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Silence (Paperback)

by Shusaku Endo (Author), William Johnston (Translator) "NEWS reached the Church in Rome..." (more)
Key Phrases: peasant clothing, Lord of Chikugo, Our Lord, Japanese Christians (more...)
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (63 customer reviews)

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Frequently Bought Together

Silence + The Samurai: (Reprint)  (New Directions Classics) + A Life of Jesus
Price For All Three: $30.09

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Editorial Reviews

Review
"Silence I regard as a masterpiece, a lucid and elegant drama." Irving Howe. -- The New York Times Review Of Books --NY Times Review of Books

Product Description
"Silence I regard as a masterpiece, a lucid and elegant drama." Irving Howe. -- The New York Times Review Of Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 201 pages
  • Publisher: Taplinger Publishing Company (February 15, 1980)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0800871863
  • ISBN-13: 978-0800871864
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #2 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Asian

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Silence
94% buy the item featured on this page:
Silence 4.7 out of 5 stars (63)
$9.37
A Life of Jesus
2% buy
A Life of Jesus 4.6 out of 5 stars (13)
$9.56
Deep River
1% buy
Deep River 4.5 out of 5 stars (24)
$13.45
Silence: The Mystery of Wholeness
1% buy
Silence: The Mystery of Wholeness 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
$10.17

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Customer Reviews

63 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (63 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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137 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Novel of Undeniable Power, June 17, 2001
By Melvin Pena (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews
"Silence" is an excellent novel. Comparisons between Shusaku Endo and British novelist Graham Greene are apt, as both deal with the relationships that develop between individuals, Catholicism, and the world. "Silence" is an extremely intense historical novel. While knowledge of Catholicism may be helpful for some of the situations and terminology, the issues of doubt and faith, in God and in people, are readily available to any reader.

"Silence" is set in sixteenth century Japan, where Portuguese missionaries must contend with traders from rival European nations and the persecution of Christians by Japanese feudal lords. The feudal lords want to drive Christianity out of Japan, and try to do so by torturing priests into apostasy, denying their faith. This is done symbolically by stepping on a "fumie," a Christian image, like a picture of Mary or a crucifix. Two Portuguese priests, Sebastian Rodrigues and Francis Garrpe, make a dangerous journey to Japan, both to locate and comfort Japanese converts, and to discover the truth about a supposed apostate priest, Ferreira.

"Silence" makes use of several narrative approaches, third person omniscient at the beginning and ending, while the middle portion of the novel is written in the style of a diary and letters from Rodrigues' point of view. The main protagonist, Rodrigues must deal with the validity of his faith, the propriety of the Christian mission in Japan, the suffering of Japanese converts, and the silence of God in the midst of so much hardship.

Rodrigues' trials are exacerbated by his physical and cultural isolation, as he and Garrpe are forced to conceal themselves in a small hut dug out of the side of a mountain near Nagasaki. Culturally, he must confront being in a nation whose language and customs are mostly alien and threatening to him. The most perplexing external difficulty Rodrigues faces is from an ambiguously motivated local named Kichijiro. Rodrigues' relationship with Kichijiro forces the priest into his deepest and most troubling reflections on faith and the Bible.

"Silence" was an absolutely fascinating read. The historical and cultural milieus of the novel are complicated by Endo's own background. Endo's perspective on Christianity and Catholicism in particular, as a Japanese writer, and writing about Japanese history forced me, at least, as a Westerner, to look at issues of faith and international relations from a radically different perspective than even the foreign-based novels of Graham Greene that I have read, like "The Heart of the Matter" or "The Power and the Glory," the latter of which is thematically very similar to Endo's "Silence". Overall, a tremendous and powerful novel.

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72 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous, soul-wrenching work, October 28, 2000
"Silence" towers above what passes for most religious fiction for its evocative and unflinching treatment of faith and suffering.

While the theology of pain has been touched on in much of Western literature, most of it recently seems either an apology for God's permitting suffering, rants against God for permitting suffering, or pep talks for believers going through suffering. Philip Yancey has provided a great service on the issue in his books on pain, but even they take a somewhat detached view. By contrast, Shusako Endo seems to write from within the terrible grasp of suffering in "Silence", one of the most moving novels I have ever read.

The plot centers around a band of Portugese priests who land in Japan in the 1600's to spread the gospel on a culturally and spiritually unfertile soil. Their theology is eventually challenged in ways that only persecution and suffering can do: can I carry on here? should I? can I forgive my tormentors? should I? Ultimately, they wrestle with public apostasy and with whether or not they could ever be forgiven if they commit such an act.

This is not a feel-good book by any stretch. It deals with failure, defeat, abandonment, pain, and the 'silence' of God through it all. But at the same time it opens the window wide on what the Man of Sorrows went through on our behalf and on how we need God's grace not because of our strength but because of our weakness. Highly recommended.

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Where is God when it hurts?, August 20, 1999
By A Customer
This book was painful, yet strikingly real.

In his book "Inside Out," Dr. Larry Crabb speaks of allowing the tough questions of life to truly confuse. At times, one cannot explain why certiain things happen, or why a good God would allow such pain. Steinbeck's novel "Tortilla Flat" also asks why a good God would allow the suffering that is so evident.

Endo's work in this book challenges the reader to face the reality of pain in a fallen world. The plot and characters are so entirely engrossing that I found myself anxiously turning the pages, silently hoping certain things would or wouldn't happen, silently praying that characters would remain faithful.

Phil Yancey wrote a book addressing the question, "Where is God when it hurts?" Endo has addressed that same question in this narrative in such a way that one cannot escape the horror of living in a fallen world -- especially when God seems to be silent...

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars WARNING TO DEVOUT CATHOLICS
Endo is a great writer, but devout Catholics will want to avoid this book. Yes, at the time, Endo was reputedly a Catholic. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jeri Nevermind

4.0 out of 5 stars Suffering and the silence of God
Where is God? God is silent. Endo gives a very realistic picture of the work of two missionary workers in Japan a long time ago. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. G. Lam

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful
Endo Shusaku gives a gripping view of Japan's early Edo period as seen through the eyes of Portuguese missionary Sebastian Rodrigues. Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. N. Werner

5.0 out of 5 stars heart of darkness/heart of the matter...
SILENCE; Shusaku Endo. ISBN-10; 0720612861

This is a harrowing and testing story of a Portugese priest -missionary pushing his faith to the limits in 17th century... Read more
Published 6 months ago by bozo

5.0 out of 5 stars martyrdom and a quiet god
In terms of fiction this may be one of the best pieces of literature on martyrdom out there. I actually read this after reading Tripp York's The Purple Crown and it really came to... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Irene A.

5.0 out of 5 stars Silence
When this book was selected by my book club, I did not want to read it. Christians being tortured in 17th century Japan. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Adrienne Robinson

4.0 out of 5 stars A great, but somewhat repetitive story.
A simple but a great story that explores some very important issues. Do you wonder why God is silent while people suffer and die? Read more
Published 14 months ago by P. Kallberg

4.0 out of 5 stars quickly to my door
The book was in great condition and arrived promptly to my door. For me, the typeset was a bit small, but the book appeard to have been brand new. Read more
Published 16 months ago

5.0 out of 5 stars The Honor of God
How proud is God? How should God's people uphold his honor? How exactly should the gospel transform human society? Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mairnéalach

2.0 out of 5 stars Overestimation of natives vs. Underestimation of foreiners
As author stated in the preface of "The Life of Jesus", he is for "Japanese readers who have no Christian tradition of their own and who know almost nothing about Jesus"
1... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Yoon M. Kim

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