Customer Reviews

Black Silk

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Black Silk breaks a lot of the rules of conventional romance, but it's so well written that it's a success nonetheless.

The hero and heroine are amazingly vivid, fully-fleshed individuals; Ivory is able to craft unique personalities, and describe a real depth of character, through small details - like Graham's watches, or Submit's preference for taffeta fabric.

The romance develops over quite a length of time, and very slowly; this book is not particularly steamy. Probably the most objectionable thing about Black Silk is that for more than three-quarters of the novel, Graham's primary sexual relationship is not with Submit. This is obviously not the usual romantic fare. Even more, the other woman is really likable and her relationship with Graham is frequently described in a positive manner. She and Submit get along just fine.

The way that the plot is set up - with the love triangle surrounding Graham, then the introduction of a second triangle with Submit at the center, Graham being on one side and her dead husband Henry on the other - makes this book less of an 'escape' or a 'romp' than most romances.

But because Graham and Submit have to negotiate their relationship with one another via their relationship with others, the story is natural and realistic. It approaches circumstances that plenty of people experience today. And both Graham and Submit emerge as complex, mature adults who are nonetheless imperfect.

The dialogue is fabulous. The writing is top notch. I think this is a very successful romance despite the rule-breaking and I recommend it highly.

The book begins beautifully and has a truly refreshing ending but some chapters in the middle are quite a challenge to read through, something due to Ivory's style I suppose. While Ivory's writing is rich and compelling it is also demanding. If you are looking for a light read with a familiar storyline this book is not for you. However if you have had enough of the love/lust at first sight pattern this is a book to sink your teeth into.

Graham and Submit are two wonderfully portrayed characters, real and complex. Too often in romance books one or both of the main characters undergo a miraculous, almost unbelievable, change in order to ensure a happy ending. No such easy solution here and that's what makes the book worth reading.

Graham is charming, wild, irresponsible and often childish but he is never mean and never stupid. He is ruled by his emotions (not for lack of brains, though), enjoys life and refuses to feel guilty about it. Submit is serious, reasonable, has a sharp open mind and the fact that she is not easily shocked, plus, that she has a very strong sense of self makes her a good mate for Graham.
The fact that Graham is a very appealing hero (and he is! faults and all) and that Submit is not boring is a tribute to Ivory's deep understanding of human nature.

The dialogues are delightfully sophisticated, through them we discover the character's inner strengths and weaknesses and follow the growing friendship between two completely different people who move in different circles of London's society.A friendship that will eventually bring Graham and Submit together, supposedly against all odds, without giving up their essential personalities. When Submit finally agrees to take Graham on she knows exactly what she'll get. She is not blinded by his charm and faces the future without illusions. She is clever enough to see through Graham's rakish facade to the intelligence and kindness of the man inside and sensible enough to know better than to try and change him (though she is also honest enough to admit she might be tempted). No starry eyed acceptance but a mature one. Yes, I agree with the reviewer who called this book "a romance for grown ups", it is that and more.

There is so much more I loved in the book:
* Henry - the man is already dead when the book begins and yet he is one of the main characters as he was a shaping force of both our hero and heroine.
* The rolls reversal between the male and female - Submit is the strong cool-headed one while our hero Graham is the emotional needy one.
* The consistent behavior of the characters, start to finish. No unexplained out of characters starts here.
* Graham's relationship with his mistress, which I thought further illuminated his personality. I disagree with the reviewers who felt his involvement with Rosalyn detracted from the story.

So why after raving so much I give a grade of 4 stars?
Because as I mentioned at the beginning of my review the pacing was uneven, a few chapters were too detailed, and though I realize they were meant to reveal what drives Graham in the pattern of his life, long paragraphs could have been shortened to a few lines without detracting from the story, and at the same time move the story forward more fluently. So imagine how frustrating it was to finish the book and realize that some of the issues depicted in these paragraphs were left untied, for example: Graham's children disappeared in the middle of the book never to be heard of again or the struggling twin's fate...

These and a few other minor flaws prevent the book from being a 5 stars read but the book is so unusual, the characterization so remarkable that I urge you to read it. For me "Black Silk" is a keeper.

P.S. - "Black Silk" was my first Ivory book. After reading it I tried one of her latest books and it didn't come close to this one. While some of her writing style is recognized I felt it lacked the depth of Black Silk. So even if you are not a fan of Ivory's current writings you might want to give Black Silk a try, it's worth it.

A truly adult historical romance, possibly for more mature readers, that scores high on sexual tension while also scoring big on clear, thinking, almost poetic prose. (I might mention that sexual tension here is not to be confused with a lot of sex, though, boy, is the reader ready for the staircase scene when it comes!) Fresh characters, good examples of smart people who discover how inadequate intellect is when it comes to high emotions. And a plot that revolves around the mystery of a dead man's true intentions. All fascinating stuff.

