I am writing about this book even though I didn’t finish it, something I rarely do. It was a library audiobook and I couldn’t renew it because others were waiting for it.
The book is really an art history book; it has a flimsy premise that allows the author to give a thorough take on 52 works of art from the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay through the eyes of a ten year old and her grandfather. Mona has a brief period of blindness that the doctor cannot explain and cannot guarantee won’t return permanently. It is recommended that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather is moved to make sure she sees beautiful works of art so that if she does lose her sight, she will have those images in her mind. While her parents think he has found an appropriate psychiatrist, she is becoming a keen observer of beauty and is learning about artists and their times.
Along with the exposition about 52 pieces of art, we learn a bit about Mona and her classmates, her family and their troubles, and of course the question of her spell of blindness. I was happy enough to hear about the works of art as I struggled with a jigsaw puzzle that is a challenge.
Thomas Schlesser, Mona’s Eyes, Serle Hildegarde, Tr., Europa Editions, 2025, 446 pages (I listened to the audiobook). Available in the public library.