Customer Reviews

Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
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2 star:		(1)
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That's how Christopher Moore characterizes Sacré Bleu. It's also a mystery, a comedy and a dizzying, dazzling trip through the art world of fin-de-siecle Paris.

I read somewhere that every single one of Christopher Moore's books has been optioned but not one has ever made it to film. I think it must be because producers eventually realize that it's just too much of a challenge to translate the sheer lunacy and demented sweetness of Moore's books to the screen.

The book begins on the day of Vincent Van Gogh's death in Auvers, a village near Paris. Vincent has gone to a crossroads to paint. The history is that Van Gogh there shot himself, then walked a mile to the home of his doctor to seek treatment. Moore wondered if it made any sense that an artist at the height of his powers, even one as tormented as Van Gogh, would shoot himself at that point. And then, why would he walk a mile to his doctor's place rather than just lie down and die? Moore appoints baker-turned-painter Lucien Lessard, and famed painter and libertine Henri Toulouse-Lautrec as his alter-ego detectives to pursue the answer to this puzzle. The pursuit involves Renoir, Manet, Monet, Whistler, Pissarro, Gaugin, Seurat, a menacing character called the Colorman, the artists' muses, a few side trips through time and space, and lots and lots about the color blue.

It's been a long time since I read a book in one afternoon, but once I started reading, I couldn't stop. Now, here I sit with my eyes burning and my head filled with whirling images of the adventures of the naive young Lucien and his usually drunk and lubricious but always endearing friend, Toulouse-Lautrec. In the Afterword, Moore writes, "I know what you're thinking: 'Well thanks loads, Chris, now you've ruined art for everyone.'" Far from it. He's definitely made it a whole lot weirder, but isn't that what you're looking for from one of his books?

Moore always travels to the settings of his books before he writes and, in this case, that means France, mainly Paris. If you visit his blog. he has included a chapter guide where, as he says, "you'll find some photographs, a little background on the geography, history, and art featured in the book, as well as observations and musing I had while researching and writing the book that just wouldn't fit in the story, but I hope will give some perspective on it." Before, during or after you read the book, I highly recommend a visit to the blog and the chapter guide. Among many other items of interest---and more extensive attempts to ruin art for everyone---there are photographs of Auvers, the village where Van Gogh was living at the end of his life, including the real-life settings of several Van Gogh paintings, juxtaposed with the paintings themselves.

In addition to being a flat-out joyride of a novel, this is a beautifully produced book, with typefaces evocative of its 19th century Parisian setting and reproductions of artworks of Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh and many other luminaries of the period. Recommended.

I suppose it's fair to say that I'm an avid Christopher Moore enthusiast having read every novel from 1992's "Practical Demonkeeping" through 2010's "Bite Me: A Love Story." So the release of his latest, "Sacre Bleu," was the cause of great excitement and anticipation in my world. While I have certainly enjoyed the whimsical supernatural tales that are often Moore's specialty, I find the books that step out of this comfort zone equally (if not more) intriguing. "Sacre Bleu" is one of Moore's most offbeat offerings to date, and for this I am grateful, but it might also be one of his most specialized titles. To fully enjoy the comedic flavor and intricacies of the book, one must have a reasonable knowledge of the art world and its masters. Well known personalities such as Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Whistler, and Gauguin (among many others) populate the pages of Moore's twisted tome as actual characters. If you have no idea of who they are, the book may still be an enjoyable romp but you'll miss much of the tale's cleverness. It's comparable to reading "Fool" without being familiar with King Lear or "Lamb" without a working knowledge of its Biblical references. This is just a word of warning for those uninitiated with Moore's absurdist view of the world, the book will have much greater appeal to those with a familiarity to its subject.

I'd like to offer up a brief synopsis of "Sacre Bleu," but it's almost impossible to adequately make sense of the delightfully convoluted plot. The story revolves around Lucien Lessard, a baker by trade and an aspiring painter in late nineteenth century France. Lessard is on the periphery of the art world and is best friends with diminutive and randy Toulouse-Lautrec. Upon the untimely demise of Vincent Van Gogh, the pair start to investigate a number of strange phenomenon surrounding a disturbing paint purveyor, a series of artist muses, and an otherwordly blue paint. It seems that Lessard's on-again, off-again paramour may be the key to unraveling a bizarre mystery that involves some of the biggest names in the art community. The book plays on several levels. There are satiric elements about the principle topic, absurd humor, a supernatural aspect, and the aforementioned mystery that ties it all together. It's a bold and ambitious adventure, and one that I thought was a lot of fun.