If you are looking for a mindless story to skim thru for the sex, this is NOT your book. Ivory goes deep into what love and attraction can mean and do to people, then builds an erotic tension that more or less combusts when the hero and heroine least expect it. Black Silk doesn't read like a traditional romance. It is its own kind of love story and not to be missed if you long for something unique in a genre that doesn't always specialize in one-of-a kind concepts. Pass if you like to be lead by the nose through a comfortably familiar story, though this one does begin with some familiar ideas: the rake, the widow in dire straits. If you enjoy unexpected twists, however, as a book assembles itself like a well-built, complicated puzzle, you'll fall in love with this story and keep it on your shelf for rereading.

This version of Black Silk is an "author-enhanced" (some romance site reviewer said this somewhere) reprint of a cult classic from the early 90's that fully deserves the attention of this versitile author's new, much larger audience. It's like none of her other books. But then which of her books are? Only the author's style seems to link her books, while each novel--each new set of characters, each new story--seem an attempt to reinvent the romance paperback again and again to the author's own liking.

Black Silk is an enigmatic romance that departs from the mainstream - and you can see why - it is a reissue from 1991 by popular romance novelist Judith Ivory. The strength of the book bolsters on the central protagonists - Graham Wessit and Submit Channing Downes. The former being the Earl of Netham who is rocked by a recent scandal over an allegation by a girl who gets impregnated by him and the latter a mourning widow who is entrusted by her husband to deliver the Pandetti box to Graham. The contents of the box are salacious drawings by a royal artist called Pandetti which caused the public ostracizing of Graham. It is later revealed that it is a scheme of Henry to see Graham destroyed.

Black Silk is highly descriptive and vivid but at times it reduces the novel to a pretentious and verbose mode. The romance is slow and is more of a character study that unfolds quietly through the turn of events.It reveals depth in Graham and his paradox on sex and love. It displays Submit's inclination to sensual awakening and bursting out of her mourning for her husband yet guilty of doing so. The ghost of Henry hangs unauspiciously in the wake of their nascent love and the obstacle in the form of Rosalyn Schild as a lover of Graham threatens their romance.

Black Silk certainly isn't for the mainstream romance readers who wants their novels fast and snappy. It slowly meanders through the past events of the characters to fully develop them -like legal contest of wills, Graham's children et al. Their romance grows from utter strangers to a platonic form then graduates to desire and passion. Its ending may be a bit overblown but for readers who take it slow - they may find the read ultimately satisfying.

Black Silk is a delightful book. Cuevas does a wonderful job detailing her characters giving them idiosyncracies that make them very real. Graham is an overly, indeed aggressively attractive man intent on enjoying himself and not too concerned with the dangers (One of his hobbies is fireworks). Submit, on the other hand, is the prim, slightly smug widow of Graham's former guardian. When the story opens both Graham and Submit are in legal troubles. A cousin is contesting Submit's husband's will while Graham is in a paternity suit. This context of intransigent legal troubles sets the stage for their frustrations and gives reason for this very unlikely couple's ongoing interaction. Cuevas builds the erotic tension beautifully through the book. Graham and Submit's perplexity over their attraction, their prickly friendship, and their simultaneous fascination and annoyance with the others habits is both poignant and sensuous. A tour de force

BLACK SILK is written in the style of those turn of the century and 1920's novels like the Forsythe Saga by John Galsworthy. It's not at all the expected or what is current. And it's quite good for what it is; but don't expect what Ivory usually provides. This was an earlier book and one where she was obviously experimenting with style. It is not like her beauty and the beasts books. I actually like this book better because the style is more intricate and the character development much deeper. The ending, however, is obviously tacked on to please what the publisher imagines to be the demands of the readers. [Hence my four stars.] I'm sorry that she didn't develop this style further. The woman has real talent.

Black Silk ends up feeling more like a literary novel than a romance. Sure, many events take place that fit into genre conventions: boy meets girl, boy aggravates girl, boy establishes a friendship with an eye on pushing it farther. But Judith Ivory set the novel in 1858 particularly so that her characters could have a modern mindset - don't expect to see swooning females, heroic males, and so forth.

Graham Wessit, the Earl of Nethem, is a lonely ne'er-do-well, a lady's man. In a simple romance he would be reformed by the love of a good woman. In this book he treats his mistress, a married American woman, approximately the same way he treats the heroine, Submit Channing-Downs. He has a keen and rude sexual interest in women but he also wants to be friends with them in a completely believable characterization. His riches and poor reputation have him spend the first several chapters of the book unsuccessfully defending himself against a paternity suit. The world at large thinks he is getting what he deserves and Graham sulks about the fact that not even his attorney believes he is innocent.

