Silk

Rating:
Summary: Beautiffuly written - sure to be a masterpiece
Review: The first thing that struck me about Alessandro Baricco's novella "Silk" was its structure - the form is 100% pure - no words are unnecessary or superfluous. His style is simple and warm, and reads almost like a poem. The story, too, is simple: a silkworm farmer of modest means travels "to the end of the world" to garner silkworm eggs for the failing silk industry in his small town, and meets a young woman that he cannot get out of his mind. Baricco's form, style, and imagery are what set this story apart.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiffuly written - sure to be a masterpiece
Review: The first thing that struck me about Alessandro Baricco's novella "Silk" was its structure - the form is 100% pure - no words are unnecessary or superfluous. His style is simple and warm, and reads almost like a poem. The story, too, is simple: a silkworm farmer of modest means travels "to the end of the world" to garner silkworm eggs for the failing silk industry in his small town, and meets a young woman that he cannot get out of his mind. Baricco's form, style, and imagery are what set this story apart.

Rating:
Summary: Silk
Review: This is my favourite book in the world (well, this, and The Little Prince). I gave it to the man I love one Christmas and he has read it to me many times since - I will always hear it in his voice now, read in the early hours of the morning, growing sleepy and stopping for sips of water. It is an achingly beautiful love story.