The Girl in Hyacinth Blue

The best thing about book clubs is that you are introduced to books you wouldn't have otherwise found. The book club that I'm in now is showing me that I actually have rather narrow tastes. I tend to pick the books that I know I will like, and there are so many of those to choose from that I rarely branch out. The Girl in Hyacinth Blue is a book I would have never read, but I thought it was artfully written and thought provoking.

A Word About my Book Club

I was part of two book clubs in MN and when I got out here I missed them so when I found a notice on the bulletin board of my library asking for new members of a women's book club I called. Then I got dissed. I didn't hear a word and felt sort of pathetic that even a publicly advertised book club didn't want me. Finally though a woman named Kitty called and apologized, she'd been out of town and would love it if I would join. Yay! The first book was called Isaac's Storm and it's another perfect example of a book I'd never have picked out for myself. It was incredible. It is a true story about a hurricane that destroyed Galveston, TX in the early 1900's. It also tells the story about the early days of meteorology - amazing history and a lot more political and intriguing than you'd think.

I was a little nervous when I went to the first club meeting. But the women couldn't have been nicer. Kitty met me at the door proclaiming how happy she was I'd made it and giving me a big hug. I was by far the youngest member. Several of the women are 60+ and there are three in their 40s. One of the women is from London and another is from South Africa. Three of them are doctors. Basically it's a group of totally awesome, interesting ladies - many of them fitting the image of a grandma. And I LOVE grandmas.

Also they're all doing just fine financially.

I live in a nice neighborhood. When Jamie and I tell people where we live they tend to say, "WOW," sometimes enviously, and often with the unspoken question "how do you guys afford that?" And then we clear things up by telling them that we live in a rented garage. The ladies in my book club are legitimate homeowners in my neighborhood and each house I've visited has been more fabulous than the last. It was not long into my book club membership before I started to have twinges of anxiety over when it would be my turn to host. Sure enough, on the third month the gorgeous South African lady with the four story mansion said, "I think we should let Lori have a turn." FUCK!

The month before my turn I volunteered to give several of the ladies a lift since the hosting member Clarey lived in Puyallup - about a 20 minute drive from the neighborhood where the rest of us live. The hostess is the lady whose husband has a business fixing racecars and who has hung out with Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Her house was enormous and had a fireplace kind of like the one in Xanadu in Citizen Kane. We had a great time and as we were leaving the ladies in my car started to praise me for driving and expressing their gratitude that they had someone with "young eyes" to get them back and forth from Tacoma. In my defense, the lady's driveway was weird shaped and it was pitch black out. But still, literally as they were saying this I was driving about 200 yards into the middle of the lady's rain-soaked lawn. I was SO far off of the driveway that I practically needed my GPS to get back to it. The woman in the passenger seat started to warn me just as I realized that I was destroying the lady's lawn and she started laughing hysterically. It was...pretty embarrassing.

So the day finally came when I had to host the book club and I fixed up the garage house as best I could. It didn't take long since I basically only have the one room. I vacuumed and put away the cat toys and dusted. I prepared snacks. That night there was what people in Washington call a snowstorm and people in Minnesota call a dusting. All day long I sent emails and VMs back and forth as the ladies decided whether or not to come. Part of me wanted to cancel and part of me just wanted to get it over with. In the end, they came, trudging through the snow because I don't own a shovel. They were extremely gracious, complimenting me on my resourcefulness "How did you FIND this place?" and my excellent taste in location. They loved my snacks and the only really embarrassing part came when the lady whose lawn I destroyed sat in my craigslist piece of shit recliner and practically threw herself through the back wall it rocked backward so dramatically. Oh well. Long story short, the ladies are awesome.

Back to the Book

The Girl in Hyacinth Blue is written by Susan Vreeland. She writes mostly historical fiction about art and artists. This book is about a fictional painting by a real painter - Vermeer. The painting is of a girl wearing a blue dress looking out a window. The book is a collection of short stories that are all about the life of the painting. It starts with the present day owner, a man who inherited the painting from his father. It turns out his father stole the painting during World War II from the home of a Jewish that was being sent to Auschwitz. It traces the history all the way back to the day it was painted and tells the stories of all the lives that were touched by it. Each story is completely different and the number of distinct characters and voices that the author has created is impressive. My favorite story takes place in the mid 1800's in Amsterdam during an epic flood. The main character in the story is a woman whose family has had to retreat to the upper story of their house because the lower story is underwater. Her husband is a dedicated man who spends his days trying to save their farm. One day he and his children find a boat with a baby in it. Pinned to the baby's blanket is a note asking someone to care for the baby. The Vermeer painting is rolled up and also tucked in with the baby and the note instructs the finder to sell the painting in order to care for the baby.

The mother is a very sweet character. She loves the baby and she loves the painting. Neither she nor her husband have any idea the value of the painting and they have it tacked up on the wall. The husband, wracked with anxiety about how to survive the ravages of the flood is gloomy and quick-tempered. But when he's gone during the day, his wife and children and the new baby lead a happy, peaceful life. I don't quite know how to explain what is so compelling about this story other than it captures an innocence in this woman that seems very authentic. She is young and hopeful and full of love for her children, for her husband, and for life. She does not want to sell the painting because she believes it should stay with the baby but when times get tough she is forced to go into the city. She has good instincts and avoids getting swindled and finally learns that the true value of the painting can save her family...there's more to the story than this but I've already told too much.

What is interesting about the book is that each person seems to project so much of themselves into their interpretation of the painting - particularly their yearnings. The young wife believes the girl is the baby's mother, the lowly maid believes the girl is free and happy and loved, the old man sees in the girl the first woman he loved and lost. The last story is the story of the girl herself and we learn how none of the fantasies were true, how the girl's life ended up being as hard and ordinary as anyone else's. Although many of the stories have sadness in them, the book is not only sad - there is humor and joy in it as well.

The woman who picked this book reminds me SO much of my grandma. Her name is Darlene, even though I called her Shirley at one of the last book clubs because I'm ridiculously bad with names. When she was telling us that she'd selected this book for us to read she had the best expression on her face, like she couldn't wait for us to read it. Most of us liked the book, though some of the members didn't like the choppiness of the different stories, how they sort of started and stopped abruptly. I didn't mind though, I thought it was great.

I'm going to give it 3.5 Ampersands &&&.5