Cover Unveiled for Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore

What's that you say Christopher Moore has a new book coming? Well, that goes right on the must list for 2012.


Sacre Bleu is Moore's French and art influenced novel. The cover for Sacre Bleu is a departure from all of Moore's previous designs which have tended to go for a fairly simple yet strong illustration usually with a funny spin. I don't particularly care for it, but the design does evoke the style of covers from the 40's and 50's, which seems to be what they are going for.

Update: A commentor mentioned Toulouse, which reminded me of where this piece came from. Namely, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's Moulin Rouge poster from the late 1800's. This has me thinking the piece is somehow worked into the narrative, which would make sense.

Sacre Bleu also seems to be a departure for Moore as well from his usual contemporary settings except for the recent Fool and the now classic Lamb. I'm still quite intrigued, especially to see how works of art are worked into the text.  Here is the blurb for Sacre Bleu:

Sacre Bleu, or sacred blue, named for the color of the cloak of the Virgin Mary, is made from crushed lapis lazuli, a gemstone prized for its deep hue. Brought from the Orient by camel and ship, across deserts and over mountains, this dazzling pigment coveted by artists is infused with danger and adventure and even, some say, the supernatural . . .

The son of a baker, who is the son of a baker, who is the son of a baker, who is . . . Lucien Lessard was destined for a life in flour until a brush with his father’s Impressionist friends Renoir, Monet, Bazille, Pissaro, and Cezanne changed his perspective. And then there was Juliette, the dark-haired young beauty with eyes the color of a summer sky. Driven by passion, Lucien spent his days painting his beloved muse sheathed in a bewitching blue dress.

But one day, all of Lucien’s paintings mysteriously disappeared. Gone, too, was Juliette—and the twisted little fellow known as The Colorman, the strange dealer in a brown suit and bowler hat who trafficked in artists’ paints, in particular a startlingly intense shade of blue.

Two years later, Juliette suddenly reappears. Along with a little man in a bowler. Oh là là, can trouble be far behind?A tale of intrigue, passion, and art history filled with crusty bread, can-can girls, absinthe, Toulouse Lautrec, fin de siècle Paris, and many other French accoutrements, Sacre Bleu is a wonderfully witty masterpiece from the ever-impressive Christopher Moore.

Sacre Bleu will be released April 3, 2012 from William Morrow.

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