.gif)
Silk (novel)
Encyclopedia
Silk is a novel
by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco
. It was translated into English in 1997 by Guido Waldman. A new English translation by Ann Goldstein was published in 2006.
silkworm merchant-turned-smuggler named Hervé Joncour in 19th century France who travels to Japan
for his town's supply of silkworms after a disease wipes out their African supply. During his stay in Japan, he becomes obsessed with the concubine of a local baron.
; translated by Guido Waldman.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco
Alessandro Baricco
Alessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages...
. It was translated into English in 1997 by Guido Waldman. A new English translation by Ann Goldstein was published in 2006.
Plot summary
The novel tells the story of a FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
silkworm merchant-turned-smuggler named Hervé Joncour in 19th century France who travels to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for his town's supply of silkworms after a disease wipes out their African supply. During his stay in Japan, he becomes obsessed with the concubine of a local baron.
Main characters
- Hervé Joncour – silkworm merchant-turned-smuggler
- Hélène Joncour – Hervé's wife
- Baldabiou – Financier of Hervé's travels
- Hara Kei – Silkworm baron in Japan
- Hara Kei's unnamed concubine - she 'has the face of a young girl and eyes without an oriental slant'
- Madame Blanche – Madam of a prostitution house
Adaptations
Silk has been adapted for stage and film:- A theater adaptation was made in 2005 by Mary ZimmermanMary ZimmermanMary Zimmerman is an American theatre director and playwright, born in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Career:Zimmerman is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company and is an Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BS, MA and PhD from Northwestern University, where...
- Silk (2007 film)
Book information
Silk (English edition) by Alessandro BariccoAlessandro Baricco
Alessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages...
; translated by Guido Waldman.
- HardcoverHardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
- ISBN 1-86046-258-8 published in (ISBN 978-1-86046-258-0) October 19971997 in literatureThe year 1997 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Clancy signs a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. , giving him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . A second agreement gives him another US$25 million for a...
by The Harvill Press - PaperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
- ISBN 1-86046-366-5 published in May 19981998 in literatureThe year 1998 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 5 - Tennessee Williams' 1938 play, Not About Nightingales, receives its stage première....
by The Harvill Press