An instant #1 bestseller in France

Winner of the RTL-Lire Literary Magazine Grand Prix 2024

Debuted at #2 in Italy

"Art historian Schlesser's vibrant English-language debut frames a survey of classical Western art with the story of a Parisian man supporting his 10-year-old granddaughter after her sudden bout of temporary blindness... Schlesser seamlessly interweaves the art lessons with Mona's story, which concludes with an explanation for the cause of her blindness. Readers of Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World will love this."--Publishers Weekly

"It's an earthquake. A seismic shift in the world of publishing. A Sophie's World set in the art world. Thomas Schlesser. Remember the name."--Alice Develey, Le Figaro

"An ode to beauty and wisdom."--Le Parisien

"Mona's Eyes is not only an introductory novel about art; it is also a universal tale."--La Croix

"The phenomenal novel that makes you want to run to the museum... Better than Emily in Paris."--Télerama

"Fabulous!"--France Inter

"Thomas Schlesser is the world champion of dissemination. A brilliant book."--Télématin

"A tender and absolutely captivating book."--La grande librairie

"A wonderful and poignant story."--Courrier Picard

"Telling the story of a little girl who is introduced to beauty and life, Mona's Eyes as sparked an exceptional level of enthusiasm."--RTL

"This incredibly buzzy debut is something like if an acclaimed art historian had written All the Light We Cannot See... It feels passionate and engaging and really captures the freshness and wonder of understanding art, the world, growing up, through the eyes of a child."--Miriam Gordis, Albertine Bookstore, New York, NY