MONET & OSCAR

In Byrd’s debut historical novel, an American-born veteran of World War I finds work as a gardener for famed painter Claude Monet, whom he suspects is his father.

Oscar Bonhomme was born in France but raised in San Francisco. His late mother, Christine, was a well-known landscape designer in California; she was also born in France, and in Antibes, many years ago, she had an affair with Monet, and she believed that the artist was her son’s father. After Oscar recovers in a French hospital from his wounds—he’s among the few Americans who fought as a soldier for France during the Great War—he lands a job as a gardener for Monet, hoping to finally determine his true parentage. However, the artist isn’t an easy man to get to know; he’s earned his “storied reputation as a reluctant speaker.” At first, the mystery only deepens when Oscar is forced to consider the brilliant artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a friend of Monet’s, as a possible paternity candidate as well as Georges Clemenceau, the prime minister of France. Oscar also becomes embroiled in a flirtatious relationship with Isabelle Brescher, an aspiring painter who immediately takes a shine to him despite his deep anxieties. Indeed, Byrd too often depicts the protagonist’s fragility in melodramatic, overheated terms over the course of the novel; for example, Oscar is beside himself when he first discovers that Isabelle is interested in art, as he is: “His head was spinning. It seemed too much of a coincidence that this goddess would have interests like his. Perhaps he was dreaming? He stomped on his foot to make sure he was awake.” Still, the author presents a poignant and historically authentic portrait of Monet, capturing his laconic, mercurial manner. Also, Byrd’s knowledge of Monet’s work, and the artistic milieu from which it came, is impressively rigorous. As a result, although the story’s unabashed sentimentality can be wearisome at times, art lovers are likely to enjoy its peek into a great painter’s mind.

A thoughtful depiction of a monumental artist hampered by the sometimes-overwrought storytelling that surrounds it.