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Monet & Oscar
Does Claude Monet, a painter with eight children, have room in his heart for one more? Oscar Bonhomme, an American soldier, is in a French Army hospital recovering from his wounds when he learns of his single mother's death. He remains in France to search for his only remaining family, his father, whom he doesn't know. She told him that his father is an Impressionist painter. His mother's friend, Georges Clémenceau, finds Oscar in the hospital and gets him a job as a gardener for Claude Monet.
As a career garden designer, Oscar jumped at the opportunity to further his career by working in Monet's world-famous garden. The most famous and well-connected Impressionist could help Oscar locate his father. Monet hires him as a painting assistant and traveling companion in addition to his gardening duties.
Monet, tired and disheartened by his deteriorating physical condition failing eyesight, visits some of his previous painting venues and brings Oscar along as his traveling companion and confidant. It excites Oscar to learn more about Monet and to meet some of his friends who may assist him in his quest.
Oscar meets a beautiful young woman, Isabelle, on a train returning from Paris. Isabell, an artist, introduces Oscar to the emerging post-war fashions and mores. She captivates Monet as she is the beautiful daughter of one of his largest American clients who is a donor to the Art Institute of Chicago. Over Monet's daughters' objections, she becomes a guest at his family gatherings along with Oscar.
Monet introduces Oscar to his friends, who provide Oscar with insights into Monet's character and personality. Monet sends Oscar and Isabelle on a mission to deliver a package to Auguste Renoir in the south of France. This trip ignites their love affair, and Renoir provides clues that Monet is Oscar's father.
Once Oscar discovers Monet is his father, he wrestles with the challenge of how to tell him. In the meantime, Monet's children accept Oscar as a member of their family. Oscar wants to tell Monet but fears that confronting him with his parentage may cost him the love and trust of his father and the other family members. His anger at his father dissipates when he learns that Monet never knew Oscar's mother was pregnant.
Isabelle returns to Chicago, where she discovers she's pregnant with Oscar's child. After becoming engaged to another man, she returns to France to have the child and put it up for adoption before her wedding in Chicago. Her engagement severs her relationship with Oscar. He and Isabelle become parents of the daughter of a friend who dies in childbirth. She cancels her wedding plans and chooses to make her life with Oscar. He continues to love Isabelle but fears he can't trust her.
Oscar can't bear to have his child with Isabelle grow up without a father as he did, so he marries Isabelle on the eve of the child's birth. As Isabelle is undergoing labor, Oscar confronts Monet with the fact that he is his father. Devastated, Monet tells his family about his son, Oscar, and the news receives a warm reception. Oscar realizes he not only has the father he has longed for but also a large family that loves him. His life is complete until the next episode.
As a career garden designer, Oscar jumped at the opportunity to further his career by working in Monet's world-famous garden. The most famous and well-connected Impressionist could help Oscar locate his father. Monet hires him as a painting assistant and traveling companion in addition to his gardening duties.
Monet, tired and disheartened by his deteriorating physical condition failing eyesight, visits some of his previous painting venues and brings Oscar along as his traveling companion and confidant. It excites Oscar to learn more about Monet and to meet some of his friends who may assist him in his quest.
Oscar meets a beautiful young woman, Isabelle, on a train returning from Paris. Isabell, an artist, introduces Oscar to the emerging post-war fashions and mores. She captivates Monet as she is the beautiful daughter of one of his largest American clients who is a donor to the Art Institute of Chicago. Over Monet's daughters' objections, she becomes a guest at his family gatherings along with Oscar.
Monet introduces Oscar to his friends, who provide Oscar with insights into Monet's character and personality. Monet sends Oscar and Isabelle on a mission to deliver a package to Auguste Renoir in the south of France. This trip ignites their love affair, and Renoir provides clues that Monet is Oscar's father.
Once Oscar discovers Monet is his father, he wrestles with the challenge of how to tell him. In the meantime, Monet's children accept Oscar as a member of their family. Oscar wants to tell Monet but fears that confronting him with his parentage may cost him the love and trust of his father and the other family members. His anger at his father dissipates when he learns that Monet never knew Oscar's mother was pregnant.
Isabelle returns to Chicago, where she discovers she's pregnant with Oscar's child. After becoming engaged to another man, she returns to France to have the child and put it up for adoption before her wedding in Chicago. Her engagement severs her relationship with Oscar. He and Isabelle become parents of the daughter of a friend who dies in childbirth. She cancels her wedding plans and chooses to make her life with Oscar. He continues to love Isabelle but fears he can't trust her.
