The Silver Book

A queer love story intertwined with a true crime edge unfolds against the dreamlike backdrop of 1970s cinema. From an award-winning, bestselling author, this novel situates a tense romance within the real-world turbulence of postwar Italian culture. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed intense, intimate storytelling and intricate character studies, with echoes of classic literary thrillers and European cinema alike. The narrative follows a young English artist who flees London to Venice in September 1974, where he meets Danilo Donati, the renowned designer behind the visual spectacles of Fellini and Pasolini. Donati brings him into the glittering but perilous world of Cinecittà, drawing him toward Rome and then to the provocative set of Salò. As the lovers navigate the shifting currents of art, politics, and passion, the young man’s secret threatens to unravel everything in a country haunted by the Years of Lead. The story probes how illusions of art and power intersect with desire, and how love can become both catalyst and catastrophe in a world where truth is hard to discern.

The narrative blends historical detail with a charged, intimate atmosphere, capturing the tension between artistry and danger. Rich in mood and cinematic imagery, it invites readers to consider what it means to desire something or someone beyond the bounds of safety or certainty.

• 256 pages, paperback edition
• Author: Olivia Laing, award-winning, bestselling
• Set in Venice and Rome, 1974–postwar Italy
• Juxtaposes fiction with real film history
• Explores artifice, truth, love, and power
• Critically acclaimed, with a gripping, stylish voice