Mona's Eyes byThomas Schlesser , Hildegarde Serle (translator)

genre: contemporary fiction 

Mona's life in the suburbs of Paris has been a fairly ordinary one. She goes to school, where her friends are always ready to play whatever imaginative game comes to them. She spends afternoons in her father's knick-knack store and most especially, she looks forward to spending time with her beloved grandfather, Dadé. One afternoon, Mona suddenly loses her sight and doctor's are unsure of what's happening to her eyes. With the possibility of future blindness for his granddaughter, Dadé makes a decision. He is going to make sure that Mona has seen the treasures of the Museums of Paris before that happens, so that if nothing else, she can have the memories of art in her mind to reflect on if the worst happens. 

You know what this book reminds me of? Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, which I read back in college but still think about. While that book goes through the last two thousand years of philosophy, this book goes through the same process with art. There is a plot, of Mona and her family and friends and how it impacts her, but always there is then a visit to an art museum where she learns about one piece of art and the lesson it can teach us. It is didactic yes, but that works SO WELL for me! I WANT someone to tell me about art as if I'm a ten year old, to explain the history of the artist, their zeitgeist and context and then weave it all together with whatever comes next. .  This is practically an art history text interspersed with a novel and the interplay sometimes astounded me. I had to read with my phone nearby so I could look at the art while reading what Dadé was teaching Mona about. Sometimes Mona seems too intelligent for her age, but then I remember that I have met kids like this, so sensitive and aware.  If you enjoy art and art history as well as tender stories about grandparents and grandchildren, then you this might enjoy this book as much as I did.