The Silver Book is an intriguing piece of queer historical fiction. Laing's prose is like an evocation, at once visceral and dreamlike. It's the perfect match for the setting of 1970s Italian film sets, mirroring the sleight of hand that brings each film to life.

The novel plays with many of the themes and preoccupations of Laing's non-fiction: loneliness, violence, art and queer / outsider identities. I sometimes felt as if this unlocked another layer of meaning, which readers less familiar with Laing's back catalogue might not be able to access: as a standalone work, I'm not sure it has quite the same impact. Ultimately the world she conjures and its central themes are far more compelling than the central character, Nicholas.

The Silver Book is a hypnotic read, written with the surreal intensity of an arthouse film.

The Silver Book takes place in 1974 as a young English artist travels from London to Venice and meets Danilo Donati. Donati is a designer who has worked for Fellini and Pasolini and is in Venice to produce sketches for Fellini’s Casanova. He needs a young and beautiful apprentice so he takes Nicholas to Rome. Donati and Nicholas become lovers and move to the set of Salò, a tale of fascism. Nicholas is new to the movie world and he ends up setting in motion a tragedy he didn’t intend.

I really enjoyed the writing of this book. It reminded me of The Artist by Lucy Steeds in tone. The Silver Book is told in small chapters that sometimes only last a page. The story is fast-paced and compelling. This book is very atmospheric and it really felt like I was in Italy. This was very impactful and I didn’t realise these filmmakers were real people and that this was a somewhat real story. I personally really connected to Nicholas and I found his perspective as a gay man whose family had abandoned him to be powerful. This was a fast read as I read it in about 3 hours and I had a great time reading it. I’m giving this 4.5 stars rounded up to a 5.

The Silver Book is a lush, atmospheric novel set in the world of 1970s Italian cinema, where a young English artist, fleeing his old life, is drawn into a heady affair with celebrated designer Danilo Donati. From the mirrored sets of *Casanova* to the unsettling production of *Salò*, their romance plays out against a backdrop of glamour, political unrest, and the blurred line between illusion and truth—until a dangerous secret threatens to destroy them both.
With Laing’s vivid, sensual prose and masterful weaving of history and fiction, it’s an intoxicating blend of romance, intrigue, and cultural portraiture.

Blinked and it was over. Laing’s The Silver Book plays out like movie scenes flickering across the screen. The details are beautiful, the narrative captivating, and the pace quick. I just wish I had connected more deeply with the characters. At times it felt like a script waiting for the author to fully breathe life into them.

I loved the mix of fact and fiction, but I kept wanting more from each side. As pure nonfiction, I'm anticipating this could have been a five-star read for me, and maybe just as much if it had leaned fully into the fictional world. There is a chilling message here about how fascism never truly went away. It simply changed shape, disguised itself, and slipped into the shadows.

I enjoyed the heartbreak, the setting, and the behind-the-scenes glimpses of the movie set. Then came the ending. Heartbreak multiplied, as I felt robbed of the ending I wanted or maybe needed. It is not perfect, but it is highly enjoyable, recommended.

Love Laing's non-fiction, less so the fiction. You would never accuse her of carrying her knowledge lightly and this seems to get in the way of the plot here.

I thought that this book was wonderful. It was my first time reading Olivia Laing as I always feared that her writing would be rather intellectual and remote but this is novel crafted by a wonderful narrative as well as being full of ideas. It’s about a beautiful but rather lost young man, wracked by guilt, who drifts into the path of a famous scenic designer for the great directors of Italian cinema. It’s just very simply and beautifully written and she perfectly captures the men’s nostalgia for a present that they know can’t last while building up to a very neatly plotted betrayal that you don’t see coming but feel the inevitability of once it’s happened. She’s set out to capture just a moment in time and in two men’s lives and through that has created an absolutely beautiful story.

I didn’t know much about Pasolini’s films or his murder in the mid seventies, but Olivia Laing’s novel describes what may have happened with an air of authenticity. Like Nicholas the main character, we are immersed in a surreal world of outrageous costumes and movie sets that his lover Dani creates to bring the creative visions of Pasolini and Fellini into being. The devil is definitely in the detail and the author has done their research and writes with conviction. It’s the novel’s ending that I find less satisfactory. In the aftermath of being discarded by Dani, Nicholas is persuaded into stealing reels of film and it’s uncertain whether his actions contributed to Pasolini’s murder. ‘The Silver Book’ ends abruptly and leaves too many questions unanswered.

This is a fascinating novel, weaving fiction with non-fiction elements and packed with detail. Readers of Laing's previous works will recognise some familiar themes and narrative tangents.

This book could be written about today. Substitute the violence towards gay men in this book for the increasingly terrible treatment of trans people today. The lingering fascism in post-war Italy is an analog for the rise in fascism across Europe today.
In the book, Pasolini is the Cassandra figure, warning of violence just underneath the surface of polite society. From the end of the book:
"What he says is a warning. It is a warning about the world, about what he calls the power machine, and how it is affecting every aspect of society. Pasolini says that violence happens on every level of society." People in minority groups living on the margins of society always notice and experience violence first.

A brilliant blend of fact and fiction.

The real life murder of Italian director Pasolini and the fictional romance of English artist and Italian designer involved with films.

The characters are well fleshed out and feel real, the scenes are vivid and flashing like in a movie. The whole books matches with Laing’s particular writing style and makes for an immersive read.

