Could be about 10,000 words; a long short story, almost a novella, but just the right length for the story.
The prose is spare, b...moreShort, simple, poetic.
Could be about 10,000 words; a long short story, almost a novella, but just the right length for the story.
The prose is spare, but filled with imagery; rather elegant.
The protagonist makes three journeys to Japan to acquire silkworm eggs. Each journey involves preparation, travel, and a short stay. Each journey is a variation of the one preceding it; each journey is a rehearsal for the next. It was hard for this reader not to see the poetry in the structure. The very short travel description of each journey is nearly word for word; it's just a bit like a refrain.
The story itself is concerned with the relationship of the protagonist with his wife and with a woman in Japan. Both relationships are bittersweet and there is a bit of twist at the end.
Twist endings are almost de rigueur for short stories, even novels of a certain type. I claim to like twist endings as much as the next, but I could by lying. Here's the thing:
Pacing and twist are strongly linked. A sudden, sharp twist is wonderful for a fast paced thriller. A rather languid pacing calls for more sufficient foreshadowing so the 'twist' unfolds reasonably or that the nature of the twist takes a bit to unfold in the reader's mind.
I'm not saying that it's impossible to successfully write a slow paced story with a wrenching twist at the end (and many have been written with varying degrees of success). The minute you make a 'rule' about writing, along comes a writer with sufficient skill and art to do just the opposite and do it well.
For this reader, Baricco's twist unfolded just a little too quickly. I wanted to savor it as it unfolded at the same languid pace as the set up. But it was close, 4.5 stars close.(less)
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