Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Silk

Silk
by Alessandro Baricco

3 of 5

Silk is part fable, part historical fiction, and mostly love story, and can be read in one or two sittings. (One reviewer called it a Buddhist fable disguised as erotic fiction.) Silk tells the story of Herve Joncour, a frenchman who travels to Japan in the late 1800s to obtain silkworm eggs for his local textile mills. It is very poetic and has the repititious nature of a folk tale. I enjoyed it--especially the twist at the end--but don't know if I can recommend it to many people. My recommendation: Read this book sitting next to a shimmering, still pond.