What do readers think of The Lost Notebook of Edouard Manet by Maureen Gibbon? Write your own review.

Art critics and museum docents work hard to interpret painter's masterpieces, but often they have little written material to guide their understanding. Maureen Gibbon has tried to get inside the head of modernist painter Edouard Manet by creating a fictional lost notebook covering the last few years of his life. Manet was already suffering from syphilis when the notebook begins in April 1880. The daily indignities of his health problems and the small pleasures of his sketching and interactions with his friends provide a look over the shoulder of a controversial artist who feels (and was) underappreciated. The most compelling sections deal with what may have inspired his famous painting, A Bar at the Moulin Rouge, and the sad-faced bar maid at its center. The format makes for a compelling book that sends the reader back for another look at the artist's work.

If you have a modicum of curiosity, you will read this book with your computer by your side. I took French in college as well as Art Appreciation, but I still spent hours looking up information on people, places, and events that were integral to Manet's story. The entire novel is indeed page after page of Manet's notebook, and I found it fascinating. The perspectives that he offers on growing old, dealing with illness, finding pleasure in small things, and reacting to praise and criticism are both interesting and thought-provoking. I can highly recommend this book to those who want to expand their reading horizons.

Being a student of the Impressionists I looked forward to this read. I sometimes felt I was reading about Van Gogh for some reason although he and Manet had different problems. Gibbon's gave us some great ideas to dwell on which I sometimes needed to reread and think about, like one can love many things such as even carrots. Although my father said how can you love carrots. And then the idea of always comparing everything. Just take it for what it is and look at the good things about them or it.

I really like Manet's paintings, wishing he could have lived longer. Interesting the way Gibbon has the novel in diary form and it is a quick read, if one doesn't stop too often to think about some of the profound statements.

Very appealing book cover. Book covers do mean a lot when shopping for my next read.

I'm not sure how I feel about the book. It is, if course, a work of fiction based upon a few years at the end of Edouard Manet's life. He suffered from the effects of syphilis. There are a few passages on his artistic process; I wish there had been more. It would be interesting mainly to students of Manet.

I was interested in this book because I like the art of Edouard Manet. The first part was rather boring but did give information on effects of syphilis and his interest in women. I especially enjoyed the parts about painting "A Bar in at the Folies-Bergere" which is a favorite of mine and the comments on the Paris Salon. It is a fast read

This is a very different novel written as a diary. It takes place during the end of Manet's life as he is suffering from complications of syphilis. While he tries out different "cures", he focuses on nature and the everyday beauty of his existence. We also learn about the artistic, political upheaval that Manet is experiencing.
It is interesting to read someone's notebook and learn their inner most fears and desires even though this is a fictionalized journal.

I would suggest this book to anyone who likes Manet and the art world of his time.

Told in the form of a notebook, this diary of the later years of Edouard Manet is both lovely and sad. Sad in that his later years are plagued with syphilis and the accompanying decline, but lovely in the memories reflected. Manet is determined to finish a final work- A Bar at the Folies-Bergere (coincidentally one of my favorite works of the age). We read of his attempts to paint while suffering severe health issues and traveling back and forth between a sanitarium where he receives treatment and Paris, where he works. The allusions to nature are lovely, as are the actual sketches reproduced in the notebook. I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for a review.

For those who like imaginary thoughts about an actual person's life, they will like this book. As I prefer factual accounts, I prefer biographies. That being said, perhaps the prospective reader can make a decision on whether or not to read the book. The diary did give the flavor of France along with that of the artist and his work.