I'm not a Christopher Moore reader so I was fascinated reading the other reviews and learning about his books. I'll say this -- he is imaginative and his creativity is fantastic. I read this book because I'm gong to Paris. I think I may be lead astray because I can't get his account of the artists out of my mind. I look forward to seeing some of those paintings and giggle with the mix of fact and fiction that enters my thoughts.That said, this was a bit tedious for me. I wanted to keep saying, "I get it!" and, until the last 100 pages which took me in a different place, I found it repetitive -- even if from artist to artist. I frankly was glad when I could finally put it down. However, I did keep reading, and that says something about interest level.However, I may or may not decide to read another Christopher Moore. I didn't think it was LOL funny because I'm literal enough not to laugh at those poor fictionally deluded artists --ironic, yes, but not funny. Excellent read. Intelligent, funny, sexy. Reminded me of The Night Circus in that it's a very stylish, urban nineteenth century into which magic starts to intrude. Full of delightful references to art history (mainly 19th century French painters, particularly Van Gogh (who wasn't French but lived and worked in France) and Toulouse-Lauttrec. The sex was distinctly male gazy, which is I suppose to be expected in a novel about painters and their models written by a dude. The text is actually illustrated with the paintings that are the source of the descriptions, which is a lovely touch.
Do You like book Sacre Blue (2000)?
The first half of this was kind of a bore.It got better but not like the other Moore books.
—dodo
