L’arte della gioia

The Art of Joy is a posthumous book: it lay abandoned in a chest for twenty years and, after being rejected by leading Italian publishers, was printed in a limited edition by Stampa Alternativa in 1998. But it was only when it was published abroad – in France, Germany and Spain – that it received the recognition it deserved. The novel revolves around the figure of Modesta: a lively and uncomfortable woman, powerfully immoral according to common morality. A Sicilian woman, a “tough girl” in whom carnality and intellect merge, who goes through historical storms and emotional turmoil protected by an infallible inner talisman: “the art of joy”. Modesta was born on 1 January 1900 in a poor house in an even poorer land. But from the very beginning, she was aware, with her body and mind, that she was destined for a life that went far beyond the confines of her village and her condition. While still a young girl, she was sent to a convent and from there, upon the death of the mother superior who protected her, to a noble palace. Here, her enormous talent and Machiavellian intelligence allowed her to control the household finances and become an aristocrat through a marriage of convenience. All this without ever ceasing to seduce men and women of all kinds. A generous friend, affectionate mother and sensual lover, Modesta lived through the 20th century with the strength that distinguishes all great characters in world literature.

Publishing house Einaudi
Year of publication 2008
Number of pages 540
ISBN 9788806189464
Foreign Rights valeria.zito@einaudi.it
Price 21

Goliarda Sapienza (1924-1996) was born in Catania to a revolutionary socialist family. From the age of sixteen, she lived in Rome, where she studied at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the 1950s and 1960s, she acted in theatre and cinema, working with Luchino Visconti (in Senso), Alessandro Blasetti and Citto Maselli, among others. Her first novel, Lettera aperta (1967), was followed by Il filo di mezzogiorno (1969), L’università di Rebibbia (1983), Le certezze del dubbio (1987) and, posthumously, L’arte della gioia (1998), the short stories Destino coatto (2002), Io, Jean Gabin (2010), Il vizio di parlare a me stessa (2011), the poems Siciliane (2012) Ancestrale (2013), La mia parte di gioia (My Share of Joy, 2013), Elogio del bar (In Praise of the Bar, 2014), Tre pièces e soggetti cinematografici (Three Plays and Film Subjects, 2014), Appuntamento a Positano (Appointment in Positano, 2015) and Lettere e biglietti (Letters and Notes, 2021), Scrittura dell’anima nuda (Writing with a Naked Soul, 2022), Autobiografia delle contraddizioni (Autobiography of Contradictions, 2024). The Goliarda Sapienza “Racconti dal carcere” literary prize was established in her name.