“Christopher Moore is a very sick man, in the very best sense of that word.” —Carl Hiassen
A magnificent “Comedy d’Art” from the author of Lamb, Fool, and Bite Me, Moore’s Sacré Bleu is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter as he joins the dapper Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed … Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed “suicide” of Vincent van Gogh.
It is the color of the Virgin Mary’s cloak, a dazzling pigment desired by artists, an exquisite hue infused with danger, adventure, and perhaps even the supernatural. It is . . .
Sacré Bleu
In July 1890, Vincent van Gogh went into a cornfield and shot himself. Or did he? Why would an artist at the height of his creative powers attempt to take his own life . . . and then walk a mile to a doctor’s house for help? Who was the crooked little “color man” Vincent had claimed was stalking him across France? And why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue?
These are just a few of the questions confronting Vincent’s friends—baker-turned-painter Lucien Lessard and bon vivant Henri Toulouse-Lautrec—who vow to discover the truth about van Gogh’s untimely death. Their quest will lead them on a surreal odyssey and brothel-crawl deep into the art world of late nineteenth-century Paris.
Oh là là, quelle surprise, and zut alors! A delectable confection of intrigue, passion, and art history—with cancan girls, baguettes, and fine French cognac thrown in for good measure—Sacré Bleu is another masterpiece of wit and wonder from the one, the only, Christopher Moore.
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Christopher Moore’s irreverent novel “Sacré Bleu: A Comedy d’ Art” was published in 2012 by William Morrow. My calling one of Mr. Moore’s novels irreverent is a redundant and silly thing to write. All of Christopher Moore’s novels are irreverent. They are often silly as well. Which is why I love them.
I believe that all of us need an outlet, a way to shut off our pesky brains. I most certainly do. When life pushes in a little too hard, I look for a moment to just have a giggle at something. Other folks need to cheer, or cry; whatever release is needed. This outlet could be a Kung-Fu movie (Fists of Fury!!!), or slot-car racing, or those odd pedicures where the little fish nibble at ones feet. Whatever works for you is fine with me. Some of my pure diversions — gluttonous reading for entertainment alone — are Mr. Moore’s novels.
In this episode of Moore’s silliness, he takes on the French Impressionists. I can hear the reader asking “How can that be funny?” Trust me, it is. Moore creates a lovely view of Paris at the time of La Belle Époque. The novel traces the life of a young boy, the son of a baker, who will himself become a baker and a painter. The novel is shot through with the lions of the French Impressionist movement. Monet, Degas, Gauguin, and poor, deranged, Vincent Van Gogh, make up the cast of characters. Henri Toulouse-Lautrec is the side-kick, the demented comic relief. The cast and setting make for a hilarious historical romp through the narrow streets, garrets, and cafés of Paris.
But there can be no story without conflict; isn’t that right Mon Ami? Of course it is. And there can be no Christopher Moore novel without a deep dive into the speculative, as in Speculative Fiction. “Sacré Bleu” is no exception. Here I must tread carefully to avoid spoilers. Suppose there was a unifying force of inspiration, a force that served a higher purpose, and also a sinister purpose. Now suppose that this same force, this flame of inspiration, was also a total hottie; a Femme Fatale for artists throughout the centuries. The story arc is in place: Crazy artists, the death of Vincent Van Gogh, and a beautiful yet sinister force with great legs that knits the thing together.
I highly recommend this novel for an enjoyable and funny romp of a read. There is, however, a bit more to this book than just giggles. Mr. Moore did his homework, drawing heavily on the great art history “The Private Lives of the Impressionists” by Sue Roe. Most readers will learn a thing or two about the Impressionist Movement whilst reading this novel. And that is not such a bad thing; certainly not when it comes with laughing out loud.
I love every book he has ever written!
Less outright funny than Moore’s usual books, their is intelligence in the wit, the story telling, the sort of yearning for something you can never have. Good historical setting of the art world centered in that part of Paris in those years.
Oh, and baking bread.
Christopher Moore’s novel is amusing, sometimes witty, often coarse, and a great deal of fun.
