The Lost Notebook of Édouard Manet

Gibbon (Paris Red) offers a poignant evocation of impressionist master Édouard Manet’s final years. By Manet’s late 40s, the syphilis he’d contracted decades earlier has made devastating inroads into his comfort, energy, and mobility. In 1880, a lifelong friend suggests he begin recording his thoughts in a journal. Initially unconvinced, Manet soon appreciates the consolation of his brief, unguarded jottings and reflections on his past. His early entries describe brutal hydrotherapy treatments for the syphilis and the severe pain he feels, as well as the kindness of a kitchen maid who supports him while he struggles to walk through the garden to observe the lush peonies, and memories of women’s sensuality. Over the next three years, he staves off financial problems by selling what paintings he can, enjoys belated honors from a world that had previously spurned his art, and attempts to hide his growing debility from everyone except his family, doctor, and a few intimate friends. Manet completes major works including A Bar at the Folies-Bergère while suffering increasingly agonizing symptoms, which drive him to try a new medication despite warnings that it could risk his life. Though the notebook’s brief, episodic texts never gather much in the way of momentum, Gibbon speaks eloquently of the human capacity to live fully amid devastating challenges. It’s well done, though for a novel about an innovative artist, it’s also remarkably tame. (Sept.)