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    Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
    Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
    Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
    Audiobook11 hours

    Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art

    Written by Christopher Moore

    Narrated by Euan Morton

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “Christopher Moore is a very sick man, in the very best sense of that word.”
    —Carl Hiassen

    “[Moore’s novels] deftly blend surreal, occult, and even science-fiction doings with laugh-out-loud satire of contemporary culture.”
    —Washington Post

    “If there’s a funnier writer out there, step forward.”
    —Playboy

    Absolutely nothing is sacred to Christopher Moore. The phenomenally popular, New York Times bestselling satirist whom the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls, “Stephen King with a whoopee cushion and a double-espresso imagination” has already lampooned Shakespeare, San Francisco vampires, marine biologists, Death…even Jesus Christ and Santa Claus! Now, in his latest masterpiece, Sacré Bleu, the immortal Moore takes on the Great French Masters. A magnificent “Comedy d’Art” from the author of Lamb, Fool, and Bite Me, Moore’s Sacré Bleu is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter as he joins the dapper  Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed “suicide” of Vincent van Gogh.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateApr 3, 2012
    ISBN9780062097415
    Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
    Author

    Christopher Moore

    Christopher Moore is the author of seventeen previous novels, including Shakespeare for Squirrels, Noir, Secondhand Souls, Sacré Bleu, Fool, and Lamb. He lives in San Francisco, California.

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    Reviews for Sacre Bleu

    4/5

    147 ratings78 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Usually I am not a huge fan of having historical people appear in novels, but it was done by Christopher Moore, so of course the result was really funny, clever, and a bit irreverent. This book made me want to look up artworks from artists mentioned, paint, and hit someone with a baguette.
    • 4/5
      Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d' ArtI picked this book up at the book store because the cover intrigued the heck out of me. I really enjoyed several of Moore's other novels and I am a fan of art -- especially Van Gogh. That this book was based on Van Gogh's suicide (or murder??) was really the icing on the cake for me.There were things I truly enjoyed about this one: The original premise, ALL the font was in blue (lovely theme addition!), a revisionist romp into art history in the Impressionist era all mixed with a very healthy dose of fantasy fiction.What was not as enjoyable for me was that my brain kept segueing into thoughts such as: "Did this part really happen?" "Is this fictionalized?" "Was this *artist* really such a tool?" etc... Which, as I think about it now, is probably the mark of a good fictionalized history. I wanted to know...and Moore answered the majority of my questions at the end of the novel in his afterward.I also enjoyed the fantastical part of the story -- the Colorman and the mysterious "Blue" character. But parts of the story were so bawdy that Moore lost my respect periodically. Lots of penis references and prostitute humor in this one. I'm no prude by any stretch and part of the lewdness lent a bit of comic reality to another of my favorite Impressionists (and one of the main characters) Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. However, after about halfway through the book, I felt like I had read enough. There were other aspects that I felt Moore could have focused a bit more on and gone easier on the sex / penis humor. **Just an opinion, folks.**I do not want to hint at more plot lines, so as not to give any spoilers away...Overall, I did enjoy Sacre Bleu (despite my criticisms). I would rank this a 4 star read for me.
    • 5/5
      Fabulous weaving of actual history with a supernatural twist, and a healthy dose of Christopher Moore humor. Just by accident, I read this book (great narrator, by the way) just before taking a trip to Edinburgh and London, where I was able to see paintings by the Impressionist masters (and other artists from that era) in person.

