The Sixteen Pleasures [Hardcover]

Robert Hellenga (Author), D. L. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1994

Spiritual longing and earthly delights blend in the tale of Margot Harrington, who, in 1966, goes to flooded Florence, where she discovers a one-of-a-kind book of Renaissance erotica and becomes involved with an Italian art restorer. 25,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 to an abbey run by the most knowing of abbesses and work on its library begins. One day a nun comes upon a shockingly pornographic volume, bound with a prayer book. It turns out to be Aretino's lost erotic sonnets, accompanied by some rather anatomical engravings. Since the pope had ordered all copies of the Sixteen Pleasures burned, it could be worth a fortune and keep the convent autonomous. The abbess asks Margot to take care of the book and check into its worth: "We have to be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves," she warns.

Soon our heroine finds her identity increasingly "tangled up" with the volume and with Dottor Postiglione, a man with an instinct for happiness--but also one for self-preservation. Margot enjoys the secrecy and the craft (the chapters in which she rebinds the folios are among the book's finest). Much of the book's pleasure stems from Robert Hellenga's easy knowledge, which extends to Italian complexities. Where else would you learn that, in cases of impotence, legal depositions are insufficient: "Modern couples often take the precaution of sending postcards to each other from the time of their engagement, leaving the message space blank so that it can be filled in later if the couple wishes to establish grounds for an annulment." Luckily, however, there are also shops that sell old postcards, "along with the appropriate writing instruments and inks."

Though The Sixteen Pleasures is initially in the tradition of American innocent goes abroad to encounter European experience, Hellenga's depth (and lightness) of characterization and description lift it high above its genre. And what better book than one about loving and loving books? --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Graceful, assured prose, a wry but empathetic view of the human character and an authoritative command of fascinating background detail are among the distinguishing features of this deeply satisfying first novel. Set in Florence after the terrible Arno flood of 1966, it is told partially by narrator Margot Harrington, a 29-year-old American book conservator who has come to Italy as one of the "mud angels" who volunteer in the wake of the disaster. Margot's life has been a series of bright promises deflected to dead ends, and she hopes Florence will provide a key to her future. Art restoration expert Dottor Alessandro Postiglione--debonair, middle-aged and married--suggests that Margot lodge at a Carmelite convent whose abbess is his cousin. When the nuns discover a priceless (and proscribed) Renaissance manuscript of 16 erotic poems and drawings, the abbess asks Margot to sell it, secretly, so that the convent will have the funds to resist the overbearing bishop's efforts to seize its treasured library. Many strands wind through the rest of the narrative: details about techniques of book and art restoration, observations of convent life refracted through Margot's Protestant sensibilities and such arcane (and humorous) information as the methods by which a canonical court decides whether a man is truly impotentia coeundi (and thus entitled to an annulment). Meanwhile, Margot's love affair with Sandro is described in sensuous detail. It is remarkable that Hellenga, a recipient of a PEN fiction award for his short stories, can at this point in his career produce such a witty, sophisticated and wise novel, its erotic passages underscored by a poignant, even melancholic undercurrent of change and loss and flashes of existential meaning about the conflicting demands of spirit and flesh. 25,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 327 pages
• Publisher: Soho Press; 1st edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569470065
• ISBN-13: 978-1569470060
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,546,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What were the Sixteen Pleasures?, July 17, 2003

By 

E. L. Weinhold "Lolly" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel (Paperback)

This book had a wonderful start, and the main character was so well-defined. I loved her nostagic moments, and stories of her family and travels. I also liked the Italian lessons I got from the book. The premise of the book was quite fascinating--the "Mud Angels", and the book restoration and conservation. The convent scenes were also well-written, and I found myself very interested in the lives of these nuns. There were so many good things about the book, although there were a few sections of the book that I was unclear of what was going on, and what it had to do with the overall story... I loved her plan to help the convent's library, and escape the notice of the bishop.

On the back cover it states that she embarks on the "sixteen pleasures" mentioned in the book... with her "forbidden lover"... I thought this was too dramatic--Sandro was not forbidden, and she did not make a big deal about going through each of the pleasures as the back cover synopsis would have you think...

Overall a good book, although a little long in some places.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful and Civilized Read, October 12, 2000

By 

Steve Luches (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel (Paperback)

This is a book wich I have enjoyed reading more than once, and which I have often given as a gift. It has elements of the mystery, the love story, the coming-of-age novel, and expose of religious politics and intrigue. It was recommended to me by a book loving friend before my first trip to Florence. I was tremendously glad that I had read it when I arrived in that overwhelming city. Many of the feelings of awe at the history and almost clutter of art objects which affected the protagonist also touched me in my pilgrimage to the cradle of the Renaissance. The twists of the plot and the elements of mystery reminded me of Umberto Eco, though on a much less demanding level. This is not a GREAT book, but it is a tremendously enjoyable read. Hellenga deserves particular credit for his unusual success in his attempt to write from a woman's point of view and sound convincing. I can think of no other male author who has done this quite so well. Many of his characters are quite endearing. The protagonist is no heroine, it is true. She is not meant to be. She is a young, confused, inexperienced American woman of the 1960's looking for life experiences of her own. Hellenga provides these. Almost as a foil to the protagonist, the lovable and crafty Reverend Mother is a delightful invention. No nuclear explosions, race riots, graphic sex or violence are to be found (for a change!). This is a charming book and a really promising first novel.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hellenga is simply versatile - not just a "male author", April 1, 2004

By 

Traveler (New England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel (Paperback)

Books that go into rich details typically don't interest me. "Get to the point already!" is something I might think if an author diddles around too long on description without advancing the plot or the character development.

Hellenga goes into a great detail about art and books and their restoration and somehow makes it all interesting. Perhaps he's tapped into the psyche of book lovers by addressing one of our fears: Imagine your most favorite, rare books that you've collected have been damaged and need to be restored or they'll be lost forever. In this case, the author is talking about the treasures of an entire country and not just one person.

But this is just the setting and background. Hellenga is also able to apply his same sensual descriptions to his characters and describes the thoughts and life of an American woman in Italy quite ably.

I've given several copies of "The Sixteen Pleasures" to my friends, particularly women. It's that good. Quite simply, it is sumptuous and sensual and a pleasure to read.

Far too many readers make a point of Hellenga being a man. Donna Tart wrote as a man in "The Secret History" and Jeffrey Eugenides wrote as a hermaphrodite in "Middlesex." In both cases the authors nailed their characters. Why so hard to believe that Hellenga, as a man, can't handle a female character? Besides, anyone with the illusion that Hellenga is all touchy feely only needs to read his book "The Fall of the Sparrow" in which he describes the life of a typical older professor who has frequent sex with one of his female students. If anything, he's versatile. If you love "Pleasures" you might not be as enthralled with "Sparrow" which, although a good read in my opinion, just has a different reading audience.