Silk

Silk is a 1996 novel by the Italian writer Alessandro Baricco. It was translated into English in 1997 by Guido Waldman, and a new English translation by Ann Goldstein appeared in 2006. The story is set in nineteenth-century France and follows Hervé Joncour, a silkworm merchant who turns to smuggling after a disease destroys the African supply of silkworms on which his town depends. He travels to Japan during the Bakumatsu period, when the country was still largely closed to foreigners.

During his stay he becomes obsessed with the concubine of a local baron. Both his trade and his personal relationship with her are strained by the political turmoil and growing anti-Western sentiment that followed the arrival of Matthew C. Perry in Edo Bay.

The book is brief, with no chapter exceeding three pages, and is noted for its unhurried rhythm and subtle construction. Mario Vargas Llosa praised its laconic, concise language, which recalls an Oriental fable. The novel has been adapted for the stage, including a 2005 theatre version by Mary Zimmerman, and for film in 2007 by François Girard.