    • 4/5
      The death of van Gogh: was it suicide or murder? This is the opening scene and the premise of Christopher Moore’s latest comic novel, as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and his young artist friend Lucien Lessard investigate why the great painters of France are dying off. Will one of them be the next victim? Moore’s style is consistently humorous and bawdy. But as in previous books such as Lamb, Fluke, and Fool, his underlying theme is serious and thought provoking. [Bob - Circ. Staff]
    • 4/5
      Really fun read. A little art history, a little art fantasy, a lot of humor. Review haiku:Sacre Bleu is bothThe name of the color andwhat she'll make you say.
    • 4/5
      Very interesting. Wanted to like it more than I did. I'm a null on the art history scale, so I suspect I didn't have the background to throughly appreciated it. Still though I do recommend it.
    • 5/5
      I am writing this review because, unfortunately, and to my utter disappointment, I unwillingly arrived at the end of this fantastical piece of literary art. Art, indeed.I won't provide a synopsis, it's just not my style. So let me just begin by saying that never before has a single color kept me more thouroughly entertained (and that's saying a lot, I'm a graphic designer). I wanted to live, breath, eat, read, and frolic in Mr.Moore's descriptive offering of Paris, circa the late 1800's. Henry Toulouse Lautrec has officially joined my band of favourite characters, and I would have been honored to meet his acquaintence, but of course, only if it was Moore's Henry.I want to say so much more, but my heart hasn't quite finished bursting with joy and satisfaction from having experienced the adventure that was Sacré Bleu. Lovingly researched, yet with just the exact right amount of made up genius.Moore's best book yet.*Applause..applause*
    • 4/5
      Reason for Reading: I read every new book by the author.Christopher Moore brings us another fun satire this time taking place in 1890's France in the demimonde of the Parisian Impressionist artists. A good dose of historical fiction is mixed with plenty of the fantastical and paranormal to present a totally new view of the history of art. As is to be expected with Moore the story is very raunchy and won't suit everyone's sensibilities. Moore has a habit of poking fun at pretty much everyone making for some humorous reading. I didn't find Sacre Bleu as laugh out loud funny as some of his older work, but it did have its moments when my chuckles became audible. Moore inhabits his stories with large casts of eccentric characters and here he has risen to the challenge once again with a large number of real-life characters, painters from the time period, especially Toulouse-Lautrec who is one of the main characters. The lead male role is an unassuming man who is easily lead into this exotic adventure and the two antagonists are other-worldly and strange. The story revolves around a mystery involving the colour blue and it takes the motley crew of characters to gypsum mines, brothels, bakeries, underground passageways and catacombs. It also takes them through time to Ancient Rome, Britain of the Picts, Prehistoric man and eventually the 21st century. I had fun reading this. It's not Moore's best work. I enjoyed it more than Fool since it wasn't quite so vulgar, though, it is racy! I already knew a bit about this period, had heard of and was familiar with the artists and their work and I know that added to my enjoyment of the book. I'm not sure how it would go over with someone totally unfamiliar with this topic or time period. A fun read, what one expects from a Christopher Moore book and one sure to please fans but personally, I'm still waiting for one to match the excellence of A Dirty Job.
    • 5/5
      Loved it! Mr Moore has a wonderful sense of humor. His characters are well rounded and the bits of history make it even more enjoyable. This just might be my favorite Moore book.
    • 3/5
      I confess that despite being a Christopher Moore fan, I was reluctant to start this book. I don’t usually enjoy reading about art. Do I appreciate art? Generally. Do I understand the intricacies of composition and theme and whatnot? Not so much. So a book that revolves around art makes me anticipate my eyes glazing over. Thankfully, my husband is also a Christopher Moore fan and insisted we listen to this book on a recent road trip.It’s difficult to decide how exactly to describe this book. At the beginning, we meet some artist friends of Vincent Van Gough, who has recently shot himself in a cornfield. What follows is the stories of these men, as well as a story that is older than man himself. Two constants in all of their lives are mysterious women and a certain shade of blue.There is a lot of Moore’s usual absurdity here, but there is also a distinct strand of sadness. In many ways, this is not a happy story. There is a lot of desperation and a lot of depression, but perhaps this is the lot of the tortured artist. There is also a fair bit of meandering, and I may have slept through a section or two (we were in the car, after all).One sweet spot for me is Moore’s portrayal of Henri Toulouse-Latrec. Ever since seeing Moulin Rouge, I’ve enjoyed stories that include Toulouse-Latrec. And he’s a rather large part of this story.Should you expect to emerge from this story with a better understanding of art history? Probably not. But you will be entertained.
    • 4/5
      This was a fun mix of fantasy with historical fiction, art, and humor. Moore offers a story of the women the Impressionists painted and the lives they led. It takes place in Paris in the 1890s around Montmartre and features Vincent and Theo Van Gogh, Henri Talouse-Lautrec, Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, and Pisarro.
    • 4/5
      How can you not like a book with a quote like "two pathetic penis plotters." Especially since one of the penis plotters is a mule called Etienne. I enjoyed that Moore took liberties with the time period and the characters. Why not give Toulouse-Letrec an over sized personality and make sure that Vincent Von Gogh is completely crazy. The plot was somewhat repetitive toward the end but it was fun a read.
    • 3/5
      An alternate look at art, inspiration and the color blue. This is my first Christopher Moore book and it was a rocky start. I never really liked Lucien Lessard or the characters of Juliette or the Colorman so when they were on the page the story just dragged to a halt and was hard to get through. But when the author focused on Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Monet or Pissaro the words and story sprang to life and I tore through the book...until it focused on Lucien again...the second half of the book spent a lot more time with Toulouse-Lautre with Lucien and that helped a great deal. To me it really feels as though the author WANTED to spend time with the actual artists and their world but HAD to spend time with Lucien and the others so those sections of the book are full of life and color and the rest are a bit flat. The story itself was interesting, if not to hard to figure out where it was going and I loved the feel of Paris and the time period the author created, I just wish the original characters he created felt as life like as the world he put them in.
    • 4/5
      Another good showing from Christopher Moore. I am sure I miss some of the more subtle comedy since I am not an expert on impressionist painters . . . but it is still a fun read and done well.
    • 4/5
      The impressionists have never been more fun than in this illustrated tromp through the art and imagined lives (& love lives) of the select French painters encountered in Moore's adventure.

