Mona's Eyes

De: Thomas Schlesser, Hildegarde Serle

Narrado por: Holly Lucas

New York Times Bestseller • Barnes & Noble 2025 Book of the Year • Boston Globe Best Book of the Year • National Indie Bestseller • Top Ten Indie Next Pick • Indigo Heather’s Pick

Ten-year-old Mona and her beloved grandfather have only fifty-two Wednesdays to visit fifty-two works of art and commit to memory “all that is beautiful in the world” before Mona loses her sight forever.

While the doctors can find no explanation for Mona’s brief episode of blindness, they agree that the threat of permanent vision loss cannot be ruled out. The girl’s grandfather, Henry, may not be able to stop his granddaughter from losing her sight, but he can fill the encroaching darkness with beauty. Every Wednesday for a year, the pair abscond together and visit a single masterpiece in one of Paris’s renowned museums. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona learns how each artist’s work shaped the world around them. In turn, the young girl’s world is changed forever by the power of their art. Under the kind and careful tutelage of her grandfather, Mona learns the true meaning of generosity, melancholy, love, loss, and revolution. Her perspective will never be the same—nor will the listener’s.

Mona’s Eyes is a heartfelt, enlightening journey across five centuries of Western art history. With the emotional impact of The Elegance of the Hedgehog and the listenability of The Little Paris Bookshop, Thomas Schlesser’s sensational debut novel is at once a moving book about the beauty of life and a deeply touching story about the special bond between a girl and her grandfather.

“Vibrant debut ... Schlesser seamlessly interweaves the art lessons with Mona’s story... Readers of Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie's World will love this.”—Publishers Weekly

©2025 Thomas Schlesser (P)2025 Europa Editions

art description

Great story. realistic characters,plot. the Audible version was well done. historical and well written. enjoyable

Every artist must read

Mona’s eyes is a mo’olelo about Ohana, the importance of Ike kupuna, kauna, learning through observation, but most importantly MANA. How it energizes everything. Duality of mana. Largely navigating existence connecting to the aina requires guidance transferring of Ike. Intentional creation. I loved this book

The storyline is wonderful.

First, I don’t care much for the narration, The pronunciation of the child’s “Dadé” drives me nuts. Grating. Second, this is a book set in France, originally written in French, with French speaking people. Why is the narration done with a British accent? A French accent would have been more in line with the characters.

The narrator’s voice is listenable but I would have preferred she changed her voice for the grandfather. It’s the same voice thoughout and gets rather monotonous, especially with that awful “Dadé.” Narration can make or break a book, and while I listened to the entire book, a better narration would have told it as an even better story.

Mona and her ability to always see and be positive.

Mona's Eyes has refueled my soul and my heart. It has made me look at life and view all the colors it presents to us...even when it becomes dark and black. I highly recommend this book!

A dense story from beginning to end

This is a multi-layered story that keeps surprising and touches on a myriad of human experiences from childhood to death. The interactions of a small but eclectic French family are spread out across a year of visiting art museums. Learning to see art through critical thinking is only a small part of what the reader takes away from this novel. It deserves the reader’s full attention.