A Piece of the World/ Christina Baker Kline/ 388 pgs

This was a book discussion read. One of Andrew Wyeth's most famous paintings in "Christina's World." Andrew spent some twenty years worth of summers painting at the Olsen house, where Christina and her brother lived. This story follows Christina's life. She was never diagnosed, but suffered from a muscular/nerve disease that crippled her hands, feet, and legs. Though her mobility was limited, she never let her disability get in the way of running the household or venturing outside, even if she had to crawl. This was a well written book about a subject that I didn't know much about and I found it very interesting, though some of the characters could be very frustrating. As real people are:-)

Girl with a Pearl Earring / Tracy Chevalier 233 p.

Girl with a Pearl Earring / Tracy Chevalier 233 p.

Tracy Chevalier wonderfully takes the reader into the 17th century world of Delft.  Girl with a pearl earring tells the story of Greit, a 16 year old, who takes a job as a maid in the home of painter Johannes Vermeer after her father is blinded in a tile factor accident.  She is perceptive about her world.  Through her narrative, the daily grind of laundry, meal preparation, food gathering, and, child care is so richly and gently detailed that one sees Greit's raw, red, chapped hands.  Chevalier tells how a maid became the subject of one of Vermeer's greatest portraits.