Join thousands of book lovers
Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy.You can, at any time, unsubscribe from our newsletters.
Goliarda Sapienza's The Art of Joy was written over a nine year span, from 1967 to 1976. At the time of her death in 1996, Sapienza had published nothing in a decade, having been unable to find a publisher for what was to become her most celebrated work, due to its perceived immorality. One publisher's rejection letter exclaimed: 'It's a pile of iniquity.' The manuscript lay for decades in a chest finally being proclaimed a "e;forgotten masterpiece"e; when it was eventually published in 2005. This epic Sicilian novel, which begins in the year 1900 and follows its main character, Modesta, through nearly the entire span of the 20th century, is at once a coming-of-age novel, a tale of sexual adventure and discovery, a fictional autobiography, and a sketch of Italy's moral, political and social past. Born in a small Sicilian village and orphaned at age nine, Modesta spends her childhood in a convent raised by nuns.Through sheer cunning, she manages to escape, and eventually becomes a princess. Sensual, proud, and determined, Modesta wants to discover the infinite richness of life and sets about destroying all social barriers that impede her quest for the fulfilment of her desires. She seduces both men and women, and even murder becomes acceptable as a means of removing an obstacle to happiness and self-discovery.Goliarda Sapienza (1924-1996) was born in Catania, Sicily in 1924, in an anarchist socialist family. At sixteen, she entered the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome and worked under the direction of Luchino Visconti, Alessandro Blasetti and Francesco Maselli. She is the author of several novels published during her lifetime: Lettera Aperta (1967), Il Filo Di Mezzogiorno (1969), L'Universit di Reibbia (1983), Le Certezze Del Dubbio (1987). L'Arte Della Gioia is considered her masterpiece.
Det er en roman om at leve i stedet for ikke at gøre det, og dem kunne vi godt bruge flere af.– The New YorkerGoliarda Sapienza sicilianske, forrældreløse Modesta bliver det 20. århundredes sidste heltinde.– Chris KraussModesta var for fri for Italien i 70'erne. Men i begyndelsen af det 21. århundrede er det en anden sag: Hun er fascinerende.– Le MondeSocialisten og feministen Goliarda Sapienza skrev sin roman Kunsten at glædes i 1960’erne og 70’erne, men en række italienske forlæggere vendte tommelfingeren ned. Den var for stor, for voldsom, for provokerende. Kunsten at glædes fik først sit gennembrud i 1990’erne, efter Goliardas død, da forlag i Frankrig og Tyskland fik blik for bogens litterære, historiske, vilde kvaliteter. I dag er den et klassisk hovedværk internationalt.Romanens hovedperson, den unge Modesta, er klog, opsætsig, vild, grænseløs, enerverende. Hun fødes i landproletariatet på det østlige Sicilien. Hendes mor og debile søster omkommer i en mordbrand, måske anstiftet af Modesta selv. Derfra begynder den meget målrettede Modestas sociale opstigen, som går via et skrækkeligt nonnekloster til en dekadent adelsfamilie, hvis overhoved Modesta ender med at blive.Modesta er stærkt videbegærlig og fast besluttet på at bruge sine privilegier til at dygtiggøre sig, stifte bekendtskab med verdenslitteraturen og leve livet. Hun er til både mænd og kvinder og samler en større klan omkring sig med nuværende og tidligere partnere og egne og sammenbragte børn, som hun opdrager i en progressiv og fordomsfri ånd. På Sicilien under fascismen.
Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy.