The Sixteen Pleasures

Robert Hellenga

1/7/2003

Margot Harrington restores books for the Newberry Library in the Chicago. It is 1966 and the Arno has flooded into Florence, Italy. The ancient art is in danger of being lost forever. Margot takes a leave from her job and joins the American "Mud Angels" who go over to help rescue priceless treasures.

This isn't her first trip to Italy. She had lived in Florence before with her mother, an American teacher, for a year, and had attended her last year of high school there as an exchange student. Now she returns, almost 30, single, and following a different, quieter path than she had anticipated.

Margot now pitches in where she can. Eventually she ends up at a nunnery. There, an unusual book is found. It has etching and poems of 16 pleasures of erotica. This book had been banned by the church. Supposedly, all copies had been destroyed. She finds herself responsible for quietly disposing of the unique book for as much as possible. She also discovers she wants to keep it, repair it, and restore it herself.

This book is very readable. I wanted to find out what was happening to Margot. I find this a quiet book, rather like its heroine. It follows her through her trip to Italy, her relationships there, and the influence of the book. It follows the story of the book itself, from discovery until disposal. Yet overall, it is a slice of life book, in my opinion. Hellenga takes Margot through this exciting, sensuous part of her life, then keeps her going. By the end, the reader knows that Margot has changed. But those changes will have more effects the reader won't discover, only imagine.

I also enjoyed learning the process of restoring or saving old manuscripts. Thousands of old books were affected in the flooding that year. Hellenga describes different techniques (using Margot's wisdom) of drying them out, restoring destroyed covers, what would make the damage worse, and what would be the best solution. There is also a fresco that is rescued with the detailed descriptions of the problems and solutions as well. I felt a deep respect for the ancient work being salvaged.

The end of the novel disappointed me. Perhaps I was expecting more of a conclusion rather than a "and her life continued" type of ending. Yet once the erotic/pornography book was to the point of disposal, the rest of the story tended to get lost.

This book can be found at your library or at , along with more reviews.

Notice: Sexual situations