Here's my qualifier: If you love Moore, I'd say this presents an interesting new addition to his oeuvre. But as I said, if you don't know anything about the artists represented--it may be a bit tricky getting involved and appreciating the in-jokes. If you don't know Moore, this might not be the place to start (unless, of course, you are an art aficionado and a fan of the ridiculous). If you don't connect with the subject, I think it's possible that you may absolutely loathe this book. I found "Sacre Bleu" to be a fitfully funny romp and a very fast read. At the end of the day, is it my favorite Moore? Perhaps not. (The unapologetically profane "Fool" or the subversively brilliant "Lamb" might share that distinction for me) But it's smart, crisp, and undeniably wacky with characters that you want to stick with. I suspect the book will be somewhat divisive, but the right audience should appreciate the amount of research and reality that went into this strikingly odd and fantastical tale. KGHarris, 2/12.

Several years ago I went through a period of obsession about Van Gogh. I needed to learn as much as I could about him until I felt saturated. I've also been fortunate enough to see a number of his paintings. Naturally my examination of Van Gogh exposed me to his contemporaries, so going into Sacre Bleu it was like meeting up with old friends.

Add to that, the comic genius of Christopher Moore and it was a recipe for success.

You can tell that Moore is passionate about art. A tremendous amount of research went into this book, and it added a real authenticity to the story. But make no mistake, this is a Christopher Moore novel! There will be: 'male anatomy' jokes, bad language and a supernatural element. And I love it!

I think that art lovers and non-art lovers alike will appreciate this book. I cannot imagine closing this book and not wanting to get yourself to the closest museum (or the furthest, as the case may be - I'd love to visit the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia) at your earliest opportunity. Moore's passion is contagious.

The characters were really fun; Toulouse-Lautrec my favorite! I'd love to see more of him in the future.

On another note, this is a book you want to get in hardcover. There are reproductions of artwork in the book, and from what I understand the hardcover will contain color photos. The paperback advance reader copy had black and white pics. I don't know what the Kindle version will have, and if it will be different on Fire but I'm sure somebody will comment on it as soon as it is released electronically.

An enjoyable romp through 1890's Paris, with a little something extra. Definitely fun and recommended.

You never know what's in store for you when you delve into the pages of a Christopher Moore novel--a long-legged, red-haired Irish-American vampiress stalking the streets of San Francisco pursued by a dope-smoking band of after-hours supermarket stockboys, a prehistoric sea serpent terrorizing the formerly quiet streets of a small California coastal town luring its prey to their doom with psychic powers, or the lost story of Christ's formative years as told by his best friend, Biff.

On the other hand, once you've had a taste of his particular, peculiar brand of genius, you do know what's in store for you when you open a Christopher Moore novel--quirky characters, outrageous circumstances, and nearly always an element of the fantastic or supernatural, all woven together with his snidely wicked humor and lightning wit.

"Sacrè Bleu", the latest offering from the author of "Fluke" "Bloodsucking Fiends", "A Dirty Job", and other, similarly crazed works, is trademark Moore. Who else could take the world of the Impressionist Art movement and blend it with a tale of supernatural possession spanning the centuries from the cave paintings of the Cro-Magnon cave-dwellers of France's Dordogne region to 19th-century Paris, with side trips to Provence, London, and 2nd-Century Britain?

"Sacrè Bleu" takes the reader on a rollicking adventure through the "demimonde", the half-world of models, dancers, and whores that lies beneath the visible veneer of polite society in fin de siècle Paris. Starving artists straddle the gap between the two worlds, craving attention from the critics, buyers among the wealthy patrons of the arts, and love and inspiration from the elusive muse who will elevate their visions of beauty to masterpieces on canvas. Lucien Lessard is a baker and an aspiring painter; he is the son of another baker and aspiring painter who was also a patron, in a small way, to some of the artists of the Montmartre district of Paris.

Brought up in Montmartre learning the secrets of baking from his father and tutored in art by the Franco-Caribbean artist Camille Pissaro, Lucien is mad for the love of Juliette, a blue-eyed, fair-skinned brunette with a bewitching beauty that inspires his art. Juliette has a strange companion--the Colorman, a twisted, gnome-like little man who blends and sells the colored pigments that bring the vibrant colors of Parisian streets and Provençal fields to life on the canvases of such artists as Pisarro, Renoir, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh. Rarest, finest, most sought after--and most expensive--of all the pigments is the deep, brilliant ultramarine blue - the sacrè bleu.