Oscar can't bear to have his child with Isabelle grow up without a father as he did, so he marries Isabelle on the eve of the child's birth. As Isabelle is undergoing labor, Oscar confronts Monet with the fact that he is his father. Devastated, Monet tells his family about his son, Oscar, and the news receives a warm reception. Oscar realizes he not only has the father he has longed for but also a large family that loves him. His life is complete until the next episode.
300 pages, ebook
Published March 11, 2021
13 people are currently reading
499 people want to read
About the author
Joe Byrd
5 books5 followersI first found Claude Monet while sitting among 300 students in a college Humanities 101 class. He spoke to me. He told me about color, brush strokes, and impressions rather than photographic reproduction of live scenes. He became a lifelong friend who helped a boy from West Virginia's coal region learn about art.
Twenty-five years later, I began researching Claude Monet. After reading and re-reading the art books I had collected, I purchased more in-depth biographies. Most notably, Daniel Wildenstein's "Monet: The Triumph of Impressionism," a four-volume set that contains every one of Monet's paintings plus an extensive history of Monet's life. Ross King's "Mad Enchantment" was another revealing account of Monet's final years. I also attended Japanese woodblock print exhibitions in San Francisco and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and every art museum in Paris and many across the US. At last, I was getting a clearer picture of Monet, the times in which he worked, and his fellow painters.
This thirty-year research project led me to commit to writing a book about Monet, his personal life, and his family. After ten years of writing and rewriting the opening scene in my head and the pandemic lockdown hit, I finally sat down to write. I chose to write a novel instead of a biography because fiction makes history easier to understand. This historically accurate novel is the result of my years of discovery. I hope you will feel my effort has been worthwhile and that your time has been well spent reading "Monet & Oscar: Essence of Light."
Please leave your comments here or on Amazon. Your comments make the writing process worthwhile. Thanks.
Twenty-five years later, I began researching Claude Monet. After reading and re-reading the art books I had collected, I purchased more in-depth biographies. Most notably, Daniel Wildenstein's "Monet: The Triumph of Impressionism," a four-volume set that contains every one of Monet's paintings plus an extensive history of Monet's life. Ross King's "Mad Enchantment" was another revealing account of Monet's final years. I also attended Japanese woodblock print exhibitions in San Francisco and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and every art museum in Paris and many across the US. At last, I was getting a clearer picture of Monet, the times in which he worked, and his fellow painters.
This thirty-year research project led me to commit to writing a book about Monet, his personal life, and his family. After ten years of writing and rewriting the opening scene in my head and the pandemic lockdown hit, I finally sat down to write. I chose to write a novel instead of a biography because fiction makes history easier to understand. This historically accurate novel is the result of my years of discovery. I hope you will feel my effort has been worthwhile and that your time has been well spent reading "Monet & Oscar: Essence of Light."
Please leave your comments here or on Amazon. Your comments make the writing process worthwhile. Thanks.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 28, 2022
I was a touch wary about this book, and apparently for good reason. My full review (or non-review) can be found here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2022/01/2...
May 4, 2021
I absolutely LOVED this book so much!!!! If I could hug it I would, but I have the Kindle version...LOL. If you are a lover of detailed and descriptive writing, flowers and art in any form (specifically Impressionism and Claude Monet), and a good love story, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!
Joe Byrd did such an outstanding job researching Claude Monet and it shows through and through in this book. The beautiful details of Monet's property in Giverny make you feel like you are there walking around it; from the Japanese bridge, to the water lily pond, to Monet's studio.
The book follows Oscar Bonhomme who has recently been released from a military hospital with injuries from the war. His mother died while he was recovering and he is on a mission to find out who his father is. His mother never told him. She only provided him with one clue; he was an Impressionist painter. Oscar is given a job opportunity to be one of Monet's gardeners prior to leaving the hospital and he accepts.
Following Oscar's journey was exciting and I loved all of the gardening details along the way, along with his dramatic, rocky, steamy relationship with the beautiful and fashionable Isabelle.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!! Thank you to Joe Byrd and Goodreads for my Kindle copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway. What a pleasure it was to read this gem!!!
Joe Byrd did such an outstanding job researching Claude Monet and it shows through and through in this book. The beautiful details of Monet's property in Giverny make you feel like you are there walking around it; from the Japanese bridge, to the water lily pond, to Monet's studio.
