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casspro's review against another edition
1.0
This novel took so long to get to the point. In it's description, the main character finds and restores a book called "The Sixteen Pleasures" and after its discovery, tries to live a life that seems fulfilling . Sounds like great plot to me, if only the author would get around to writing it. Five tedious chapters in and all we've done is ridden on the train with the main character and hear her gripe about "will-I or won't-I" sex with a colleague. It's boring. And even after trudging through the rest of the novel, I come away with thinking this was meant to be a book about restoring and book collecting, rather than the "heroine's" (I use that term very loosing because I don't think she really did anything heroic other than saving rare books from being destroyed in a flood) attempts at a more rich existence. The real title should be "Book Binding: A Love Story about Italy," and potential readers would get a real sense of what the novel entails. Calling it "The Sixteen Pleasures" seems like misdirection to get potentials interested, only to leave them feeling cheated and disappointed. I think I held out as long as did because a trustworthy bibliophile family member gave this to me, but I think they may have been mistaken. This book was meant for a completely different donate pile.
louisabooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ag_berry's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
amotisse's review against another edition
5.0
This is a journey. Our lives are made up of them. They shape who we are and enrich our being.
I loved being part of this journey. It combines language, culture, art, history, family, love, spirituality, eroticism and the care of old books.
Perhaps as Margot was carefully unbinding and rebinding the Aretino, she was simultaneously unravelling and reconstructing herself...
Wonderful reflective reading.
I loved being part of this journey. It combines language, culture, art, history, family, love, spirituality, eroticism and the care of old books.
Perhaps as Margot was carefully unbinding and rebinding the Aretino, she was simultaneously unravelling and reconstructing herself...
Wonderful reflective reading.
newfylady's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a wonderful insight into the restoration of books and frescos. But there was little to recommend the characters. The poems relating the title's 16 pleasures lose something in the translation winding up sounding crass or vulgar.
lindageorge's review against another edition
4.0
Ah, just finished this book. It was a real treat for the senses!
mary412's review against another edition
3.0
Can't remember much about this book. Read it a long time ago.
espbear's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
5.24.23 At first I despised this book, and strongly considered not finishing it. It seemed like the man who wrote it couldn't properly picture what it's like to be a woman, or imagine a woman's inner monologue. I told myself to plod on since I'm going back to Florence in the fall. It gave me some inspiration to visit some places I might not have considered, like the Lodovici chapel or perhaps revisiting Fiesole. The book did get better, but I feel the blurb on the back is somewhat inaccurate. It implies the main character Margot is a part of the mud angel effort after the Arno floods Florence, but in the book Margot seems to always consider her book conservation efforts as something separate from the other young people who came to help when that happened.
I noticed in another review, someone expressed disappointment the 16 pleasures are never full articulated in the book, and that the reviewer had a expectation that the main character and her lover would be enacting each one. The book lacks a certain sensuality one might expect from the general subject material, and it certainly does not depict Margot and Sandro experiencing each "pleasure." That being said, the way how it's written does seem like how a woman in the 1960s might talk in real life. I also want to note here that the 16 pleasures were not made up as a plot device; you can google I Modi by Lynne Lawner for more info.
I found the ending a little dissatisfactory- what happens next in Margot's life? I wish Sandro's character reappeared if only to create a little more drama. UPDATE: apparently a sequel was published in 2007 called the Italian Lover.
I noticed in another review, someone expressed disappointment the 16 pleasures are never full articulated in the book, and that the reviewer had a expectation that the main character and her lover would be enacting each one. The book lacks a certain sensuality one might expect from the general subject material, and it certainly does not depict Margot and Sandro experiencing each "pleasure." That being said, the way how it's written does seem like how a woman in the 1960s might talk in real life. I also want to note here that the 16 pleasures were not made up as a plot device; you can google I Modi by Lynne Lawner for more info.
I found the ending a little dissatisfactory- what happens next in Margot's life? I wish Sandro's character reappeared if only to create a little more drama. UPDATE: apparently a sequel was published in 2007 called the Italian Lover.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity
Minor: Racial slurs and Death of parent
jbojkov's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those that you can't wait to read and then don't really understand what all the fuss was about. I suspect it had to do with the slightly naughty title- but I really don't recall the book being all that salacious. Maybe I would have liked it more and remembered more!!
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 city's treasured art from the Arno's flooded banks. American volunteer Margot Harrington was one of them, finding her niche in the waterlogged library of a Carmelite convent. For 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 volume--a sensual, life-altering journey of loss and rebirth in this exquisite novel of spiritual longing and earthly desire.
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 city's treasured art from the Arno's flooded banks. American volunteer Margot Harrington was one of them, finding her niche in the waterlogged library of a Carmelite convent. For 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 volume--a sensual, life-altering journey of loss and rebirth in this exquisite novel of spiritual longing and earthly desire.