Readers already familiar with the Christopher Moore opus might remember Coyote Blue, and the two books have something in common besides the instance of color in their titles—in Coyote Blue, the mayhem centers around the Trickster of Navajo legend; in Sacré Bleu there is also a unifying theme centering around another “bad guy” — in this case, the color blue, which he also immediately identifies as another “trickster.”
A quick caveat: a friend once remarked that a certain group of people was difficult to hang out with because “if you don’t speak Latin, you miss all the good jokes.” There’s a similarity here: if you’re not familiar with nineteenth-century art and artists, you’re going to be playing catch-up from the start of the novel. Manet, Monet, Seurat, Pissarro, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Renoir all wander in and out of Moore’s pages as though they were completely at home with him. As, in a sense, they are.
Lucien Lessard is a baker and aspiring artist who hangs out with other painters, and thus hears the stories of Vincent van Gogh claiming to have a stalker and developing a terror of the color blue. When the artist commits suicide (oddly enough shooting himself in a wheat field before walking a mile to a doctor’s house), Lessard joins forces with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to investigate.
But it’s really, as they find, the actual color blue that they’re investigating. It is, as Moore himself asserts, a “sneaky color,” one that will tease the protagonists throughout their journey through art, society, philosophy, and legend. There is a human villain too, the Colorman that van Gogh manages to warn them about, accompanying the lovely Juliette with whom Lucien has fallen in love. The Colorman has haunted other artists as well, the duo find, and has caused all the Impressionists to fall under his spell—the spell of blue.
“Sacré bleu” may translate innocuously enough to “holy blue,” but it is that holiness that makes it a serious blasphemy in French. Moore gleefully exploits this and other language prohibitions; sometimes it works, sometimes—as when he puts modern colloquialisms into the vocabulary of the painters—not so much.
Moore is truly at the top of his game in Sacré Bleu, and managed to produce a tale that’s both haunting and funny. Buy the hardcover version—it’s gorgeous and will look great on your shelf—but read it for the laughter and the unexpected moments of contemplation.
Totally weird and brilliant
Generally I don’t like magical realism and I didn’t expect to enjoy this book. The beginning of the book is fascinating. I love the interplay of history and art, fact and fiction, and truly insane characters. The story is chock full of sly humor…St-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet as the patron saint of wine in a box, the Colorman as a product of a giant rat crossed with a chanterelle mushroom, and Henri and Lucien as creatures with ethical compasses that pivoted around a point at their groins. Unfortunately, by page 200+ the story descended into silly magical fantasy that tied up all the loose ends. It was a poor ending to a really good story.
Beautiful tale of fantasy illuminating the relationship between an artist and his muse. Lyrical prose, with actual facts re the sacred blue used in paintings of the virgin mother. Unlike any book I’ve read before or since. I really enjoyed it.
I enjoy Christopher Moore immensely. That being said, this was not my favorite of his books. It was meandering and I lost my interest in it many times. Took forever to finish it. But it was certainly a book with the Moore touch.
This book really twists art history around with fascinating results. As a long time fine arts fan, aspiring artist, and frequent visitor to Paris, I’d love to see a sequel. You’ll never look at Toulouse Latrec the same way again!
Awesome book. Recommended to art group!
Great read!
Just could not get into this one.
This was a very strange book that I couldn’t put down. How the author developed the artist characters was fascinating. I have other book by this writer. They are all so quirky and fun. Night crew at a grocery store bowling with frozen turkeys is a good example
Sacred Blue color takes on a whole new meaning when Christopher Moore writes about it.
Not his best, but a novel approach to classical art.
It gave me a view of the history of some of the world’s most famous painters. I had not realized that Renoir, Whitler, Van Gogh, Manet and others knew each other.
Says a lot about artists and lapis azule.
This is probably my favourite Christopher Moore novel and at the top of my all time favourites.
This novel brought the artists and Montmartre alive in a way I have not experienced before.
This is how historical characters should be portrayed in my opinion – with all the quirks, strengths , weaknesses and ultimately their full humanity on show.
So original. One of a kind writer!