The book follows Oscar Bonhomme who has recently been released from a military hospital with injuries from the war. His mother died while he was recovering and he is on a mission to find out who his father is. His mother never told him. She only provided him with one clue; he was an Impressionist painter. Oscar is given a job opportunity to be one of Monet's gardeners prior to leaving the hospital and he accepts.
Following Oscar's journey was exciting and I loved all of the gardening details along the way, along with his dramatic, rocky, steamy relationship with the beautiful and fashionable Isabelle.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!! Thank you to Joe Byrd and Goodreads for my Kindle copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway. What a pleasure it was to read this gem!!!
May 20, 2021
Oscar Bonhomme returned from WWI, suffering from the effects of a gas attack, while in the trenches of France. During his recovery in a military hospital, his mother had passed away. Instead of returning to his home in San Francisco, he decided to take up a job offer, which he had received. And what a job offer it was! To work in the gardens of Claude Monet at Givenchy! He decided, that in his spare time, he could try to find his father. His mother had only told him, that his father was a painter, an Impressionist, who she met, while working as a gardener in Antibes. He hoped, that Monet, with all his art connections, would be able to help with his search.
This is the most enjoyable novel, that I have read this year. It is the first novel, where I actually stopped reading every once in awhile and took the time to imagine, what the characters, especially Oscar, really looked like, considering all the trials he had been through, especially being a soldier in the trenches, wounded and suffering from PTSD. And thought about how his life affected his character and how this shaped his relationships with others. The author's rich details, especially the foods they enjoyed, the clothes they wore, the outings they took for relaxation from their hard, every day work had me fully immersed in their world. Having a love of gardening and a love of art, made this book the perfect read for me.
For a chance to win a copy, follow the tour at: https://francebooktours.com/2021/03/1...
This is the most enjoyable novel, that I have read this year. It is the first novel, where I actually stopped reading every once in awhile and took the time to imagine, what the characters, especially Oscar, really looked like, considering all the trials he had been through, especially being a soldier in the trenches, wounded and suffering from PTSD. And thought about how his life affected his character and how this shaped his relationships with others. The author's rich details, especially the foods they enjoyed, the clothes they wore, the outings they took for relaxation from their hard, every day work had me fully immersed in their world. Having a love of gardening and a love of art, made this book the perfect read for me.
For a chance to win a copy, follow the tour at: https://francebooktours.com/2021/03/1...
May 4, 2021
Joe Byrd’s debut novel, Monet & Oscar, is a sweet tale of an American soldier, Oscar Bonhomme, and his search for his father, a man his recently deceased mother has only hinted about. He knows his father was an artist, an Impressionist, but he has precious little else to go on.
When fate brings Oscar, a career gardener, the opportunity to become artist Claude Monet’s gardener through his mother’s friend, Georges Clémenceau, Oscar’s life blooms as profusely as does Monet’s garden.
Oscar, a man of great integrity and honor, wants so badly the regard of a man who is a most respected artist to him, but he wonders – could the man be even more than that to him? Could he be his father? Monet is in his declining years, and Oscar is his eyes on more than one occasion, helping him set up his canvases so they will be hit with just the right light. This seems a metaphor as well for Oscar opening Monet’s eyes to the possibility of their greater relationship – are they indeed father and son?
On a train to Paris, he meets and falls for Isabelle. Immediately after their brief rendezvous, however, she leaves him for America and plans to marry someone else for money, a man from a powerful family who can give her what she wants – her own art show in Chicago.
Oscar himself can’t seem to let go of his feelings for Isabelle, but when he meets the pregnant widow of a fellow soldier, he can’t help both wanting to protect her and being attracted to her, despite her unremitting feelings for her dead husband.
Fate steps in once again and tragedy cements his and Isabelle’s relationship in an unexpected way, despite the initial signs and Isabelle’s insistence that they will never be together again.
Not only does Oscar’s relationship with Monet become clear, but his future reveals itself.
Replete with twists, with lovely scenes that could be mini paintings themselves, Byrd leaves his reader both satisfied but also wanting to know more about his characters, in real life and in fiction. For those who love art and fiction, or who can’t get enough of Monet and his world, this is a don’t-miss novel.
When fate brings Oscar, a career gardener, the opportunity to become artist Claude Monet’s gardener through his mother’s friend, Georges Clémenceau, Oscar’s life blooms as profusely as does Monet’s garden.
Oscar, a man of great integrity and honor, wants so badly the regard of a man who is a most respected artist to him, but he wonders – could the man be even more than that to him? Could he be his father? Monet is in his declining years, and Oscar is his eyes on more than one occasion, helping him set up his canvases so they will be hit with just the right light. This seems a metaphor as well for Oscar opening Monet’s eyes to the possibility of their greater relationship – are they indeed father and son?
