Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore
by Jenners • 04/07/2012 • 3.5 Stars, Fiction, Historical, Humor, M Authors, S Titles • 23 Comments
Sacre Bleu by Christopher MoorePublisher: William Morrow, April 2012
Pages: 416
Genre: Fiction, Historial Humorous Fiction (a new genre!?)
Where I Got It: Amazon Vine
Why I Read It: You know I just love Christopher Moore (most of the time)
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Set primarily in Montmartre, Paris in the 1890s, this is a book about artists, muses and the color blue. Of course, being written by Christopher Moore, you can expect everything to be skewed to the absurd, a bit bawdy, irreverent and playful. Moore inhabits his book with figures real (Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet and Renoir) and unreal (Bleu—a body-jumping muse, the Colorman—a gnome who can create the otherwordly shade of blue known as Scare Bleu, and Lucien Lessard, a baker/painter who is obsessed with Juliette).
While reading, I was always curious about what was real and what wasn’t. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book for me was Moore’s Afterword (“So, Now You’ve Ruined Art), which provided a breakdown of what was based on fact and what wasn’t. Surprisingly, quite a bit of “realness” snuck into a book that is quite fanciful and absurd. It was interesting to learn that Monet really did paint his wife Camille on her deathbed, the puzzling circumstances of Vincent Van Gogh’s death, and the ungodly amount of artists who died of syphilis. Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed were the images of the real paintings that are discussed and play a role in the book. I thought it was an ingenious way to make art history come alive in a way that would even seem palatable to … say … teenage boys.
However, I just didn’t fall in love with the book (despite my deep and abiding adoration of several of Moore’s other books). Part of it was the goofy sophomoric humor that runs throughout the book a la Fool (I guess boobie and penis jokes just don’t do it for me) and the other part was the fractured nature of the tale that just didn’t draw me in. The real problem, perhaps, is that I just didn’t care about any of the characters too much so I never got all that invested in the book or what was happening. Still, if you’re a fan of Moore, it is worth checking out even if it fell a bit flat and wasn’t his best work. Or if you are an art history buff/major, you might enjoy this romp through a very exciting time in art history.
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When I received this book, I thought of you and your love for Moore. Sorry to see it is not one of your favorites – maybe I should start with another Moore book?
It certainly is a beautiful book.
I’m about halfway through the book right now, and it’s not bad, but it’s just…meh. The book itself is beautiful, though. Printing it must have cost a grip.
I’ll need to look at the book in the store. My ARC was pretty plain. I was wondering if they showed the paintings in color in the actual book. I heard it has blue ink!!!! I agree though … kind of meh though not “bad.”
I haven’t yet read any Christopher Moore, and wouldn’t you know it –> I have SACRE BLEU on my shelves! Sophomoric humor goes over better in movies than books for me; we’ll see how I do with my first venture into Moore’s work
Well, don’t judge him just by this book. He has some better ones.
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i thought of you the minute i saw this book at the store! i’ve read some of CM’s other books but took a pass on this one. seems like i made the right choice. enjoy that spring break–i’m soaking up my own right now. had plans for florida but you know what they say about making plans. i’m now enjoying a ‘stay’cation instead. if you ask me, there’s too much laundry and not enough beach time.
I’ve only read Fool, and if the humor is like that one, I’m going to pass.
I have yet to read a Christopher Moore book, but keep thinking I should. Perhaps I won’t start with this one. Sophomoric humor (or Adam Sandler Humor, as I like to call it) just isn’t my thing. Thanks for the honest review.
maybe not the Moore book I should start with…
You are such a great Moore fan! Received the book and note yesterday. Thanks
I love learning about art, but sophomoric humor is one of my pet peeves in books, so I’ll be avoiding this one.
I think this is one I might actually try. I don’t know what it is about it — maybe the subject matter is just too juicy to pass up. (Not the immature jokes but the lives of the artists!)
I almost feel like it’s a sin: I’ve never read a Moore. I really must rectify this soon.
Oops–should be “you didn’t care for the jokes…”!
Thanks for your honest review. This one sounds like it has so much potential, yet you didn’t dare for the jokes or connect with the characters. I will look for other books by this author.
I’m putting it on my library list. That’s the beauty of the library — if you hate it, you can always take it back.
I’ve been waiting for your review of this book. As soon as I heard Moore had a new book coming out I knew you would be first in line to read it….think I’ll read one of his others next time I get in a Moore mood. This one just does not sound like the one for me.
I’ve never read this guy either, but even the best authors do slip now and again. Guess he had to just get all that 13 year old boy stuff out of his system. On that topic, I am reading a book of poems by Ethan Coen (yes that Coen brother) and it reads like a 13 year old wrote it…a really smart, creative 13 year old, but still. Lots of raunchy humor.
My husband just finished reading this to write a review for me on my blog. I got it for him because he loves Christopher Moore. He didn’t think it was as funny as some other books, but he still liked it. I don’t know much else. But yeah, I’m not sure if his books are for me. I have yet to read one.
I agree with your husband. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t Moore’s best work.
I haven’t read any of Moore’s books and don’t think I’ll start with this one.
I’ve never read any Christopher Moore, but this might be a nice introduction for me due to the art history angle. Still…I’m not sure I’d like it from a few of the other things you say, especially about never really connecting with the characters in the story.