The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga

This  elegant, intelligent novel opens with the following words:

I was twenty-nine years old when the Arno flooded its banks on Friday 4 November 1966. According to the Sunday New York Times the damage wasn't extensive, but by Monday it was clear that Florence was a disaster. Twenty feet of water in the cloisters of Santa Croce, the Cimabue crucifix ruined beyond hope of restoration, panels ripped from the Baptistry doors, the basement of the Biblioteca Nazionale completely underwater, hundreds of thousands of volumes waterlogged, the Archivo di Stato in total disarray. On Tuesday I decided to go to Italy, to offer my servies as a humble book conservator, to help in any way I could, to save whatever coudl be saved, including myself.

That is, Margot Harrington, the heroine of The Sixteen Pleasures, sets off for Florence and becomes one of the hundreds of angeli del fango (mud angels), young foreigners who flocked to Florence to help clean up after the huge flood of 1966. Eventually she finds herself working to preserve the books in a cloistered convent library. When the nuns discover a priceless volume from the Renaissance, depicting sixteen sensual pleasures in poems and illustrations, Margot is asked to help them secretly sell it.  As the story unfolds, she finds adventure, intrigue and passion in this delicious novel.

I enjoyed so much about this book. I liked revisiting the mid-60's; I liked the behind-the-scene glimpses of life in a Carmelite convent; I learned a lot about the arcane world of rare book conservation.  Plus, Margot is a thoroughly appealing character, and The Sixteen Pleasures has some truly funny, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, moments.

This is a great book to read before visiting Florence...maybe even on the airplane. It gives you the feel of the city and its inhabitants, a glimpse of daily life, a smattering of Italian words (and one hilarious episode about a linguistic mistake), and well, many other pleasures. It's sensuous, exciting, very sexy, and smart. Highly recommended.

FYI: I found a three and a half minute video on the mud angels and the 1966 flood on YouTube. It's worth watching if you have a few minutes: Florence Flood.