On a train to Paris, he meets and falls for Isabelle. Immediately after their brief rendezvous, however, she leaves him for America and plans to marry someone else for money, a man from a powerful family who can give her what she wants – her own art show in Chicago.
Oscar himself can’t seem to let go of his feelings for Isabelle, but when he meets the pregnant widow of a fellow soldier, he can’t help both wanting to protect her and being attracted to her, despite her unremitting feelings for her dead husband.
Fate steps in once again and tragedy cements his and Isabelle’s relationship in an unexpected way, despite the initial signs and Isabelle’s insistence that they will never be together again.
Not only does Oscar’s relationship with Monet become clear, but his future reveals itself.
Replete with twists, with lovely scenes that could be mini paintings themselves, Byrd leaves his reader both satisfied but also wanting to know more about his characters, in real life and in fiction. For those who love art and fiction, or who can’t get enough of Monet and his world, this is a don’t-miss novel.
May 23, 2021
great book
May 17, 2021
Delightful!
Just a delightful, entertaining read. The book is primarily about love - friendship love, filial love, romantic love, community love - woven carefully throughout. And the knowledge I gained about Monet was just the icing on the cake. I also think it could be converted into a screenplay quite well.
Just a delightful, entertaining read. The book is primarily about love - friendship love, filial love, romantic love, community love - woven carefully throughout. And the knowledge I gained about Monet was just the icing on the cake. I also think it could be converted into a screenplay quite well.
May 11, 2021
The talents of Joe Byrd shines through in his debut, Monet and Oscar. I thought this read was pretty good. As an artist, I enjoyed the historical details and learning more about Claude Monet. It was entertaining to get a glimpse of the author’s vision of how he lived. I was instantly drawn to the character of Oscar. I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen with him next. It was an interesting and unique story to read. I really liked it.
Monet and Oscar is getting four and a half stars from me. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading historical fiction based on real people. I am looking forward to more by Joe Byrd in the future. I am curious to see where his imagination will take his readers to next.
I received a digital copy of Monet and Oscar from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
Monet and Oscar is getting four and a half stars from me. I recommend it for readers who enjoy reading historical fiction based on real people. I am looking forward to more by Joe Byrd in the future. I am curious to see where his imagination will take his readers to next.
I received a digital copy of Monet and Oscar from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
November 9, 2021
I received a free electronic ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Joe Byrd, and Giverny Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own free will and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am most pleased to recommend Joe Byrd to friends and family. There is obviously intense research involved in his work and his protagonists are sympathetic and well-rounded. He drops you without effort into that time, that place.
Oscar Bonhomme is a third-generation gardener, son of a single mom who was responsible for establishing many public gardens in San Francisco, including the world-famous Golden Gate Park. He and his mother immigrated from France to the United States when Oscar was quite young, and he grew up working and playing in those gardens. After graduating college with a degree in garden design Oscar felt that, with the world at war in Europe, he should return to France and enlist, both for France and the US. It would also give him a chance to look for his father. The only fact his mother shared with him is that his father was a French artist, one of the new wave of impressionist artists of the new twentieth century.
Injured near the end of the war, Oscar received several bullet wounds as well as a strong dose of mustard gas, which damaged, perhaps permanently, his lungs. During his service in France, his mother passed away, so upon his release from the hospital, he was in no hurry to return to California. A friend of his mother, who had visited him in the military hospital gave him a letter of introduction to Claude Monet, recommending him for work in Monet's gardens. Gardens and water gardens already bearing a world-renowned reputation and were featured in many of Monet's current paintings. This was a dream job for this young man, one he cherished and worked at daily. And in his off time, he went to his mother's old neighborhoods and friends, always in search of his father.
And in the search, he found his place in this world, and a family - something he had never had.
pub date March 11, 2021
received June 28, 2021
Giverny Books
Reviewed on November 9, 2021, at Goodreads, Netgalley, AmazonSmile, and BookBub. Not available for review on Barnes&Noble, Kobo, or GooglePlay.
Oscar Bonhomme is a third-generation gardener, son of a single mom who was responsible for establishing many public gardens in San Francisco, including the world-famous Golden Gate Park. He and his mother immigrated from France to the United States when Oscar was quite young, and he grew up working and playing in those gardens. After graduating college with a degree in garden design Oscar felt that, with the world at war in Europe, he should return to France and enlist, both for France and the US. It would also give him a chance to look for his father. The only fact his mother shared with him is that his father was a French artist, one of the new wave of impressionist artists of the new twentieth century.
