Suguro is an eminent Catholic novelist, about to receive a major literary award. So when a drunk woman he has never met before approaches him at the award ceremony, claiming she knows him well from his regular visits to Tokyo's red-light district, she must surely be mistaken? But with a scurrilous press campaign damaging Suguro's reputation, his sleazy doppelgänger appears more and more, as if deliberately trying to discredit him. He is sighted touring the love hotels and brothels of Shinjuku; a leering portrait of him appears in an exhibition-and Suguro is forced to undertake a journey into Tokyo's seedy heart in order to discover the dreadful truth. This provocative, impassioned meditation manages to explore not only the nature of identity, but also the regions of sin, salvation, art and religion, all with the unerring grace that defines a novelist in the fullest command of his craft.""-Publishers Weekly. ""This psychological thriller follows a novelist whe must submerge himself in Tokyo's underworld in order to discover who is trying to discredit him.""--Library Journal.
--This text refers to the
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this chilling, incisive study of the secret fears and obsessions of an aging writer, eminent Japanese author Endo examines the uncertain territory that lies between studying acts of violence and depravity and committing them. At 65, the writer Suguro is revered by his readership and most of his colleagues, although some accuse him of shying away from sex in his works and mock his rigorous sense of evil. His anticipation of a placid old age with his wife begins to crumble when a woman accuses him of pursuing a life at odds with his prose; she claims he frequents Tokyo's porn shops and bordellos. As he attempts to unravel the mystery of the accusation, prodded by a vindictive reporter who threatens to expose him, Suguro discovers that he has a double, a sinister alter ego who participates in brutal sadomasochistic encounters. But the more urgently he tries to clear his name, the farther he drifts from stability and peace. This provocative, impassioned meditation manages to explore not only the nature of identity, but also the regions of sin, salvation, art and religion, all with the unerring grace that defines a novelist in the fullest command of his craft.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"A subtle, eerie and fascinating book by a writer of rare perception and disquieting honesty." —London Evening Standard
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling and revealing,
By
This review is from: Scandal (Hardcover)
I picked this book up in a used books store in Hiroshima, mainly because the selection of English books was very limited. I had not heard of Endo prior to that, but having read this work, I intend to find and read more of his novels. The most intriguing aspect of this book is certainly how Endo manages to simultaneously keep us reading and caring for his characters even as they commit reprehensible acts. Without offering final answers, Endo details some fascinating problems inherent in human relationships and human nature. Sin? Evil? Redemption? God? Trust? Honesty? Marriage? Multiple personalities? All of these topics are intricately interwoven through the web that links Suguro, the aging writer; his decadent impersonator; his trusted wife of many years; Madame Naruse, the mysterious hospital volunteer; Motoko Itoi, the chubby painter; Kobari, the dogged reporter; and Matsu, the caring teenager. Suguro is the focal point, and the story is told from his perspective. Some characters therefore remain incomplete to us because never fully understood by him, which serves to illustrate him more clearly. Those characters that Endo can flesh out he fleshes out brilliantly, making them complex, real and believable, driving home the point that sin and evil are inherent in all of us. I found myself identifying with several of the characters and wondering what exactly (apart perhaps from the grace of God) keeps me from living out my evil desires. In retrospect you wonder how a couple things could happen the way they did - but there may be logical answers to these problems, provided they are framed in the logical framework of the story, which isn't always the framework of everyday reality as we experience it. Other questions may be unanswerable and intended as such, for instance what the exact relationship between Madame Naruse and Suguro's wife is. To me, these open questions add to the pleasure of this book. The story will make you think - about yourself, the people around you, the repulsive urges within all of us, and the miracle it is that not more of us go crazy. And if you let it make you think, it will tell you about yourself, and tell perhaps more than you'd like to hear. Because it plumbs the depths of human depravity, it is depressing; because it makes the reader identify with that depravity, it is frightening. Read it.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
deep and thought-provoking,
By
This review is from: Scandal (Hardcover)
Endo doesn't give you easy answers. This book explores the darker side of human nature, the side behind easy domestic life, beyond common decency, beneath worldly success. It may not be a pleasant book to read, as it doesn't gloss over the capacity for evil in a human being, but it is a book that will leave you thinking about just how authentic you are. If you're not ready to face brutal honesty, don't read this book. But if you're prepared for some deep insights into the nature of man, you shouldn't let this one pass you by.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a lifetime of rereading,
By
This review is from: Scandal (Hardcover)
Scandal is the story of an acclaimed Japanese Christian novelist in old age named Suguro. At an awards ceremony honoring his distinguished career, Suguro hears disquieting rumors that he has been seen carousing in the red-light district. He enters the district to investigate the rumors and safeguard his reputation, but is unprepared for what, and who, he finds there.
Shusaku Endo uses this story as a kind of autobiography, accurate in depth of feeling, if not character and circumstance. He said in his A Life of Jesus that he thought of the Gospels as collectively forming a true portrait of Jesus, even where he saw them as fuzzy on the details. That is a good way to read Scandal, as a portrait of Endo. Suguro struggles with old age, oncoming death, and the dissonance between his private self and his public reputation as an upstanding Christian. In many ways, Suguro is forced to confront himself; he learns that the foundations he has built his life upon are unsound, even his work, his marriage, and his religion. Endo's unflinching portrayal of himself in the figure of Suguro is thus poignant and, at times, tragic. Scandal is about, among other things, a man going to a dangerous, uncertain place with his religion. Some religious people will not want to follow him there. On the other hand, this is not an exclusively Christian novel, and readers of any religion, or none, would have much to gain from it. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have read some of Endo's other work to put Scandal in context. Silence and A Life of Jesus are classics. At least ten other works are in English translation. Scandal is so rich and complex, and finally, so human, that it practically requires a second reading. But I am beginning to find that each time I read it, I demand another reading myself. I doubt that I will ever come to the end of it.
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