Once the exclusive material decreed by the Church to portray the sacred blue cloak of the Virgin Mary on canvas and in stained glass, the sacrè bleu possesses a power to bewitch the mind and inflame the heart--but what is the source of this power, why is the color so rare, and what is the connection between the lovely Juliette, the dwarfish Colorman, and the unfathomable bursts of artistic inspiration that too infrequently ennoble the artistic visions of the far-flung community of avant-garde artists whose paths cross in Montmartre? This is the mystery which Julien must solve, aided by an unlikely companion; his good friend Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, the diminutive alcoholic Impressionist and Art Noveau painter, and scion of a noble (but fading) aristocratic family, known to history by the more manageable moniker, Toulouse-Lautrec.

Hints of the answer to the mystery of the sacrè bleu tease the reader as the story unfolds and Lucien and Henri are drawn deeper and deeper into its secret. Juliette is Lucien's love, and his personal muse, but is there more to her than meets the eye? What is the bond that ties her to the Colorman, and what is the connection, if any, between this unlikely duo and the unexplained death of the mad Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh? For his love, for his peace of mind, and possibly for his life, Julien must discover the secret of the sacrè bleu. His quest takes him from streets of Montmartre to the sunlit fields of Provence, the limestone caverns of the Dordogne, and the dark and dangerous catacombs honeycombing the Parisian undercroft in pursuit of the truth behind the power of the sacrè bleu. It is an unforgettable journey, and one which will have you gasping for air before it concludes.

Parts of this book reminded me of "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant" aka "Damn Yankees". Of course, the plot differs considerably, but the sentiment remains. And, the comparison is only a starting point. Moore doesn't resort to a retelling of that story. Instead, he writes a new story that might only be encountered once in a blue moon.

We get to meet the artists of 19th century France and learn enough, if not way too much, about their peculiarities. It is a wonder that they ever managed to paint anything or anyone, at least within Moore's story.

As if the true histories of their lives, and deaths, isn't surreal enough, Moore adds in our "heroine" (what a stretch); or perhaps better classed as femme fatale. She, Juliette, has to be read about to have a chance of being believed. This lady of blueness is in cahoots with the enigmatic Colorman. It takes this entire book to fairly describe him. Their partnership is, uh, different and, for proper appreciation, must also be discovered in the wild.

If the book has a counterpart "hero", it is Lucien Lessard. He is the latest of the Lessard family of bakers. He is also a wannabee artist. His father was, in his way, and, among other things besides baking, a backer of artists. Thus Lucien grew up in their midst. His main "friend" or "cohort in whatever pops up" is Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. Henri is in the book as in real life: larger-than-life though small-in-stature.

Put those fine folk together with the other artists dropping like blue-bottle flies and you have an engaging novel that will set art history back more than the century that has elapsed since the story's setting. Quickly read, well written, subtly humorous and constantly weird, the book is great entertainment for a few wintery days - or whenever.

Moore's Afterword is one of the most enjoyable that I remember reading; and I always read them.

Warning: this book contains blatant sex, bad language, violence, silliness; and, there's a donkey.

This intriguing mystery takes as its starting point the inexplicable death of Vincent Van Gogh. Why did this great artist, apparently recovering from his mental illness, shoot himself in a cornfield and then walk a mile in search of help? Christopher Moore's hilarious....

Um, wait. That doesn't seem quite right for this book. Let me try again.

This lushly researched historical novel explores the connection between the artist and his muse by focusing on the great Impressionists...

No, that seems too pompous. Let's see:

This book contains the most astonishing collection of "ding-a-ling" jokes, including a running gag where Lucien, an aspiring artist who works in his family bakery, gets hit in the head every morning by a...No, no spoilers here.

I'm terribly sorry. If you are a fan of Christopher Moore, he has outdone himself with this fantastic novel. If you are not a fan of Christopher Moore, but you like Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, Manet, Monet, Seurat...but not Degas...you must read this book. Unless you are offended by "ding-a-ling" jokes. Fans of Terry Pratchett should enjoy this book. Moore takes us to a fantastic world that greatly resembles our own. Even though I find this book difficult to pigeonhole, for that very reason I recommend it highly.