    • 4/5
      Vincent Van Gogh’s unusual suicide—he shot himself in the chest shortly after finishing a painting, then walked a mile to a doctor’s house—provides the catalyst for revelations about the origins of the painter’s madness in this humorous and layered novel. Lucien Lessard, baker in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris, has grown up around some of the greatest painters of the age, including Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, and Manet. An aspiring painter himself, Lucien finds that his painting takes fire when his true love, the mysterious and beautiful Juliette, brings him a special tube of ultramarine blue paint from a strange paint dealer known only as the Colorman. As it turns out, Van Gogh also bought his blue from the Colorman, as did most, if not all, of the other famous painters in Paris at the time. And all of those painters also conducted mad, passionate, and ultimately doomed relationships with beautiful women at the same time. Lucien, beginning to piece this together, joins forces with his friend “the little gentleman,” the painter Toulouse-Lautrec—who, as it turns out, has also bought blue paint from the Colorman and also lost his true love, Carmen. They must discover the secret of the Colorman and the secret of the sacred blue before they, too, end up dead.Humorous as Moore’s books always are, Sacre Bleu, like Lamb and Fool, also contains a wealth of rich historical detail, clearly the product of meticulous reseach and a deep interest in the material. The painters are all portrayed as vividly as their paintings, and fin de siecle Paris is evoked realistically and colorfully.
    • 4/5
      I've really loved some of Moore's novels, and been less impressed with others.This is one of the best ones.Artists and the Parisian demimonde were handled really well. The plot was fantastic... but it was pretty plausible in context! which is what I loved. The dialog was entertaining and witty.And I simply adored Latrec here.The occasional inclusion of various paintings definitely added to the "historical" ambiance, though having them all be in grayscale mean we missed most of the point of the Impressionists, especially.I'd recommend this one- especially for anyone interested in this particular historical/artistic period, but who is willing to have fun with it.
    • 4/5
      Sacre Bleu! What another fun listen by Christopher Moore. Where he gets his ideas from, I'd like to know. This novel like so many of his others has a well developed storyline with very interesting characters, to say the least. It is a satirical romp through history with a story that is guaranteed to make you chuckle while you try to guess where the author is going next. Lighthearted books with good narration that you will enjoy.
    • 5/5
      Fun character interactions and creative storyline. Thoroughly entertaining. Brilliant narration. Superb. Thumbs up
    • 5/5
      It's the year 1890 and the art world in France is still reeling from the apparent suicide of Vincent Van Gogh. He shot himself in the chest and went to a doctor for help shortly afterwards, which seems counterintuitive. He didn't actually kill himself. He was murdered by a small man who calls himself the Colorman and sells quality paints to artists. He is always flanked by a donkey and a woman he calls Bleu. That woman's name is also Juliette and she has her sights set on Lucien Lassard, a baker who aspires to be a painter. Lucien and his best friend, Henri Marie Raymond de Talouse-Lautrec-Monfa, are investigating Van Gogh's death and see similarities to other painter's live that have ended tragically. Can they put together the puzzle before any other artists die? How is Juliette connected to the Colorman and who is the Colorman really? Will she prevent Lucien from solving the mystery and condemn him to a tragic death?I will read pretty much anything that Christopher Moore writes, but I was particularly excited about Sacre Bleu because it's about art history and mostly the French Impressionist artists. I have always liked that era in art, but I never really thought that much about how the people painting these masterpieces would be in their day to day lives. Sacre Bleu portrays them as normal men in an irreverent, funny manner. Whenever I've heard about these artists at museums or in art history classes, I think of their lives as epic and eventful and more interesting than a normal person's, but Christopher Moore's story probably falls closer to the truth. They were simply men, many with torrid love affairs, venereal diseases, and substance abuse problems. These artists revered by historians and art critics were just people and not always pleasant or sober or even sane. Bleu/Juliette is my favorite character in Sacre Bleu. She's