Author: Tom Schlesser
Year published: 2025
Category: Adult fiction
Pages: 432 pages
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): France
Summary: While the doctors can find no explanation for Mona’s brief episode of blindness, they agree that the threat of permanent vision loss cannot be ruled out. The girl’s grandfather, Henry, may not be able to stop his granddaughter from losing her sight, but he can fill the encroaching darkness with beauty. Every Wednesday for a year, the pair abscond together and visit a single masterpiece in one of Paris’s renowned museums. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona learns how each artist’s work shaped the world around them. In turn, the young girl’s world is changed forever by the power of their art. Under the kind and careful tutelage of her grandfather, Mona learns the true meaning of generosity, melancholy, love, loss, and revolution. Her perspective will never be the same—nor will the reader’s.
Review: My in-person book group chose this one, which turned out to be a bit long (and right after reading Lonesome Dove, which was over 800 pages). I really enjoy going to museums, pondering the art, trying to remember what I learned in my college art history courses, and playing the "which one is your favorite in the room and why" game. Given all that, I was looking forward to this novel.
However, too much art, not enough plot. I found myself skimming the art bits and reading the story in between about Mona, her eyes, her family, and her journey of discovery. I rated this book 3.5, but I know I will be alone in this and look forward to seeing what my book group members think. One of them is an artist, and two of them collect lots of art, so I am sure they will be more favorable. The book is well written, and Schlesser does a good job of creating characters and setting a scene. I could see the art he was talking about and had fun looking up the various pieces. The book just didn't really work to keep my attention.
I will say that Part 2 was the best for me, art-wise. I have been to the Louvre and the D'Orsey and much preferred the latter as it houses art of the impressionists, expressionists, and into the 20th century, which are my favorites. And, I think the cover is very well done; it focuses on the girl's eyes, and also features a famous painting, which is the focus of the novel.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Literary Escapes--France
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