This little book is utterly divine. I have read it twice in the space of 24 hours. The first to read of Hervé, the silkworm merchant, and his intoxicating love for a concubine, with all its eroticism and longing. The second to read the love story between a husband and his wife. I'm sure there will be third, fourth and fifth readings too. Highly recommend, especially for the stunning use of colour in the story, reflecting Japanes culture but also using the symbolism to tell the deeper, more intimate story.
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I was intrigued by Alessandro Baricco's unusual novella, set in France in the mid 19th century, centred around the silk industry, which also delves into the mysteries and subtleties of a still-feudal Japan, only just beginning to open up to the outside world after centuries of insularity. An enigmatic central character, Hervé Joncour, travels to Japan on behalf of his employer every few years to obtain undiseased silk-worm eggs. He is married and loves his wife but becomes entranced by the concubine of his source of silk-worm eggs. This is no ordinary love triangle. Baricco's language is subtle, spare, and implies rather than states. He relies on his reader's imagination to create the characters who move through the book as almost figments rather than people. Each visit to Japan is described with the same words, but without any focus on the perilous and difficult journey across the world in 19th century conditions. The repetition of scenes as Hervé travels back and forth to the slowly changing Japan, the shift in Japanese relations with the West forming an understated backdrop to his travels, the nuances of his unrequited love for the concubine contrasting with his consequently deteriorating relationship with his wife, the changes in the French silk industry, the state of mind of Hervé's employer: all these themes are described with subtle minimalism. Reading this book is rather like watching clouds in the sky move and change with the wind. The clouds seem the same but are always changing. The colours are all grey, but the shades of colour change as the clouds travel across the sky. You can't grasp clouds, they can be seen, they exist, but they are insubstantial and impermanent. 'Silk' is as enigmatic, as intangible as clouds, yet the story is rooted in reality - the ups and downs of a fragile industry dependent on the vagaries of silk worms, the real social and political changes that happened in Japan in the mid-19th century. But all seems ephemeral, out of reach, as the concubine is out of Hervé's reach, as Japan has always been beyond the reach of western understanding. 'Silk' is a nuanced novella, carefully composed, a book to read not just once. Baricco's way with words need to be absorbed slowly 'Silk' is as lovely and as slippery as the material at the centre of the story, a novel to stir the imagination, charm the mind, and leave a delicate but indelible impression.
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A compact, stylish and enigmatic journey, on several levels, through determination, passion, obsession and disintegration. In less than 100 pages this tale delights and the physical hardback format is all part of the experience. The plot is woven with the delicacy of a fine silk fabric and the complex pattern will invite a different interpretation from each reader, which will change again each time the fable is revisited. A cupcake of inspiration for thinkers, poets, seers and travellers.
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A confusing bu enjoyable read. The chapters are a page each which I found disconcerting t first, but you do get drawn in. It's a shame that the relationship between the merchant and the mistress doesn't develop much, but I suppose this was a deliberate story-telling device.
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This book's story is enchanting and charming. The writing is simple. The chapters are short. This book is an exquisite example of how to create an atmosphere with few words. Paul Coelho could take lessons from Alessandro Baricco. There were a few moments when the plot made me wince, but the ending made up for this. I can't say more, lest it is spoiled for you. I hope you love it, too.
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It was a very easy romantic read -about a man"s work that left his wife for so many months each year to travel to foreign lands to collect silk worms to be brought back to France to make fine silk and give people work and to show the devotion and honour to his beloved wife
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Around 1860 there is an epidemic disease among the silkworm eggs in France. Hervé Joncour organizes - in the course of four years - four expeditions to japan to buy healthy silkworm eggs. Between France and Japan there begins a confrontation between two different civilizations, between two worlds totally apart from each other. Misunderstandings occur and risk to jeopardize the negotiations. But beneath the surface a weird and peculiar love story begins between Hervé Joncour and the mistress of the Japanese negotiator. They are not able to touch or speak to each-other. The woman sends mysterious notes to the Frenchman and there is only one woman in the world who is able to translate them... Long and dangerous voyages, the soft sound of a voice, the sacralization of a magnificent and sensual silk tissue, all these things add to the mysterious atmosphere of Japan in the 19th century. But above all "Silk" is a poem about a fragile and impossible love-affair.
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This book is a compelling read. written in unusual form I found it a little difficult to get into at first, but once in the zone so to speak I couldn't put it down. It's so tense and the ending was a real shock. If you care for unspoken passion this is a book for you.
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Para quem viu o filme é um ótimo pedido!!
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Me recomendaron mucho esta novela, pero no la encontré en español en la tienda Kindle. La leí en inglés y creo que pierde un poco la poesía con que escribe el autor. Es una novela deliciosa, que nos lleva por la Ruta de la Seda y nos atrapa con imágenes de lugares exóticos, y tiempos pasados.
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An amazing writer...super plot development narrated in the most sparing and efficient language. The author is a real word smith. I enjoyed the novel immensely and since my initial purchase have bought added copies as gifts for friends. Delivery was excellent.
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Very good book!
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Rating: 2.5 stars. I'm not too sure what to think about this novel, well novella rather (57 pages). On one level, it is a little gem, the writing is so beautiful and the story so nostalgic. The main theme explored is nostalgia of something that will never happen. However, I also found it frustrating: the story is practically a non-event, character development is thin, and the style, while beautiful, is not satisfying as a story-telling narrative. It's very Japanese. I guess you have to like this Japanese stuff, and romanticism. Not quite my cup of tea I think.... I believe this book has left a lasting impression of many readers, but I don't think I will remember it very long.
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