Sacre Bleu

by Christopher Moore

[ibeforem]

I confess that despite being a Christopher Moore fan, I was reluctant to start this book. I don’t usually enjoy reading about art. Do I appreciate art? Generally. Do I understand the intricacies of composition and theme and whatnot? Not so much. So a book that revolves around art makes me anticipate my eyes glazing over. Thankfully, my husband is also a Christopher Moore fan and insisted we listen to this book on a recent road trip.

It’s difficult to decide how exactly to describe this book. At the beginning, we meet some artist friends of Vincent Van Gough, who has recently shot himself in a cornfield. What follows is the stories of these men, as well as a story that is older than man himself. Two constants in all of their lives are mysterious women and a certain shade of blue.

There is a lot of Moore’s usual absurdity here, but there is also a distinct strand of sadness. In many ways, this is not a happy story. There is a lot of desperation and a lot of depression, but perhaps this is the lot of the tortured artist. There is also a fair bit of meandering, and I may have slept through a section or two (we were in the car, after all).

One sweet spot for me is Moore’s portrayal of Henri Toulouse-Latrec. Ever since seeing Moulin Rouge, I’ve enjoyed stories that include Toulouse-Latrec. And he’s a rather large part of this story.

Should you expect to emerge from this story with a better understanding of art history? Probably not. But you will be entertained.