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Mona's Eyes

Barnes & Noble Book of the Year 2025

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Mona's Eyes

By: Thomas Schlesser, Hildegarde Serle - translator
Narrated by: Holly Lucas
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The sensational French novel about love and beauty that has taken the world by storm

Fifty-two weeks. That's all the time Mona has left to learn about beauty before she loses her eyesight forever.

Fifty-two works of art. Every Wednesday, Mona's grandfather picks her up after school and takes her to see a great work of art.

Fifty-two chapters. Together, on their visit to Paris' museums, Mona and her grandfather will experience enchantment and sadness.

Above all, they will grow ever closer and learn to lean on each other. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona will discover not only the power of art, but also the meaning of generosity, doubt, melancholy, and loss. A profound, beautifully crafted novel about the fullness of life and an enthralling guide to the world's most renowned art, Mona's Eyes is a moving story about the bond between a young girl and her grandfather.

©2025 Thomas Schlesser (P)2025 Europa Editions (UK) Ltd.
Coming of Age Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature
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Critic reviews

"Wonderful and poignant."

"Mona's Eyes is not only a novel about art; it is also a universal tale."

"It's an earthquake. A seismic shift in the world of publishing."

"...makes you want to run to the museum. Better than Emily in Paris."

"Fabulous!"

"A rare book – poignant, wise and full of wonder."

"Schlesser's novel is a masterclass in describing the experience of art."

"Art historian Schlesser's vibrant English-language debut frames a survey of classical Western art with the story of a Parisian man supporting his 10-year-old granddaughter after her sudden bout of temporary blindness... Schlesser seamlessly interweaves the art lessons with Mona's story, which concludes with an explanation for the cause of her blindness. Readers of Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World will love this."

"A tender, absolutely captivating book."

"Mona's Eyes is gentle, bold, poetic, poignant and overall, utterly magnificent. I'm struggling to fully sum up how much I have loved reading this, but I think this has quickly become one of my favourite books that I've read this year."

"A brilliant book."

"Schlesser expertly blurs the line between art history and fiction to create a heartfelt story about peoples' relationship to the world and to others. Told in simple terms, yet educational and expressive, the book evokes the same experience as other classics like 'Sophie's World' by Jostein Gaarder."

"This incredibly buzzy debut is something like if an acclaimed art historian had written All the Light We Cannot See… It feels passionate and engaging and really captures the freshness and wonder of understanding art, the world, growing up, through the eyes of a child."

"An ode to beauty and wisdom."
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A lovely, thoughtful book, Mona and her grandfather's museum visits are a real pleasure to follow. The narrator has a warm, clear voice and does a really nice job with the child's voice too, genuine talent there.

A note on production for anyone weighing up the audiobook: some words come out with an American accent (status, for one), just a style choice. But a few English words are mispronounced outright, diaphanous, acuity and daubs among them, along with art terms like chiaroscuro and artist names including Magritte, Mondrian and Courbet. There are also a few audible edit joins where the volume shifts mid-scene.

Given how central French culture and art vocabulary are to this story, it added up to more distraction than I'd have liked. It has the feel of a production that didn't give its narrator enough support, rather than a talent issue. Still a recommend, and I'd happily listen to her narrate something else.

Great story, lacking rigorous proof listening

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