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There are currently 28 member reviews
for Sacre Bleu
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Julie B. (Menomonee Falls, WI)
Interesting but not a typical Christopher Moore
I was so excited to read the newest Christopher Moore. I have read almost all of his books and found them to be laugh-out-loud funny. Not so with this book. It was certainly amusing, but not what I expected from Moore. It was, however a very original story about real artists in a very unreal situation. I would recommend it for the story and the illustrations of beautiful paintings.
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Pam (MA)
Sacre Blue
Sacre Bleu is comic historical fiction about the post impressionist painters of the late 19th century. Toulouse Lautrec is one of the main characters. Fiction about art and artists is one of my favorite types but this book took me awhile to get into because of its totally irreverent approach to its subject matter. Once I got over the author’s sophomoric potty-mouth writing style, I enjoyed the book a lot. The author captured the angst of artistic life and had an interesting take on the artist’s muse. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the works of art referred to in the story. As I read the book, I felt I was reading a comic book or graphic novel. The most similar book that I know is Secret Lives of Great Artists by Elizabeth Lunday which is a graphic book.
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Linda M. (Three Oaks, MI)
Sacre Blue
I have read all of Christopher Moore’s books. They are generally irreverent, full of wit and fairly absurd in the best of ways. That being said, Sacre Blue didn’t too much deviate from the norm. For me, it started very slow, to the point that I had to force my way through the first fifty or so pages. It eventually picked up the pace; however, the outlandish take on the artist and his inspiration through the ages didn’t inspire me as much as Moore’s previous works. There were elements I really enjoyed such as the way he incorporated actual historical painters and their works into the storyline bringing art to life blending truth with fiction. Toulouse-Lautrec, in a supporting role and the 1800’s equivalent of a party animal, was my favorite character. He did make me laugh. It was the mystery that drew me in this book rather than the comedy and it wasn’t enough to keep me from being fully entertained.
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Ann D. (CLEARFIELD, PA)
Sacre Blah
Christopher Moore weaves an irreverant tale of mystery surrounding the Paris art scene of the late 1800's. In Sacre Bleu, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, when sober and upright, joins his young, aspiring artist/bread-baker friend, Lucien Lessard, in an attempt to discover the truth about The Colorman and his body-hopping muse, Julliette.
The story is riddled with attempts at humor. I actually laughed out loud a few times, but alas, too few. Too often, they produced only groans.
Moore includes many famous artists and samples their work as part of the story line. That part worked well.
I was not familiar with Chrisopher Moore's previous novels. Knowing what I know now, I would not have chosen this book to review.
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Neil W. (Tavares, FL)
An Effort to Entertain
This book is an attempt to portray the life of famous artists in Paris around the turn of the 20th Century in a creative and humorous way. The writing is mediocre and the plot thin. I did not find it particularly humorous or entertaining
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Loren B. (Appleton, WI)
NOT Art History 101
I realize that Christopher Moore is known for his irreverent treatment of various subjects, but I really couldn't get past the frat-boy "humor". This could have been an interesting take on that particular era in art history otherwise.
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Rosemary K. (Saginaw, MI)
Sacre Bleu indeed!
Christopher Moore's Sacre Bleu is one of the most dreadful books I've ever struggled through. I can appreciate the author's premise--barely, but the way the plot unfolded was tedious. None of the characters were appealing. I suppose the author was shooting for humor, but he certainly struck me with his decided lack of depth.
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