Silence: A Novel [B1832]

2016 PB printing of the 1966 Japanese language novel, in nice clean condition. This winner of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize caused major controversy in Japan following its original publication. It is Shusaku Endo's most highly acclaimed novel and a classic of its genre. Now a major motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, and Adam Driver.

Seventeenth-century Japan: Two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to a country hostile to their religion, where feudal lords force the faithful to publicly renounce their beliefs. Eventually captured and forced to watch their Japanese Christian brothers lay down their lives for their faith, the priests bear witness to unimaginable cruelties that test their own beliefs. Shusaku Endo is one of the most celebrated and well-known Japanese fiction writers of the twentieth century, and Silence is widely considered to be his great masterpiece.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "While the writing style was a bit difficult to navigate, the story was deeply moving and it is clear why this is a classic. Even though some characters are fictional, the story is rooted in a real and somber historical era. Framing it through that history made the experience feel truly reverent and powerful."; "phenomenal book. did not know a lot about this history so it was fun to learn. not a surprising book really. it was a lot of just sitting back and watching disasters happen. there also isn't really anyone to root for . . the book definitely points the finger at the systems that exist between and above us. really juicy"; "A deeply moving meditation on faith and its consequences, written in masterful prose".