num_pages: 242
description: Susan Vreeland's second novel, "Girl in Hyacinth Blue," may be a book about a painting, but it is never content with surfaces. Tracing the influence of one extraordinary picture on a succession of human lives, it touches gently yet thoughtfully on such weighty topics as the immortality of a great artwork and the ways in which art can be used for various ends. In the course of her explorations, Vreeland covers a lot of time and space: "Girl in Hyacinth Blue" begins in present-day America and ends in the 17th century Netherlands, scrolling backward as each chapter accounts for the painting's role in the life of one of its owners.
language: English
title: Girl in Hyacinth Blue
titlecomplete: Girl in Hyacinth Blue
genres: Historical, Literary Fiction, Novels, Book Club, Art History, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Adult Fiction, Art
ratings_count: 39610
places: Amsterdam
awards: awardedAt: 946713600000
name: Book Sense Book of the Year Award
category: Adult, awardedAt: 946713600000
name: San Diego Theodor S. Geisel Award
publisher: See notes