Graham is summed up by an exchange with his attorney :

"It is a shame to see someone your age so cynical. Especially someone who has as much as you."

Gathering his things, Graham said, "I am up to here" - he made a chop at the underside of his chin - "with how much I have."

Submit Channing-Downs, on the other hand, has spent her life before Graham doing what other people tell her to do. She married the older man her father picked out to take care of her - Henry Channing-Downs, the marquess of Montmarche - and did what she was told through the burial the carrying out of his last bequests. Unfortunately, her husband left an illegitimate son who has her immediately removed from the properties that were left to her, out of pique that he was recognized in cash but not in title or property. She disregards her lawyer's advice to let someone else deal with Henry's oddest bequest - a simple box, left to his cousin and in previous times ward Graham Wessit.

Submit comes into the book a distant figure wrapped in black, and soon decides to have a personality of her own; an understandable reaction when humble obedience leaves one out on the street.

The strange relationship evolving between Graham and Submit, and the legal battles between Submit and Henry's illegitimate son, make the entire middle part of the book feel like some sort of surreal dance. There are many partners swinging in and out : Graham's mistress, her unashamedly loving husband, Submit's lawyer, her opponent William, Graham's legally allotted children - Add the despondent mother who won the suit against Graham and the deceased : Henry, a maid Graham had an affair with once, and objects: the box and its contents, the serial that keeps appearing in a magazine mocking Graham's life... Each individual and each object has something to bring to the story, and each addition is something of a surprise.

The wrapping-up follows many twists and turns, and is tied up with one final neat surprise, like a bow on an elaborate gift. Enjoy!

I agree with those that said this book was intelligently written. However, I disagree with the opinions that seem to imply that if you didn't like this novel then you must be a non-intellectual, smarmy romance loving imbecile...While I did love this book up until a little over half-way through...(up till then, thinking...Gee, this is a classic)after that I only kept reading in hopes that the hero would tell Submit to stick it in her ear.

Here is the problem...The hero, while flawed, does in fact make an effort to change and try to become a better person. However, it certainly doesn't help when the heroine is one of the main instruments for bringing him down--unapologetically, I might add, while trashing him in a tawdry publication and then hypocritically remaining holier than thou about it--she and her twisted old fart of a first husband deserved each other. Her sanctimonious enjoyment of the hero's weaknesses turned my desire to 'want' to like her (praying that she would grow up)into out and out dis-like.

I love my heroines to be flawed--flawed is good...but static and self-involved...bad---very bad.

The book had such potential but somewhere along the way the author surely had to realize that the character of Submit had gotten away from her and was no longer cooperating with the story. That Submit DID NOT want to be in a romance was obvious. It felt as if Judith Ivory had to bring the heroine and the hero kicking and screaming to their very weak romantic ending.

I have read and enjoyed other books by Judith Ivory and would even be willing to read another one of her books written in this style...just give me a man and woman who actually like each other.

This is the most luscious, engaging, sensual, brilliant romance novel I have ever read, and I have read hundreds, if not thousands. With the scandalous secret of Pandetti's Box between them, Submit and Graham have the most extraordinary relationship, utterly complex, utterly refreshing, utterly erotic - as erotic, naughty, and sensual as the box itself, with Graham providing all the erotic naughtiness. He is a master at it, seductive and dissolute in the face of Submit's unassailable honor, wry intelligence, and - the breach in her defenses - untested and therefore naive sexuality. With this book, Judith Ivory proves herself an absolute master of her craft. Read it and Enjoy!

BLACK SILK is the ultimate Romance for inteligent readers. This is a book for people who enjoy just absolutely brilliant writing in any genre.

The cast of characters, while not always likable, are certainly fascinating and different. The romance doesn't jump out at you, you ease into it,like a lovely, luxurious warm bath.

If you are expecting a light and fluffy beach read, and there is nothing wrong with that, this is not the book for you.

However, if you want to wake up your senses, and immerse yourself in truly creative writing, dazzling characters, and luscious, sophisticated, supremely sexy Romance, you can't do better than BLACK SILK.

This is one of the very first Romances I ever read, and it set high standards for the many novels that have followed. If you try this book, and don't "get" it, it's not Judith Ivory's fault. I have enjoyed all the Cueavas/Ivory books,and am eager for her next effort, but Ms. Ivory will never write a better book than BLACK SILK. I am, however, certainly delighted she keeps trying to top herself.

As for being a re-issue, I can only say thank you! My original copy has been re-read so many times, it's falling apart. I'm glad to have the chance to replace it. I envy those lucky readers who are discovering this novel for the first time, and hope they will enjoy it as much as I have.