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Books and Cooks Ithaca -- February 2001

Silk

Our rating as a stand-alone book:3.82 cups of tea!

Our rating as a discussion book: 0
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 Silk by Alessandro Baricco

Discussion date: Monday, February 20, 2001

Discussion place: Jen's Place

Menu: French-Asian Fusion

From Amazon Editorial Review
 This startling, sensual, hypnotically compelling novel tells a story of adventure, sexual enthrallment, and a love so powerful that it unhinges a man's life. In 1861 French silkworm merchant Hervé Joncour is compelled to travel to Japan, where, in the court of an enigmatic nobleman, he meets a woman. They do not touch; they do not even speak. And he cannot read the note she sends him until he has returned to his country. But in the moment he does, Joncour is possessed. The same spell will envelop anyone who reads Silk, a work that has the compression of a fable, the evocative detail of the greatest historical fiction, and the devastating erotic force of a dream.

The Books and Cooks Silk Informal Reading Guide
(member-generated questions in no particular order)

  • Did Baldabion tell Helene about the woman?

  • Why does the author keep changing the name of the lake?

  • Could the story have been written in another form and have the same effect (a more classical narrative, longer scenes, more details about the other character's lives...)?

  • Did Herve love Helene?

  • What's a billet-doux and why is the boy one?

  • To what extent did Hara Kei condone and even encourage Herve's interest in the woman? Was her drinking the tea planned?

  • Is there an examle of perfect love in this book? If not, who came closest?

  • Is this book so popular, because it can be read in one sitting (roughly in the time of a 1-hour TV show!)?

  • Was the handicapped hand a metaphor for anything and, if so, what?

  • Did Herve always know the letter was from his wife? If not, why didn't he question the Belgian postmark?

  • Does Herve have free will?

  • Was it important that the woman was not Japanese?

  • What did you liike about this novel?

  • Was there anything going on between Helene and Baldabion?

  • Did 'she' release the birds?

  • Who is Saint Agnes and what is her significance?

  • What game is Baldabiou playing with Herve?

This Page Last Revised: February 21, 2001.