For Baricco, who is already a recognized writer in his country, this book, published in 1996, brought the big breakthrough and international success. The XIX The protagonist of the novel, set in the second half of the 20th century, is Hervé Joncour, who chooses the adventurous life of a commercial traveler instead of a military career, who must first travel to North Africa and later to Japan for the silkworm eggs that ensure the livelihood of his town specializing in silk production. And why would a happily married young man undertake such an arduous and dangerous journey even after Japan descends into the turmoil of civil war? Driven by his insatiable desire, Hervé Joncour sets out again, because with a single glance he was enchanted by the lover of the Japanese lord with whom he used to do business. "You could say it's a love story. But if it were just that, it wouldn't be worth telling," Baricco wrote about Selyem, and indeed: this short novel interwoven with delicate eroticism confronts the reader with the basic questions of human existence. The film based on the book was released in 2007 (director: François Girard).