Black Silk [Paperback]

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.

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.