Thomas Schlesser must have known from the start that he needed a special framework for this novel. Stripped of its premise, Mona’s Eyes is an art history lesson, and a very good one.
Mona, a ten-year-old French girl, suffers a temporary vision loss that may recur at any time. Her grandfather, Henry Vuillemin, resolves to take her on weekly museum expeditions so that if she does go blind, she will have lasting memories of great artworks.
If you know as little about art as I do, you’ll find the grandfather’s mission enlightening. Henry makes Mona contemplate each artwork for several minutes before asking her impressions of it. Mona proves to be an apt pupil, and Henry an excellent teacher. Their discussions lead us to understand why such artists as Botticelli, da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and many others are legends, and how their personal, social and political backgrounds shaped their work.
When she’s not at a museum, Mona struggles with conventional schoolgirl problems such as bullying and worries about her father, whose knick-knack shop is teetering on the verge of insolvency. There’s also a mystery involving Mona’s grandmother that troubles the child.
In my opinion, the novel’s premise is a bit flawed. It’s hard to imagine a ten-year-old girl absorbing her grandfather’s verbose lectures about Neoclassicism, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Impressionism, etc., not to mention the advanced history lessons that a child Mona’s age would find overwhelming. Even if she’s bright for her age, what does a ten-year-old know about allegories and personifications, not to mention the adult cruelty that led so many artists to explore their own dark souls?
In addition, the narration is disjointed, so that the non-museum threads of Mona’s life disappear for long periods of time. I also found it difficult to believe that her parents could swallow the ruse that Mona is seeing a psychiatrist every week while she’s at the museum.
Nevertheless, Thomas Schlesser has put his heart into this story. He had me Googling pictures of famous artworks all the way through it, and he handles the sexual aspects of art with good taste. Flaws notwithstanding, I’m inclined to give Mona’s Eyes a four-star rating.
Chevron Ross's novels include Weapons of Remorse, The Seven-Day Resurrection, and The Samaritan's Patient. Click here for more information.