Injured near the end of the war, Oscar received several bullet wounds as well as a strong dose of mustard gas, which damaged, perhaps permanently, his lungs. During his service in France, his mother passed away, so upon his release from the hospital, he was in no hurry to return to California. A friend of his mother, who had visited him in the military hospital gave him a letter of introduction to Claude Monet, recommending him for work in Monet's gardens. Gardens and water gardens already bearing a world-renowned reputation and were featured in many of Monet's current paintings. This was a dream job for this young man, one he cherished and worked at daily. And in his off time, he went to his mother's old neighborhoods and friends, always in search of his father.
And in the search, he found his place in this world, and a family - something he had never had.
pub date March 11, 2021
received June 28, 2021
Giverny Books
Reviewed on November 9, 2021, at Goodreads, Netgalley, AmazonSmile, and BookBub. Not available for review on Barnes&Noble, Kobo, or GooglePlay.
February 21, 2022
France Book Tours recently hosted a webinar featuring four authors of historical fiction who focused on French artists: “Art in fiction: Four artists, four authors”. Monet & Oscar was one of the four books featured, and I’m happy to review it today.
The opening chapter grabs the reader’s attention right away, with the first meeting between Monet and Oscar:
Oscar Bonhomme’s palms sweated as he crept from the warm kitchen filled with the spice-laden aroma of frying sausage mixed with the smell of aromatic, dark coffee and into Monet’s yellow dining room.
VERDICT: A historical novel full of life and emotions, a perfect means of recreating Monet’s world and his genius at capturing the essence of light.
My full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/05/28/...
The opening chapter grabs the reader’s attention right away, with the first meeting between Monet and Oscar:
Oscar Bonhomme’s palms sweated as he crept from the warm kitchen filled with the spice-laden aroma of frying sausage mixed with the smell of aromatic, dark coffee and into Monet’s yellow dining room.
VERDICT: A historical novel full of life and emotions, a perfect means of recreating Monet’s world and his genius at capturing the essence of light.
My full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2021/05/28/...
October 4, 2021
Loved this book! It captivates you from the start making you not be able to put it down. The plot was what i loved the most but the characters really carry the story. Their lives and relationships keep you turning the pages. A wonderful read.
May 31, 2021
From the charm of the 1920s to the wonderful characters, fictional and fictionalized, this book shines!
After the end of the first World War, American soldier Oscar Bonhomme awakens in a military hospital. He was being treated for multiple injuries he’d received in action on the battlefields of Meuse-Argonne. His return to consciousness was greeted with the news that his mother had passed away back home in San Francisco. She had been his only parent, a free spirit, who’d rubbed elbows in France in her younger days with those who would later be known as the core artists of the Impressionist movement. She’d returned to San Francisco and supported herself and her son as a successful landscape designer but had never been able to tell Oscar who his father was, just that he was one of the artists.
With no one else waiting for him there, he decides to remain in France to recuperate further. Through the intervention of a friend he’d made in the hospital, the famous Impressionist painter, Claude Monet, hires him to care for his gardens and assist with setting up his equipment when he paints and then as a traveling companion. With a career in landscape design like his mother in his sights, Oscar jumps at the chance to see and learn about the famous gardens and learn from Monet about his fellow painters and discover which one is his father.A mix of actual and fictional characters, Monet & Oscar by author, Joe Byrd, is a satisfying page-turner of a story. The easy-to-read writing style allowed the story to flow, and I was immediately caught up in its current. I could feel the sun as it shone on the pond in Monet’s garden at the various times of the day with the wonderful descriptions that added so much without ever bogging things down.
In addition to the comfort and immersion in the settings, I loved the characters. Most specifically, I was charmed by the main character, Oscar, he was so earnest and well-meaning, and he had this little touch of naiveté that really made me like him. The author did a great job creating the character of Isabelle. She was fun and feminine and evocative of the roaring 20s. Their romance is absorbing and nail-biting. Also, Monet’s large, close-knit family was great. I enjoyed ‘meeting’ them and experiencing their interactions with the elder Monet as his eyesight is going and his physical strength is starting to fail, with Oscar, who they immediately seem to make one of their own (without knowing about his search for his father), and Isabelle, too, when she enters the picture.MONET & OSCAR is a wonderful historical fiction novel with mystery, romance, and adventure. There were twists and surprises throughout that kept the story moving and me turning the pages. I recommend this book for readers of historical fiction, those who would enjoy a satisfying tale featuring one of the greatest Impressionist artists, and even someone who would love to experience this time and place in France without leaving home to do so.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through France Book Tours.
