This was an interesting title that I was given a free digital copy of from William Collins via @netgalley.
I also bought the audio file as it was quite a heavy read, so it was nice to have both formats.

This is not my natural reading genre, but I did think it would be interesting as it is always interesting to hear the history of something we use today.
I was quite overwhelmed by all the details, it was definitely too much for me but at the same time, I was so impressed by detail. So much work must go into getting the details.
I was also in awe of the pioneers who discovered the various insects, how much brain power they must have needed to come up with the conclusions to their experiments.
I'm also in awe of how many uses of silk we have today - all of these uses were brand new to me.
I would've been more interested to hear more about the industrialisation of silk manufacturing and more about the fabric uses we have today - but that is just where my interests are, it shouldn't take away from immense piece of work that this book is.

Fascinating read, I learnt so much and would recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Impeccably researched, artfully told and all-encompassing in its scope, this book leaves no cocoon unturned in its quest to unravel the threads behind the story of silk in all its glory. It perfectly balances a near exhaustive level of detail on the history, sociology and biology of silk with an enthralling and illuminating seemingly worldwide journey of discovery. A beguiling and enchanting read.

Aarathi Prasad’s Silk: A History in Three Metamorphoses is not a light read. Dr Prasad is a writer and broadcaster, so she knows how to convey information in a way that draws the reader in. She also has a PhD in Genetics, so she really knows her technical stuff.

The three metamorphoses in the sub-title are significant. We may all know that silkworms produce the silk thread that’s woven to make fabric but I hadn’t associated spider webs and threads with silk (I don’t know why, it just hadn’t clicked with me); and I was completely unaware that some molluscs also produce thread. As Dr Prasad writes, “Because there is not just one silk, there is not just one story of silk.” She covers the three families of creatures that produce silk in immense detail, explaining who first studied each family; what they discovered; and taking each story up to the present day. Silkworms get the greatest coverage although molluscs and spiders still get a few chapters each. And when I say “present day”, Dr Prasad includes research that was published in 2022: this really is cutting-edge stuff. I felt privileged to be shown what scientists (and the military) are currently researching and what challenges they face. They have achieved amazing things, e.g. growing mycelium (fungal threads) and using them to create handbags and trainers, but, as Dr Prasad emphasises, it’s essential to be able to do those things on a commercial scale.

I’m in two minds about this book. One the one hand, it is incredibly well researched and Dr Prasad shares a lot of information without either talking down to the reader or blinding them with science. I was fascinated to read that “It would need about sixty miles of spider silk to knit one thin shirt.” On the other hand, some of the phrasing reminds me of an eighteenth century book, e.g. “But it is not Arianna’s impression that it is impossible that this silk had been used in antiquity.” I had to read that sentence several times to understand it. It’s valid; it’s unambiguous; it’s over-complicated with too many negatives. Why not say “Arianna thinks it is possible that this silk had been used in antiquity.”?

On balance, the positives outweigh the negatives and I do recommend this book, but be aware that some sections are easier to read than others!

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I won't lie it was the cover that first attracted but, oh, this was lush!!

I absolutely loved this

So well researched and interesting

Loved the writing style and absolutely loved the book