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Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser review – painfully clunky lessons in art

Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser review – painfully clunky lessons in art

This French bestseller, in which a girl and her grandfather visit Paris museums, aims to be a Sophie’s World for art history – but the conversations are sentimental and simplistic The complaint that cynics often make about modern art is that most of it looks as though it were made by children. (If your 10-year-old is pulling out crumpled Kandinskys from their schoolbags on a regular basis then lucky you, I say.) But what about art criticism? Could a child’s understanding of art be as radical as John Berger’s or as wise as Sister Wendy’s, for instance? Art historian Thomas Schlesser thinks so. His debut novel , a bestseller in France, has been translated into 38 languages. Perhaps in one of them it lives up to the hype. In Mona’s Eyes, a 10-year-old girl embarks on an artistic adventure with her grandfather, visiting the most famous works in Paris museums over the course of a year. They pledge to gaze at these works intently and to discuss them deeply. The resulting conversations are intended to be charming and moving. The kindest observation to be made about this book is that they are not. Continue reading...

Kemi Badenoch wants to end ‘rip-off degrees’ – but I wouldn’t have created Horrid Henry without mine | Francesca Simon

Kemi Badenoch wants to end ‘rip-off degrees’ – but I wouldn’t have created Horrid Henry without mine | Francesca Simon

I studied Old and Middle English. Although I didn’t know it, I couldn’t have chosen a better subject to train me to become a children’s author Hwaet ! When I was a Yale undergraduate, I hated being asked what my major was. “Medieval studies? What will you do with that?”, was the inevitable question from non-students. When I went on to Oxford and studied Old and Middle English, the questioning continued. I usually answered, “I am opening a medieval shop,” to shut down further discussion. Anyone who studies the humanities, or “soft” degrees, will have faced the same judgmental, bewildered queries. The implication is that these subjects have no value. Indeed, we’ve become so narrow and utilitarian that unless a degree leads specifically to a specialised career, it’s considered by many to be a waste of time, money and resources. Kemi Badenoch has pledged to end “rip-off” degrees such as English, anthropology and psychology because, in her view, they provide weak job prospects. (Let’s ignore for the moment the £125bn that the creative industries are worth annually to the UK, or the 2.4 million people employed .) Francesca Simon is a writer and librettist and the author of Salka, Lady of the Lake Continue reading...