August 27, 2021
A young American, the son of an accomplished landscape designer in San Francisco, returns to his country of birth to fight for France during World War I. Recovering from battle scars after the war, he finds himself in the employment of none other than Claude Monet. From here begins an enthralling tale of history, flirtations, love, passion, art, and personal quest.
A potpourri of references to American, Japanese, and French culture merge in a storyline that navigates the life of Monet and Oscar. Japanese wood blocking, landscaping, gardening, Impressionist art to Monet's illustrious life as a painter, Joe Byrd has written an enchanting historical fiction. The author's passion for the subject and meticulous research of 30 years gleam through engrossing narration.
The reader must sit back and relish the charms of the cobbled roads along the Seinne, Vernon, Lyon, and Giverny, the fresh sea air, the architecture, the train rides, the walks and picnics, the nostalgia, references to French couture, and the delicate as well as exquisite culinary delights of the time. Monet's garden is described as "...the best private Garden in France, perhaps in all of Europe." Amidst all this beauty, we have a young man on a personal quest and an aged, sometimes "gruff" and "grouchy" artist on a journey of reminiscence.
The book offers insight into people, their hardships, but most importantly and relationships that evolve amidst eccentricities and awkwardness. The characters have a connection that runs far back than they have personally known each other. Intrigue and questions fill the pages. Even halfway through, the conflict and the suspense do not blunt down. Oscar's passionate liaison with a young lady has a Mills and Boons feel to it.
I am glad to read this book and recommend it to all lovers of historical fiction and Impressionist art. It reminded me of another of my favorite historical fiction - Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. The chapters flow seamlessly, introducing new characters, adding layers to a fascinating tale, intercepted only by the evocation of picturesque surroundings and the confusion and pining of a lonely, young man. Drama, romance, mystery; you have it all in a well-edited book with eloquent prose. Sample this - "The stalks were months from bowing their heavy heads with the weight of golden grains of harvest time." Want to read more? Grab your copy.
A potpourri of references to American, Japanese, and French culture merge in a storyline that navigates the life of Monet and Oscar. Japanese wood blocking, landscaping, gardening, Impressionist art to Monet's illustrious life as a painter, Joe Byrd has written an enchanting historical fiction. The author's passion for the subject and meticulous research of 30 years gleam through engrossing narration.
The reader must sit back and relish the charms of the cobbled roads along the Seinne, Vernon, Lyon, and Giverny, the fresh sea air, the architecture, the train rides, the walks and picnics, the nostalgia, references to French couture, and the delicate as well as exquisite culinary delights of the time. Monet's garden is described as "...the best private Garden in France, perhaps in all of Europe." Amidst all this beauty, we have a young man on a personal quest and an aged, sometimes "gruff" and "grouchy" artist on a journey of reminiscence.
The book offers insight into people, their hardships, but most importantly and relationships that evolve amidst eccentricities and awkwardness. The characters have a connection that runs far back than they have personally known each other. Intrigue and questions fill the pages. Even halfway through, the conflict and the suspense do not blunt down. Oscar's passionate liaison with a young lady has a Mills and Boons feel to it.
I am glad to read this book and recommend it to all lovers of historical fiction and Impressionist art. It reminded me of another of my favorite historical fiction - Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. The chapters flow seamlessly, introducing new characters, adding layers to a fascinating tale, intercepted only by the evocation of picturesque surroundings and the confusion and pining of a lonely, young man. Drama, romance, mystery; you have it all in a well-edited book with eloquent prose. Sample this - "The stalks were months from bowing their heavy heads with the weight of golden grains of harvest time." Want to read more? Grab your copy.
Want to read
July 23, 2021This is a good review and here is why. When I started this book I was simply curious as to whether an art story would interest me. In the end I was in love with the characters and felt that not only had my art interest been satisfied, but I had been enlightened by reading the book. Monet and Oscar is the story of Oscar Bonhomme’s personal quest, a love story, and a story of family on several levels. I liked the book for making those stories interesting and compelling, and simultaneously enriching my knowledge of the art history of that time. The author, Joe Byrd has researched his subjects and the Impressionist period well. He brings history alive in his characters and their tales. One learns of Impressionism, the life and times of its main instigator: Claude Monet, and social milieu when it occurred. He does a wonderful job of building the scene on the pages as if painting a canvas. You see Giverny, France, as Monet had wanted it seen. The author’s research of the area and Monet’s home is meticulous. You are there.