What can I say about Christopher Moore that his fans do not already know? He is a great writer. His books tend to have equal parts side-splitting hilarity and dead seriousness. Fans of Christopher Moore should definitely pick this up! And those of you who have been woefully deprived of a healthy dosage of Christopher Moore, you NEED to buy this book

One of the great things about Moore's stories is that they are often self-contained with the occasional reference to another one of his works. This leads to eureka moments when you go back to read one book only to realize "OH MY GOD! This guy was in THAT book too!" Moore has crafted his own little universe of self-referencing stories that help to add plenty of depth to his work.

Sacre Bleu is a cute story about an aspiring artist named Lucien Lessard and his friend Henri Toulouse-Lautrec trying to find out what happened to their friend Vincent Van Gogh. During the course of this adventure they are confronted by an...intriguing...fellow referred to as The Colorman, a paint/drug dealer. I say paint/drug dealer because this guy shares more than a few business practices with drug dealers. Anyways, over the course of this adventure they meet several other famous artists from post-Industrial Revolution Paris, France. Lucien finds what could possibly be true love in the form of a mysterious woman named Juliette who has a peculiar relationship with The Colorman herself.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a witty, funny, and romantic piece of literature to entertain yourself with for a bit.

This was my third time reading Christopher Moore. To be honest, I approached it with some trepidation. Though I delighted in the other two books - "Fool" and "Lamb" - I came to both with a well grounded knowledge of the related subject matter. Being woefully ignorant about the Impressionists, I worried that I might find myself unable to get the jokes or lost amidst the characters. Bully for Moore, that far from my background being a liability, I found myself learning a great deal, and developed a desire to read further on the topic.

While one can't go into much detail about the novel without revealing crucial delightful plot points, it opens with Vincent Van Gogh's death, and it wasn't the suicide as the history books would have us believe. No, it was murder most foul. Into the detective story comes Lucien Lessard, a baker who aspires to join the ranks of the impressionists, at his side the diminutive aristocratic sybarite, Toulouse-Lautrec. A host of other historical characters and settings appear on the scene, mostly painters, but Lessard and Lautrec are plainly the stars. Still, demonstrating his great eye for detail, Moore brings Paris in general and the district of Montmarte in particular into sharp relief.

Without offering any spoilers, I can only say that the plot twists and turns, but ultimately satisfies. This satisfaction comes not just from the story, but from the way Moore plainly takes an interest in informing his readers. This is a handsome book, and I salute Moore and his publisher to understand that, despite the time and expense it surely involved, including images of the paintings by various impressionist masters would prove invaluable. Not only does Moore use them to give his less knowledgeable readers a leg up in understanding some of the jokes, but it also will inspire you to go and seek out some of these works in all their glory. Likewise, I loved the riches of historical detail Moore chose to include, from paint making to the history of the sacred blue. The result is a work sure to thrill his long time fans, attract a new cadre of new readers, and spawn some new interest in viewing great art. What more could an author (or a reader) ask?

Oh, yes, one other thing. You will laugh. A lot.

Christopher Moore is one of the more imaginative authors out there, and you could say he's also 'out there' himself. This is such a twisting, turning novel that is mysterious, funny, and surreal as only Moore can be. And yes, he does refer to art works of the period in which the novel is set, but there is always a lot of other things going on to keep up a reader's interest.

If you need something different, something offbeat for a change of pace, this book may just fill the bill.

Sacre Bleu is the story of painter/baker Lucien Lessard and real-life artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec as they try to figure out if their friend Vincent Van Gogh really killed himself or if foul play was involved. Along the way, they meet the mysterious Colorman, who is always trying to sell blue paint to the artists. Other real-life artists of the day have supporting roles: Monet, Manet, Degas, Gauguin.

This book was definitely absurd but I didn't find myself laughing out loud as much as I usually do with a Christopher Moore book. I was more mildly amused. A lot of the jokes that I didn't think were that funny in the first place were repeated throughout the book, which got old.

As an art lover married to a painter, I appreciated the art references throughout the book and having pictures of the paintings mentioned included within the text. (The pictures were black and white in my advance copy; I'm not sure if they will be in color in the finished hardback but I hope they will.)

I think that Moore fans will get some enjoyment from reading this book. If you are new to him, I would not recommend starting with Sacre Bleu.