the only major female character and she holds her own with all these famous and powerful men around her. She acts as a muse for the artists she manipulates and a goddess figure in this comic novel. That inspiration causes the artists to create faster and more intensely and better than they ever thought possible, but it comes at a price. I loved the reveal of her connection to the Colorman and of how far their influence in art history actually goes. I can't really talk any more about her character without spewing spoilers, so I'll stop here. Just trust me that she's awesome.Sacre Bleu is a fun novel that blends art history and irreverent humor. This narrative is full of bawdy jokes, drinking, whores, drugs, and sex and it's incredible fun. There are paintings printed throughout the novel that help the reader visualize each artists' style and see some of the paintings described. I would recommend this to fans of art history not afraid to laugh a little or fans of Christopher Moore's work in general.
    • 5/5
      This book was crazy funny and I really think it had a lot to do with the fact that this read was an audio book. Narrated by Euan Morton, Van Gogh has been killed by "the color man" in a cornfield!
      His painter friends vow to find the killer and along the way give us a taste of mystery, some passion, art history and lots of humor--loved it!
    • 2/5
      The novel is a whirlwind tour with the color blue involving a cast of who's who in the art scene from Renoir, Manet, Monet, Whistler, Pissarro, Gaugin, and more. The quest begins with a question surrounding the death of Vincent Van Gogh's death. Now so far, all the Moore fans might be chomping at the bits waiting to see what zaniness he does around this..... Unfortunately, the tale feels like a love child of Christopher Moore and James Michener. It contains both Moore's zany humor with Michener's well researched history around the art scene; that's the good genes from the union. The bad genes are left with choppy character development thus leaving me with little to no connection. Yes, it was funny. Yes, it was intriguing at times, but I often wanted some mad anarchist to rush in and blow something up, which doesn't happen by the way.
    • 4/5
      Although this was a tougher read then the previous books that I have read by Moore, it was still an ambitious and creative book. The Moore humor was there but not in the heaps that usually occur in his books. Because the book dragged at times I did not rate as highly as I have previous Moore books. I enjoyed reading about 2 of my favorite subjects, Paris and Art. I enjoyed the editing of the book and the inclusion of many impressionist painting throughout the pages. For people that have not read any Chistopher Moore books that they go with "Lamb" as a first read. I do think that Van Gogh's death has been questioned(recent 60 minutes segment) and I like the way Moore used that as the stepping off spot for the book's plot. A solid Moore book and another reason why I always look forward to reading his books.
    • 3/5
      A novel about artists in late 19th century Paris, an ancient Muse who can be anyone, a creepy little guy known only as the Colorman, and a shade of blue with supernatural powers.I've really enjoyed some of Moore's other novels, and this one has, I suppose, a similar off-the-wall plot and irreverent sense of humor to those, but I'm afraid it mostly left me cold.Part of the problem, no doubt, is that I don't have any familiarity with, or interest in, the 1890s Paris art scene. I can't help but feel, though, that with the right approach the story might have drawn me in and made me interested. But while Moore is no doubt trying to do that, he doesn't really succeed. (I did, by the way, appreciate the fact that pictures of many of the paintings mentioned or alluded to in the text are included here. That did help. But, while I have no doubt that it was economically necessary, reproducing paintings in black-and-white to serve a story that is all about color seems downright perverse.)Anyway, it's not just my lack of connection with the subject matter that kind of put me off. More than that, it's how utterly focused the story is on the way its male characters see and experience women: as objects of lust or sentiment, as models, as useful tools, as delights for the senses, but always -- and I use the word deliberately -- two-dimensional. And as fundamentally interchangeable, an idea that's baked into the entire premise of the plot. It's basically Male Gaze: The Novel.Now, one could no doubt start a lively and reasonable debate about whether Moore is embracing these attitudes or sending them up, but I find I just cannot bring myself to care enough to do so. The truth is, I don't find it provocative in any