For the Love of Learning

 Au compte- gouttes

My study notebook for Les Yeux de Mona

I love learning new French idioms Françoise who sells clothes at the Thursday market taught me one yesterday. .We were discussing Les Yeux de Mona by Thomas Schlesser. I am totally obsessed with this book. Mona, age 10, experiences a scary eye incident  in which she loses her sight mysteriously and temporarily.  The doctors cannot find an explanation and recommend Mona be seen by a psychiatrist.  Mona's grandfather is assigned the task of taking her to his office. However, Grandfather has other ideas. He wants Mona to really learn how to see so he takes her to three different museums in Paris to view  pieces of art. Each chapter annotates Mona's reaction to the art  and Grandfather's thoughtful interpretation. Fifty-two small pictures of the art work they see are included inside the book's jacket. 

I decided to trail along after Mona. First, I look at the art work online since the illustrations are tiny. Then I record my impressions. I read the designated chapter while writing down new vocabulary. I love finding out what Mona and her grandfather think of each art work. Most interesting to me is how Grandfather handles Mona's reactions which can be quite childlike even silly. 

It takes about two hours to study a  chapter thoroughly. That's where the expression au compte-gouttes, literally counting droplets, comes into play. Françoise wisely comments that I would not want to speed through the book but take it in parsimoniously, au compte-gouttes. I could not agree more.