"Girl with a Pearl Earring" - That simplicity thing again

As far as I can tell, I'm the only person who didn't read Tracy Chevalier's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" years ago, when it hit the New York Times Bestseller List. I admit I'm not what you'd call "au courant." I probably didn't even spell it correctly. But I read the book recently (thanks, Astrid) and loved it. For anyone out there who might be even less "courant" than I am, this is the story of a fictitious sixteen-year-old Dutch girl who becomes a maid for the family of the Dutch artist Vermeer in the 1600s. The story is told by Griet, the girl, who is working to help support her family, impoverished due to an accident that caused the blindness of her father, a tile painter. I can't describe the plot better than the jacket blurb, which says this is a novel about "artistic vision and sensual awakening." Griet's narrative is powerful - not because of what it says, but because of what it does not say--what it enables our imaginations to provide. The passion that lies beneath the surface of this story ignites the plot.

If you've been following the ramblings of my blog, you know that this "simplicity thing" is something that I've been trying to get a handle on. Once again in this novel we see the power of simplicity in writing - the old "less is more" principle. I'm going to be scrutinizing my work, looking for ways to achieve simplicity. If you know of other published works that achieve this effect, please leave a comment.

Perky

Simplicity: More complicated than it sounds

In my January 9th post I mentioned that I've been reviewing books for BookPleasures.com ( a neat web site, if you enjoy browsing). As a fiction junkie, I feel like a kid in a candy store; every day notices come of new books waiting to be reviewed!

Last week I had the pleasure of reading "The Violin Diary," by Eric Norcross. It's a sad, but uplifting, love story that takes place over a few months time. What's striking about it is the simplicity and straightforwardness with which it is told. A few simple sentences, snippets of dialogue, minimal description - and we know everything. As one who "over-writes" everything (if you've been reading the blog, you already know that), I was so impressed by the power of sparseness of expression. This book will be in the back of my mind as I edit every new piece of work I write for some time to come. I think Eric Norcross' book will do well. It deserves to. If you'd like to see my complete review, visit http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/authors/29/Persis-Granger. You'll see a line about the book, and will need to click on a link at the bottom that says "Full Story."

Anyway, back to simplicity. This is more than a talk about writing. My reading of "The Violin Diary" coincides with a crusade my husband launched to clean up our house. Packrats extraordinaire, we have amassed piles of "stuff." I sometimes have nightmares of our being on one of those reality tv shows, where the EMTs burst in to rescue us and someone comments on the squirrely old people who are buried in all this junk.

And we are. It rules our lives. We have no room to breathe. Or think. But knowing we need to change and accomplishing it are two different things. Old habits do die hard. Watch this blog for developments. My next review is going to be on the book titled, "Your Spacious Self," by Stephanie Bennett Vogt. The publicity blurb said it can help readers de-clutter their lives. Its category is designated as "spiritual self-help." I'm ready. As soon as it arrives, I'll be reading, and I'll let you know how it goes. I hope this one is not fiction.

Have a simply wonderful day-
Perky