I had little knowledge of art history, but enjoyed learning of the relationships of Claude Monet, Pierre Renoir, George Clemenceau, and Geofrey Durand-Ruel in context of the history in those times and the story’s characters. Also, well told is the generational struggle between the pre WWI Victorian mores and the libertine Roaring Twenties attitudes. The author keeps the human element in every scene of the book, and has you pulling for its heroes to the very end. Definitely, this is an enjoyable and simultaneously enlightening book of pleasure. Don’t pass it up.
John N.
January 6, 2022
WW1 has finished, and Oscar, an American soldier who served in France, has received news of his mother's death. With the loss of his mother, Oscar stays in France to find his father. All he knows about him is that he's an impressionist painter. With some outside help, Oscar secures a job at Monet's famous garden at Giverny. Monet, a renowned impressionist painter, introduces Oscar to the world of impressionist art and the painters who started it all, his lifelong friends.
From the beginning of the first chapter, it quickly became evident that this book would be a profound and thought-provoking read. Not only is the storyline intriguing and attention-grabbing, but the story is also so much more than the book description. Yes, the plot follows Oscar and his search for his father, but there is also art, love, family, and tragedy. Some moments are heart-wrenching, but others are happy and joyous. This book is a journey that is enthralling from beginning to finish.
Oscar is an American soldier who has seen too much. Monet is an old impressionist painter whose eyes are deteriorating. On the surface, they don't have much in common. Yet the author spins the tale seamlessly in ways you don't expect. Each character is written thoughtfully and adds something valuable to the story. No character felt forced or unnecessary to the storyline.
Monet & Oscar: The Essence of Light is a work of historical fiction. Monet did exist and was an impressionist painter. The author uses Oscar to bring Monet and his paintings to life. I recommend it to those who enjoy this genre as it is a thoroughly enjoyable book that stays with you after the last page.
From the beginning of the first chapter, it quickly became evident that this book would be a profound and thought-provoking read. Not only is the storyline intriguing and attention-grabbing, but the story is also so much more than the book description. Yes, the plot follows Oscar and his search for his father, but there is also art, love, family, and tragedy. Some moments are heart-wrenching, but others are happy and joyous. This book is a journey that is enthralling from beginning to finish.
Oscar is an American soldier who has seen too much. Monet is an old impressionist painter whose eyes are deteriorating. On the surface, they don't have much in common. Yet the author spins the tale seamlessly in ways you don't expect. Each character is written thoughtfully and adds something valuable to the story. No character felt forced or unnecessary to the storyline.
Monet & Oscar: The Essence of Light is a work of historical fiction. Monet did exist and was an impressionist painter. The author uses Oscar to bring Monet and his paintings to life. I recommend it to those who enjoy this genre as it is a thoroughly enjoyable book that stays with you after the last page.
January 7, 2022
As the author asserts, fiction makes history easier to understand. And so it is with this beautiful work of art that features a real-life personality linked with fictional characters. Joe Bryd in his book sets readers on a path to discover Oscar Monet's life while intelligently introducing a new character, Oscar Bonhomme. Thus begins a passionate tale of self-discovery, romance, and forgiveness in the post-World War I period. The twists and turns present in the book will captivate even a hesitant reader.
I found the storyline to be personal and deeply touching. It is evident that Bryd put in a lot of time in research before writing this novel. This not only sheds a light on the life and family of one of the world's famous impressionist painters but also makes reading this book an enjoyable experience as well.
Further, the settings created by the author at Giverny make one feel they are part of the story and with the characters. The introduction of other fictional characters such as Isabelle, as the book buds, is well executed and none felt out of place as I read on.
"Monet and Oscar: The Essence of Light" is a heartwarming story that will resonate with just about anyone who enjoys history, art, and a family-themed tale.
I found the storyline to be personal and deeply touching. It is evident that Bryd put in a lot of time in research before writing this novel. This not only sheds a light on the life and family of one of the world's famous impressionist painters but also makes reading this book an enjoyable experience as well.
Further, the settings created by the author at Giverny make one feel they are part of the story and with the characters. The introduction of other fictional characters such as Isabelle, as the book buds, is well executed and none felt out of place as I read on.
"Monet and Oscar: The Essence of Light" is a heartwarming story that will resonate with just about anyone who enjoys history, art, and a family-themed tale.
