The book
Read by Holly Lucas
THE SENSATIONAL FRENCH NOVEL THAT HAS TAKEN THE WORLD BY STORM
Fifty-two weeks: that’s all the time Mona has left to learn about beauty. Every Wednesday, Mona’s grandfather picks her up after school and takes her to see a great work of art. Just one. A different masterpiece every Wednesday for a year. Fifty-two weeks of consummate beauty. Fifty-two weeks of visits to the museum before Mona loses her sight forever. Together, Mona and her grandfather will experience a full range of emotions; their enchantment as well as their sadness will be complete. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona will discover not only the power of art but also the meaning of generosity, doubt, melancholy, loss, and revolt.
At once a profoundly moving and beautifully crafted novel about the fullness of life and an enthralling guide to the world’s most renowned art, Mona’s Eyes is, at its core, a story about the deep and moving relationship between a young girl and her grandfather.
Heartfelt and full of emotion, erudite but accessible, Mona’s Eyes is a novel about love and beauty that will capture the hearts of readers.
The author
Thomas Schlesser
Thomas Schlesser is the director of the Hartung-Bergman Foundation in Antibes, France. He teaches Art History at the École Polytechnique in Paris and is the author of several works of nonfiction about art, artists, and the relationship between art and politics in the 20th century. He is the grandson of André Schlesser, known as Dadé, a singer and cabaret performer who founded the Cabaret L ’Écluse. Mona’s Eyes is Schlesser’s second novel and his American debut. It has been translated into thirty-eight languages, including Braille. Schlesser was awarded 2025’s Author of the Year by Livres Hebdo.