Mona's Eyes

A Novel

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

Relationship between Grandfather and his granddaughter.

It is not a good book for audible. no access to the paintings. I am not sure how much I comprehended. I feel like I need to go back nd get the book.

The healing power of art

I thought it was a cleverly told story about generational connection and the power of art. As each chapter ended I was eager for the next.

Wonderful story woven around artwork

The story unfolded gradually and the power of descriptions both of the characters and the works of artwork were masterful. One really must “see” all of the artwork though, so its absence in the Audible version ties one to the computer. The dust jacket of the book has small thumbnail size photos of the fifty two pieces of artwork but even that would not have been enough for this reader! So …I went down many rabbit holes looking up the artwork and artists featured. It probably took twice as long to read and see this book but nevertheless I enjoyed it immensely!

5 stars!

Learned so much, in addition to being entertained!!! I’m so fortunate to have visited these museums in France and I’ll be visiting again on line, and am encouraged to enjoy them even more, after this amazing 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.