Interesting a good base for further reading on this subject. Well written and immersive and set in italy what more could you want.

This is good!

A lot of history and a real life murder mystery that I had never hear about


Lots to love here and discuss. so I want it to come out and see who else has read it and who thought what. Lots I need to explore!

This book was absolutely love. Laing has such a specific and elegant voice. I had not heard of the murder of Pasolini before and enjoyed learning about that piece of history. The love story is well drawn and both men are compelling in their own ways. This is a slim novel but packs a powerful punch.

"He attacks modernity, he puts it on trial.He thinks consumerism is a new racism because there is so much violence hidden inside it , because it destroys nature and natural behaviour."

Having read and been mesmerised Olivia Laing's The Garden Against Time, it was time to read some of their fiction.

The Silver Book is a hypnotising story set in the world of Italian film -making of the 1970s.

Nicholas is escaping the tragedy of a relationship in London and heads to Italy: Venice- where he meets Danilo Donati- the leader and maestro of filmset design. Their relationship takes them into the worlds of the extraordinary film makers; Fellini ( the creation of Casanova) and Pasolini ( the film of Salò) - both considered masterpieces of their day; films that challenge the viewer even to this day.

Combining fiction with fact, Laing takes us into Nicholas' world as he navigates the film industry, the desires, whims and demands of the designer and directors and also tries to find peace within himself.

In some senses, this novel feels like an "Arthouse" film - the taut yet somehow languid prose; the beguiling imagery of everyday life among this unique group of people and the sometimes violent and provocative imagery that is being created within both films.

The contradictions, turmoil of emotions and consequences of the gay lifestyles of the lead protagonists in early/mid 1970s Italy add a definite sense of period.

Aa a book exploring the mindset of the directors and the abstract nature of imagery then this is certainly a powerful read. Olivia Laing has written a novel that will challenge, bewilder and capture equally- an author who is growing in stars and stature.

This is a book that will divide readers but is certainly worth exploring - seductive and riveting and will certainly encourage reflection on the pyschological impact of the war upon filmmakers in the subsequent years.

I have long been interested in reading Olivia Laing so am delighted to have the opportunity.
The novel opens with a contented young man Nicholas, an artist who we observe absorbing shocking headlines which outline another man’s disappearance. Nicholas flees the UK, the reader is not privy to what the relationship between these two may be.
Nicholas lands in Venice where he is seduced and then employed as an assistant in a Fellini production by one Danilo Donati.
The story unfolds from these two perspectives; Dani the 50 something celebrated costume designer to Fellini and Pasolini and Nicholas the young man. Weaved into the true story of the making of Salo, a hugely controversial film based on the last bastion of fascism in Italy and 120 days of Sodom, followed by the filming of Casanova; is the burgeoning love between Dani and Nicholas.
This is loving and warm in the beginning,in a way the boy has never experienced, being rejected by his family for his homosexuality. “I just wanted to say, I’m twenty-three now and this is the first birthday where I’ve felt like I had a real home”. However as the chaos of his real life and the traumatic experience of two troubled film sets begin to affect both Danilo and Nicholas the love affair begins to fray.
Written in a breathless present tense, allowing for a sense of immediacy and tense exciting possibility; the opening chapters are propulsive and the prose spare and affecting.
Beautifully written with reflection on the political currents in Italy in the late 60s, and the reality of homosexual life in this era, it captivated me and drew me into the story. I found myself deep diving into the filming of these 2 epics and their reception at the time.
He (Danilo)knows what happened in Salo isn’t over. He knows how easily it could return. Fascism never really went away, it just changed form, went underground, periodically exploding back into the daylight.
A really fascinating and insightful read.
Thanks to Penguin UK and NetGalley.

I read this in one sitting. I literally could not put this down. Beautiful. Just beautiful. The characterisation, the descriptions, the everything. One of the best things I've read this year. Perfect.

Exquisitely written and highly enjoyable. More period piece and love story than thriller. Well worth reading. Special thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for a no obligation digital advance review copy.

I was unsure at the start, but there was something about the writing that almost coerced me to keep going and I'm glad I did.
The layering of what wasn't said in the book mirrored what was unsaid in the films around which the story is set. Compelling and fascinating. You don't realise it's happening.
And the injustice and the brutality that remains hidden behind the made-up version of events or 'fake' news as we call it now, makes me as a reader wonder if anything will ever change. Definitely worth reading.

I received an ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

A work of beautifully written, utterly queer historical fiction that is both kind to its heroes and heartbreaking to the reader. It's the first time I've read anything by Laing, but I'll need to check out more of their work. Laing draws the time and place beautifully, and brings forth complex characters. The perspective is both intimate and a little withdrawn - there is a kind of tenderness to it that I really appreciated.

I don't know that I'll ever bring myself to check out Salo - I'm not that strong of constitution - but I feel like I appreciate Italian cinema a lot more now.

My two only complaints would be that I didn't want the story to end when it did - but I get why that was Laing's choice, and it absolutely works - and that I wanted there to be ten, fifteen pages of extra material at the end to give more detail to Laing's research - but I'm always that way with historical fiction, and ymmv. A lot of people probably skip that part.

Really good prose, really funny, really sad, really sexy, and ultimately, very very kind to its subjects

The Silver Book is an immersive and beautifully written novel that celebrates the complicated and passionate Italian filmmakers of the 70s. I was hooked from the first page, and both sad and satisfied when I finished. One of the best novels I’ve read this year.