The Silver Book

Olivia Laing

It is September 1974. Two men meet by chance in Venice. One is a young English artist, in panicked flight from London. The other is Danilo Donati, the magician of Italian cinema, the designer responsible for realising the spectacular visions of Fellini and Pasolini. Donati is in Venice to produce sketches for Fellini's Casanova. A young - and beautiful - apprentice is just what he needs. He sweeps Nicholas to Rome, into the looking-glass world of Cinecittá, the studio where Casanova's Venice will be ingeniously assembled. Then in the spring, the lovers move together to the set of Salò, Pasolini's horrifying fable of fascism. But Nicholas has a secret and in this world of constant illusion, his real nature passes unseen. Amidst the rising tensions of Italy's 'Years of Lead', he acts as an accelerant, setting in motion a tragedy he didn't intend.

Author(s): Laing, Olivia
Binding: Hardback
Date of Publication: 06/11/2025
Pagination: 288 pages
Series: N/A
Imprint: Hamish Hamilton
Published By: Hamish Hamilton
Book Classification: Modern & contemporary fiction|Gay|Gay|Historical fiction
Dimensions: 223x143x24
Weight: 366
ISBN13\EAN\SKU: 9780241783962