Margot Harrington’s memoir about her discovery in Florence of a priceless masterwork of Renaissance erotica - and the misguided love aff air it inspired - is now, 25 years later, being made into a film. Margot, with the help of her lover, Woody, writes a script that she thinks will validate her life.

Of course, their script is not used, but never mind - happy endings are the best endings for films, as Margot eventually comes to see. At the former convent in Florence where The Sixteen Pleasures - now called The Italian Lover - is being filmed, Margot enters into a drama she never imagined, where her ideas of home, love, art and aging collide with the imperatives of commerce and the unknowability of other cultures and other people.

Reviews

Praise for Philosophy Made Simple:

• 'Hellenga once again has produced a novel that adds immeasurably to the pleasures of reading contemporary fiction.' ALAN CHEUSE, CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND NPR’S ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
• 'Sweet and lovely...moving us with pathos and pleasure, startling us into wisdom.' REBECCA NEWBERGER GOLDSTEIN, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Hardback

Published 01/11/2007