FICTION

The Lost Notebook of Édouard Manet

by Maureen Gibbon
Norton. Sept. 2021. 336p. ISBN 9780393867152. pap. $17.95. F
COPY ISBN
Gibbon’s latest novel (Paris Red; Thief) delivers just what the title promises: a journal purporting to be the notebook of the artist himself, delivered via sympathetic lady’s maid. The journal begins with Manet’s treatment for syphilis at a Bellevue clinic just outside Paris, with his family in tow. His narrative, full of details both personal and political, closely tracks his artworks and efforts to be recognized by the disapproving salon. The thoughts he pens in his journal are an artist’s thoughts; he observes his surroundings, he examines his past, and he analyzes his interior while remaining steadfastly himself. As his health deteriorates, he alternately struggles with and rallies to his art, making his mark on a changing artistic and political scene.
VERDICT Reminiscent of Victorian fiction, this epistolary novel reads as intimately as a found artifact from Manet himself. Readers may find it difficult to extract themselves from the story to recall that this is not in fact a primary source but rather a constructed narrative. This compelling and revealing book furthers a cultural understanding of Manet’s place in time and art, a difficult task for a difficult character. Very well done.
Reviewed by Julie Kane, Washington & Lee Lib., Lexington, VA , Sep 01, 2021
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