The premise of this book intrigued me a lot and I don't think I've read anything like it. It's a fictional story based around the life of the real 17th century painter, Vermeer, and his painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. 

To start with the two things I disliked. Firstly, that there was no chapter, just 4 parts (1664, 1665, 1666 and 1676) - for me, this made it difficult to sit and read a substantial amount of the book in one sitting - I just found myself reading a few pages each time instead. And secondly, the pacing - though only 250 pages, it seemed to drag unnecessarily and there was a lot of small things in the plot which I feel like were just not needed.

However, overall, I really enjoyed the story and it was refreshing to hear of his paintings being described, while knowing I was able to search them and actually see what they looked like. It was an interesting account of life in 17th century Holland, and the work of an artist - and it makes you look at art a little differently, thinking about all the possible things that went into its creation.