sense of the word, I just find it kind of tedious. I'm sure many people, possibly up to half the population of humanity, might happily read all day about the play of sunlight on the nude female body and what one might like to do with said body when not painting it, but I am really not one of them. Entirely aside from the question of whether it's done offensively or not, it's just dull.All of which suggests that maybe this is just a case of the wrong reader for the wrong book, and in cases like that I try not to judge too hard, but this time I can't help but feel that it's not just me, that the author could have written this in such a way that I would have enjoyed it more, and that it would have been a better book in general -- not just for me -- if he had.
    • 4/5
      Quite clever and deeply strange. Christopher Moore seems to get more accomplished and complex with each novel. Occasionally he will go overboard packing too much clever into a paragraph, but that's easy to forgive. If you have even a passing attraction to the Impressionists and like speculative fiction - though Moore is on the line between that and fantasy - definitely pick this one up.
    • 3/5
      Not Moore's best either, but charming and an enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      Those that are enthusiasts of art may know how important the color blue was to so many different movements, both in general and for individual artists. Moore takes this idea and adds his usual amazing combination of reverence and hilarity. But the book is not merely a collection of stories about art, but takes on the air of a murder mystery around the death of Van Gogh. There is the suspicious Colorman, known by no other name. The artists that use his blue will frequently forget large stretches of time and end up with paintings they could never remember actually painting. As the story goes on the plot becomes more and more complex as we find more and more artists succumbing to the effect of the Colorman. While the writing is solid and the research impeccable, the feature that makes this novel simply amazing is Moore’s inclusion of the very art that he discusses. Each chapter is peppered with reproductions of people and scenes mentioned. For example, when Toulouse-Lautrec mentions the redheaded washerwoman he became obsessed with, we see the very painting a page later. This could have seemed gimmicky in other circumstances, but with how rich the descriptions are in Bleu, the images of these masterpieces lend an extra dimension to the story.Even if you are not a fan of art and just prefer a well told story, this is an excellent read. For those that cringe when writers take liberties with facts, hopefully the humor and excellent writing will sway you. And of course those that enjoy art, humor or any of Moore’s books will find this an enjoyable read. In all, I would definitely recommend this book to most everyone.
    • 4/5
      Christopher Moore's latest. It didn't make me laugh beverages out my nose as hard as his previous works. I think that might be partially due to the fact that I read this one, as opposed to listening to it on audiobook, which I've done with most of his other books. I just seem to find them more funny when they are read to me. Aside from that, I found the characters to be interesting and really enjoyed how actual paintings were provided to help advance the story and provide a visual. I didn't find this one as gripping as "Dirty Job" or "Bite Me", but would still recommend to other Christopher Moore fans.
    • 5/5
      I listened to the audio version of this book and was entranced throughout. The narrator was magnificent. I'd recommend listening to this book for that reason alone. I fell even more in love with Toulouse-Lautrec than I was before. Perhaps the fact that I have more than a working knowledge of French art and art in general added to my enjoyment. The overall theme relating to artistic inspiration was actually somewhat serious. I'm just sorry it would give away the plot to discuss it in any depth.
    • 4/5
      In the wake of Van Gogh's death, his painter friends in Paris begin investigating how the sinister Color Man--and a series of alluring models--might be behind it.Why I picked it up: As if Christopher Moore isn't enough, it's read by Euan Morton.Why I finished it: The usual delightful parade of Moore-ish characters, stumbling into worlds where something very, very weird (and a bit absurd) is going on.I'd give it to: Bear with me here, but I think Christopher Moore and Diana Wynne Jones are really very much alike (with Ms. Jones lacking the sex farce and eloquent profanity). Both put their engaging characters in absurd and slapstick situations that often are driven by deeper metaphysical and mythological forces.