Silence: Amazon.ca: Shusaku Endo: Books

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"In my opinion one of the finest novels of our time." - Graham Greene --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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NEWS reached the Church in Rome. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.9 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece, Jan 12 2012

By

Peter Cantelon (Morden, Manitoba, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Silence (Paperback)

I have stopped describing things as "the best I have ever read/heard/seen" because things change, I change, and this is usually not a reliable statement given time. That being said I can say with certainty that Shusaku Endo's novel Silence is certainly one of the most impactful books I have ever read and, in one read, has become foundational for me.

The book was written after Endo, who was born in Tokyo, contemplated an historical artifact called a Fumie. A fumie is an iconic image of Christ that was part of Japanese Christian worship in the 17th century. While considering the image Endo learned that it had been blackened by the feet of numerous Japanese Christians who had trod upon it to apostatize their faith after it became illegal. Endo wondered whether he, under similar circumstance, would remain strong or walk on the fumie. Out these considerations arose the novel silence.

Silence is historical fiction set in 17th century Japan and follows the Portuguese Jesuit Fr. Sebastian Rodrigues as he undertakes a journey to Japan to determine what is happening to the Christian community, previous missionaries and what can be done to help.

Ultimately the novel, though set almost 400 years in the past, is one of modern sensibility and style. There is much that is reminiscent of French existential literature like Sartre and Camus as Endo delves deeply into the mind of one who questions one of the core reasons people lose faith - the seeming silence of God in the face of incredible suffering.

The journey through Silence is powerful, poignant and painful. Endo masterfully crafts a very personal protagonist whom we come to love and develop certain expectations of...in so doing Endo inevitably guides the reader on a journey through their own beliefs, conceptions and misconceptions about themselves.

The novel is simply unforgettable and the heart-wrenching. The work of a true master artist I believe it should be considered a "must read". It will be interesting to see how Martin Scorcese interprets it in his coming film based on the novel.

P.S. To any who would like to borrow my copy - I am sorry - I value this so much I won't be lending it out

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5.0 out of 5 stars Silence a tale of grace, Jun 11 2002

By

Sean K. Hawley (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silence (Paperback)

Using a variety of narrative approaches author Shusaku Endo sweeps the reader up in the lives of two fictional Jesuit missionaries Sebastian Rodrigues and Francis Garrpe. The reader follows Rodrigues and Garrpe as they struggle with cultural difficulties of 17th Century Japan, which does not welcome the presence of Catholic Missionaries. While the story takes us through the brutal experiences of persecution, it whispers a tale of gentle grace.
The protagonist Rodrigues encounters a silent God in his suffering. This silence forces him to examine his relationship with the "church" compared to his relationship to a living God. In Silence Rodrigues was asked to willingly tread on a "fumie," an or a holy image, in demonstration of his apostasy. Rodrigues experiences the Grace of Christ in the moment of his denial, and realizes wholeness only through brokenness. As a reader Endo asks us to examine our relationship with a Living Christ, rather than the depth of our beliefs. Silence tells us, to experience grace we must first be broken.

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5.0 out of 5 stars There is Pain in Apostacy, May 20 2002

By

SmackusMaximus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silence (Paperback)

"Silence" is by far one of the most compelling books I have ever read. It tells the tale of Jesuit Father Rodriguez who sneaks into Japan during a great persecution of the Catholic faith to provide aid and comfort to the faithful.

Rodriguez is convinced that "one priest remaining in this country has the same significance as a single candle burning in the catacombs." By the end of the story, Rodriguez is left asking himself whether that is so.

In the beginning, dear Father Rodriguez is firm in his faith. In fact, Endo portrays Rodriguez as quite proud. He once admonished a Christian by the name of Kichijiro, who himself had apostacized, that the remedy to avoid cowardice in the face of persecution lay not in strong drink but in strong faith. And this story is indeed about faith in the face of persecution.

It tells one answer to the question that has probably plagued most Christians at one time or another: Are you willing to die for your faith? Are you willing to let others die for their faith when you can put a stop to it by denying your own faith?

While the obvious plot devolves on the issue of whether Rodriguez will himself apostacize in the face of persecution, this book is about much more. It is about the meaning of suffering. It is about God's silence in the face of suffering.

In this book, Endo asks many of the questions that we all have asked at one time or another. What is the meaning of suffering? What good is faith if it can so easily be renounced? And if we deny our faith, will God deny us? Can we continue to have faith, once we have faltered and denied the very God we claim to love?

What meaning does the death of a martyr have to the overall conversion of a country so foreign to the Christian faith? Why is God silent when I suffer?

The reason this book is so compelling is because it asks these questions, and the reader is given no answers. He must find them for himself and ask "What would I do, and what can I believe?"

Shusaku Endo writes beautifully, and I am so very happy that I lucked upon this book. I was left disturbed by the end result of the story, but perhaps this is Endo's point after all.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesomely thought-provoking
This novel of Portuguese seventeenth century missionaries in Japan is hauntingly told and really is more gripping than Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory, which it calls to... Read more

Published on Jan 12 2002 by Schmerguls

5.0 out of 5 stars Penetrating and Powerful
This extremely intense novel of Shusaku Endo deals with the persecution of Christians and the Christian missionaries from the West in the 17th century Japan. Read more

Published on Nov 11 2001 by Xavier Thelakkatt