Ardor: A Novel of Enchantment (Hardcover)

by Lily Prior (Author) "The man who was responsible for this whole mix-up was our own Arcadio Carnabuci, the olive grower..." (more)
Key Phrases: olive grower, pork butcher, Fernanda Ponderosa, Arcadio Carnabuci, Primo Castorini (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
When the object of your affection doesn't know you exist, that's tragic. When the one who puts you on a romantic pedestal is a mule, it's downright silly. Prior manages to pull off both scenarios with outrageous aplomb in her irresistibly funny, subtly wise, and zestfully romantic fairy tale set in the sultry village of Norcia. Arcadio Carnabuci has never been lucky in love. So desperate is he for romance that he buys magical "love seeds" from (who else?) a passing gypsy. The seeds, as magical seeds are wont to do, work all too well, charging the atmosphere around Norcia with a passion that is almost palpable. Everyone--man, woman, and beast (especially beast)--succumbs, with varying degrees of amorous success. Carnabuci may love Fernanda but Fernanda loves Primo, and Gezabel, the mule and story narrator (we told you this was a fairy tale), can't keep her big brown eyes off Carnabuci. Ludicrous, yes, but Prior's lustful farce is a merry romp through love's arduous maze. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Set in the sultry heat of an Italian summer, Ardor is a delicious romantic comedy about unrequited love, unquenchable lust, and the hilarious consequences of mistaken passions.

When a lonely olive grower, Arcadio Carnabuci, sows his love seeds, he cannot imagine the chaos his magic fruit will bring. While Fernanda Pondrosa, the voluptuous woman of his dreams, evades his spell, Gezabel, a hardworking middle-aged mule, falls head over hooves in love with him. And, as Gezabel discovers, she is not the only one whose stars cross as the olive grower's ardor casts its magic over the region. Suddenly, the butcher and the baker are thinking murder, the village doctor and his nurse are driven to distraction, and a newborn is transformed into an angel. As the villagers alternate between love and war, remarkable phenomena add to the fevered atmosphere, making passions surge higher than the soaring temperatures of summer.

A new novel by the author of La Cucina and Nectar, Ardor is a wildly imaginative fairy tale for adults, full of twists and unexpected delights.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; First Edition edition (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060527862
• ISBN-13: 978-0060527860
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,430,443 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, frolicking fantasy of a different order!, July 28, 2004

By	L. Redding "sassymama" (Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gezabel, a mule who carries a nurse to and from patients everyday, falls head over heals for the local olive farmer, Arcadio, after he plants seeds of love. Yes, Gezabel is a mule. Everyone in town is falling in love with someone else. Passion is running amuck. Animals and people are victims of the seeds, although only Gezabel falls for a human being! Poor Arcadio, in love with a woman who arrives in town, is not receiving a response. The energy of everyone's lust is making the town crazy.

This is such a fun book. It does not become too strange, even with Gezabel suffering her unrequited love for the hard-working Arcadio. The story is full of all of the senses. It is passionate. It is crazy. It is so much fun!

I highly recommend this, if you are looking for something very unusual. You have to let your mind just fall open to accept it, but it is utterly enjoyable to do so! I haven't read anything like it before. You have to hang on just to see if poor Gezabel ever finds true love!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hmmmm......, January 25, 2005

By	Linda "katknit" (CT, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

How to describe Ardor? The only other author I've read who's as quirky - quixotic - imaginatively creative - as Lily Prior is Jasper Fforde, but the 2 are quite different. Having read La Cucina, I had some idea of what to expect from Ardor. At first it was difficult to accept the premise of mule as narrator, but I gradually became quite fond of Gezebel. The female lead, Fernanda, is introduced as powerful and mysterious and remains so throughout the story. There is also a (human) baby who flies! Prior does a good job of conveying something of the Italian personality and lifestyle without resorting to stereotype. If you like Italy, strong characterization, potent but not blatently graphic sexuality, AND can suspend the need to be bound by reality, you will probably enjoy Ardor.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fantasy romantic read, September 24, 2007

By	LEJ "LEJ" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ardor: A Novel of Enchantment (Paperback)

This is one of those books that is uniquely different and so enjoyable. The book reminds me of Shakespears "Mid-summers night eve" not that the book is on the same par. It is a delightful read definitely worth picking up if you are going to be in a long car ride or train ride.