hours of perusing Vermeer art books at the library. I thought the movie was very well done, too.

I read The Virgin Blue a couple of years ago and didn't like it at all. I thought the main character was shallow and self-centered and some truly horrible things happened to other characters in the book and that really put me off. I've not read anything else by Chevalier since then.

I loved Girl With a Pearl Earring and loved it, so I wanted to also love Virgin Blue, but found it tiresome, and was very disappointed.

I was an art history major, so Chevalier's book was just to my taste. Vermeer is one of my favorite artists of all time, so I just had to buy the film when it came out. I've watched it many times and always feel like I am inside one of the artists' paintings. (The lighting is perfectly done.)

I adored "The Lady and the Unicorn", as well as "Virgin Blue" and have read each one twice. I think Chevalier is one of the best modern authors around, but the only book of hers I could not get into was "Falling Angels."

I read this last year and then followed it up with the movie. I enjoyed both. I agree that she did a good job on the writing. There really isn't much known about Vermeer's personal life so it was best that she didn't over do it. I really liked Lady and the Unicorn. I didn't mind the jumping around at all and I also have not looked at tapestries in the same way since. It intrigued me that she put a blind girl in a book something so visual. CMK- everything comes together at the end, maybe you should give it another try.

Oh good you guuys have read this one. I had allready done a fair amount of reading on the subject of Vermeer and his work, and was very pleased that the author made it realistic. It was rather ingenious to have the story shown through the eyes of the maid; it allowed us the readers to get an in depth look into the Vermeer household, studio, and personal life without intruding on their thoughts.
I may read the Lady and the Unicorn again some day. I always feel bad if I give up on a book that has the possibility of getting better; maybe I wasn't concentrating on it enough. Tell me, was there an actual POINT to this book? I had only read about a third of it and it just felt like it was rambling and going nowhere.

Have any of you read 'The Ruby Ring'- by Diane Haeger? Its about the artist Raphael. Raphael isn't one of my favorite artists, but I really enjoyed this book. It is set during his later years and also involves his real life mistress, who is the narrator. The author is good at painting the scenes and characters. She does, unlike Chavelier, get more personal with the characters and their feelings. I really liked that though and thought this a good book (not stellar like Girl with the P.Earring, but good).
I didn't know much about the life of Raphael when I read this. After reading The Ruby Ring I read a little bit his history and it seemes that Haegar really did do a good job in keeping to the facts.
CMK

I really like the subtly and culture of Girl w/pearl earring; the scene where Griet is arranging vegetables, the understanding that clouds are not white, that sort of thing. But I hated the sour family squabbles and undercurrents. A book and movie I watched once, enjoyed, but did not want to revisit.
Of course, I had to copy that painting once in 7th grade art class (private lessons) and hated the choice. I wanted to do Monets poppy field ( the teacher said no) not some drab dutch girl. I worked on it for a month.

In The Lady and the Unicorn I think the point is about the politics of getting work done, even art with the rules and regulations they had to live and work with. The guild rules, much like our unions, maybe more strict. I think the story is really about the young girl and her ability to keep her wits about her even with a disability like blindness. The artist tries to takes advantage of her like he has many women in the past but she keeps herself together. That's what I thought but it has been a year since I read it.

I've read most of Tracy Chevalier's books but the only one that really struck me was Girl with a Pearl Earring. I loved it, the spare quality, the unique and clear-sighted point of view, the atmosphere, everything about it. This author has not managed to invoke that for me again. However I don't regard this as a failure. How many writers manage to do this even once?

Rosefolly

I've read Burning Bright and Virgen Blue. I liked both.