France

Thomas Schlesser

Thomas Schlesser is the director of the Hartung-Bergman Foundation in Antibes, France. He teaches Art History at the École Polytechnique in Paris and is the author of several works of nonfiction about art, artists, and the relationship between art and politics in the 20th century. He is the grandson of André Schlesser, known as Dadé, a singer and cabaret performer who founded the Cabaret L ’Écluse. Mona’s Eyes is Schlesser’s second novel and his American debut. It has been translated into thirty-eight languages, including Braille. Schlesser was awarded 2025’s Author of the Year by Livres Hebdo.

Full list >

Latest reviews

“Each work is lavishly described and analyzed through dialogue and internal musings... Schlesser’s life-affirming narrative is ancillary to his accessible instruction aimed at tempting the reader to seek out the works he so immaculately describes.”

— Booklist, Aug 26 2025

“A thoughtful tribute to the power of art as a guide to self-reflection, doubling as a delightful art history session.”

— Everything Zoomer, Jul 31 2025

“Readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.”

— Kirkus Reviews, Jun 7 2025

“Schlesser seamlessly interweaves the art lessons with Mona’s story, which concludes with an explanation for the cause of her blindness. Readers of Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World will love this.”

— Publishers Weekly, May 21 2025

“No surprise that the novel’s author is a professor of art history at the École Polytechnique in Paris; his characters channel his dazzling command of the greats.”

— Hyperallergic, Apr 30 2025