June 8, 2021
Joe Byrd's decision to learn as much as possible about one artist proved a happy one for his readers. Oscar is an American veteran of WWI, searching for home and his own origins. He has only hints from his mother to follow to his own source. Could the great artist Monet be his father? The book provides a lovely sense of the life of an aging man who gave the world the beauty of Giverny and his own art.
It is historically accurate while introducing the fictional Oscar and Isabelle's love story. They are products of their postwar age and the Roaring Twenties. It reminded me in a good way of the film "Renoir" by Gilles Bourdos, both dealing with famous artists in their declining years and the families and friends who cherished them.
An intriguing story. I recommend Monet and Oscar.
It is historically accurate while introducing the fictional Oscar and Isabelle's love story. They are products of their postwar age and the Roaring Twenties. It reminded me in a good way of the film "Renoir" by Gilles Bourdos, both dealing with famous artists in their declining years and the families and friends who cherished them.
An intriguing story. I recommend Monet and Oscar.
January 18, 2022
An interesting take on Monet. I wasn't quite sure about this novel but ended up really loving it. There is a lot of character development esp as he struggles with his artistic commitment and declining eyesight, but not just on an external level. The book does a great job at showing how this affects him internally, as a person. But what I enjoyed most is how the author took this subject at considerably the worst time in his life and threw in an added obstacle the painter never expected. The author also does a great job at using atmosphere as a way to support emotion and Giverny really came to life.
August 26, 2021
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Gardener Oscar works for Monet in his impressive gardens and pond in the south of France. Not knowing who his father is, Oscar joins Monet’s family and is accepted by them. Encountering love and romance, Oscar is searching for his roots, and is surprised by the turns his life takes in this well written historical novel. Recommended for 2021.
Gardener Oscar works for Monet in his impressive gardens and pond in the south of France. Not knowing who his father is, Oscar joins Monet’s family and is accepted by them. Encountering love and romance, Oscar is searching for his roots, and is surprised by the turns his life takes in this well written historical novel. Recommended for 2021.
July 23, 2021
Wow, this is REALLY well done. The author brings you plenty of history, you think you will get some with Monet being in the title, but the number of figures the characters come in contact with will astound you. It's great that Joe Byrd has so cleverly painted this story. It's full of rich history as well as a storyline that will completely draw in the reader from the start. Well done!
August 30, 2021
Monet & Oscar: The Essence of Light by Joe Byrd was an amazing look at the life of one of my favorite artists Claude Monet.Oscar is an American soldier unaware of who his birth father is but he remains in France to hoping to find his father. This amazingly well written story had many twists and turns that I simply couldn't put it down. Definite page turner and a truly beautiful story! 5 stars
January 6, 2022
I have loved the past brings of the impressionist Claude Monet since my teens and have been fortunate to see his original works in museums.
You don't have to know who Monet was to love this historical fiction novel. You learn a lot about the man and the interactions with those around him, including Oscar.
You will not be disappointed in this novel by Joe Byrd.
You don't have to know who Monet was to love this historical fiction novel. You learn a lot about the man and the interactions with those around him, including Oscar.
You will not be disappointed in this novel by Joe Byrd.
July 27, 2024
Read as part of the Indie Author Project. Quit after chapter 2. Characters were flat and boring, author was basically writing an essay with some fictional characters in it. Did not hold my attention or make me want to keep reading.
July 26, 2021
Joe Byrd writes a fabulous historical book that highlights important relationships and accurately takes the reader into the past. This is very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
December 10, 2021
A heartwarming story
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway
The content of this book is much heavier on the romance side than I tend to enjoy but it was still quite good.
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway
The content of this book is much heavier on the romance side than I tend to enjoy but it was still quite good.
July 29, 2021
When I got this book from NetGalley, I was so thrilled. This is a book about my favourite painter in a period of time that I adore. So I really can't miss this book.
And it is good. It contains lots of details about that epoch and about Impressionism. Even I discovered something new. And the description of the garden in Giverny can make everyone wants to go there and enjoy it.
But on the contrary the main character, Oscar, really annoyed me. I couldn't understand him. Yes, he suffered from the trauma, but he is so judgemental, he tries to label everyone, even his dead mom. For him it is only black or white. And he really tends to overthink everything.
Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
And it is good. It contains lots of details about that epoch and about Impressionism. Even I discovered something new. And the description of the garden in Giverny can make everyone wants to go there and enjoy it.
But on the contrary the main character, Oscar, really annoyed me. I couldn't understand him. Yes, he suffered from the trauma, but he is so judgemental, he tries to label everyone, even his dead mom. For him it is only black or white. And he really tends to overthink everything.
Thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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