Silence
Shusaku Endo
Translated by William Johnston
04 April 2024Synopsis
'Flawless' – David Mitchell
'A masterpiece’ – Daily Telegraph
Winner of the Tanizaki Prize
Published in 1967 in Japan to huge controversy, Silence is Shusaku Endo's most highly acclaimed novel and a classic of its genre.
Father Rodrigues is an idealistic Portuguese Jesuit priest who, in the 1640s, sets sail for Japan on a determined mission to help the brutally oppressed Japanese Christians. He must also discover the truth behind unthinkable rumours that his famous teacher Ferreira has renounced his faith. Once faced with the realities of religious persecution Rodrigues himself is forced to make an impossible choice: whether to abandon his flock or his God.
As empathetic as it is powerful, Silence is an astonishing exploration of faith and suffering and an award-winning classic.
Now a major film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield.
'One of the finest novels of our time' – Graham Greene
Details
04 April 2024
9781035038862Reviews
One of the finest historical novels written by anyone, anywhere . . . FlawlessDavid Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks
This is a masterpiece. There can be no higher praiseDaily Telegraph
One of the finest novels of our timeGraham Greene
A remarkable work . . . sombre, delicate and startlingly empatheticJohn Updike, New Yorker
