The Sixteen Pleasures, Robert Hellenga
The Sixteen Pleasures, Robert Hellenga
1 Rating(s)
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The Sixteen Pleasures

Author: Robert Hellenga

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Unabridged: 12 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/01/2013

Synopsis

I was twenty-nine years old when the Arno flooded its banks on Friday, 4 November 1966. On Tuesday I decided to go to Italy, to offer my services as a humble book conservator, to save whatever could be saved, including myself. The Italians called them Mud Angels, the young foreigners who came to Florence in 1966 to save the citys treasured art from the Arnos flooded banks. American volunteer Margot Harrington was one of them, finding her niche in the waterlogged library of a Carmelite convent. Within its walls she discovered a priceless Renaissance masterwork: a sensuous volume of sixteen erotic poems and drawings. Inspired to sample each of the ineffable sixteen pleasures, Margot embarks on the intrigue of a lifetime with a forbidden lover and the contraband volumea sensual, life-altering journey of loss and rebirth in this exquisite novel of spiritual longing and earthly desire.

About Robert Hellenga

Robert Hellenga was educated at the University of Michigan and Princeton University. He is a professor emeritus at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and the author of the novels The Confessions of Frances Godwin, Snakewoman of Little Egypt, The Sixteen Pleasures, The Fall of a Sparrow, Blues Lessons, Philosophy Made Simple, and The Italian Lover, and the short story collection The Truth About Death. He lives in Galesburg, Illinois.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Roger on January 10, 2018

Where I Want to Be I have been hearing about this book for years, but had put off reading it, partly because of the simply dreadful design of its original cover and the implication in the blurb that it was a recherché erotic romp. But I was wrong. Sex is one of its subjects, yes, but so are religion,......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on December 20, 2010

While I found the story engaging enough, and even liked the female protagonist, I have to admit to being rather disappointed with this book. In particular: 1. This was one of the worst proofread books I've ever (attempted to!) read. I know the author has no control over this, but it was distracting e......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on December 05, 2006

Another get away and dream of Italy book. From Amazon: In 1966, 29-year-old Margot Harrington heads off to Florence, intent on doing her bit to protect its precious books from the great floods--and equally intent on adventure. Serendipity, in the shape of the man she'll fall in love with, leads her......more

Goodreads review by Leena on October 13, 2008

With very little forethought or planning, our spirited heroine, Margot Harrington, leaves the security of her low-paying job restoring books at the Newberry Library and heads for Europe. She throws herself headlong into an exhilarating Italian adventure, her destination the ancient city of Florence......more

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