After a devastating flood hits Florence and surrounding cities, Margot packs up and heads to Italy, despite the disapproval of her father and her boss. She feels compelled to lend whatever help she can as a book conservator, in an effort to save the ancient libraries. Once there, Margot finds herself in an unpleasant situation and seeks refuge in a convent, at which she has agreed to help restore their library. A book of erotic art is discovered while she is there, and Margot finds herself drawn to the depictions of bodily desire and spiritual ecstasy enfolded within the pages.
I wasn't really sure what I'd think about this book when I started it. It sounded vaguely pornographic, honestly, but though there are some...uhm...specific scenes that are maybe more than I wanted to read at this time, most of the "pleasures" are much more subtle than that. I really found the book enjoyable in the same sense that sucked me into The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant. There is something about the historical fascination for me, particularly in the convent that she stays in, which was founded by a woman (not typical) who funded the whole thing, including the library (also not usual). I also found the passages about book preservation very interesting; it's not a topic I know much about, so the information was very educational for me. In the end, it's much more a love letter to Florence and the history of its art, books, and people than it is an erotic novel.
Altogether, it was a pretty quick read; I'm glad I had a chance to bump this up on my reading pile.
