Customer Reviews

Silence

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"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.

"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.

This question, raised countless times by the main character Rodrigues, is just one of many theological issues that Endo explores in this highly emotional, extremely probing novel. The Christian period of Japan is regarded as a somewhat curious anomaly by the Japanese themselves, and is largely unknown in western circles. That Endo could weave so elegant a tale, using a foreign main character (there are few precedents in Japanese literature) and frequently changing narrative styles no less, is an accomplishment in itself.

"Silence" raises several theological points, but the two that stuck with me the most were the following: how can God remain silent despite the suffering of his people (a question no less relevant with the events going on in the world today), and secondly, is it possible that Christianity cannot "grow roots" in the "swamp" that is Japan. A Catholic himself, it is obvious that Endo has struggled over these questions himself, searching for answers. Is it possible to betray your faith but stay true to your God? Endo's frank look at questions like this is part of his universal success. It is amazing to consider that this book was a huge seller in Endo's native Japan, which itself is barely 1% Christian.

"Father, you were not defeated by me," Inoue says to Rodrigues. "You were defeated by this swamp of Japan." "No, no ... my struggle was with Christianity in my own heart" Rodrigues replies. Ultimately, Christian or non-Christian, no matter your age or nationality, faith comes down to these battles in the heart. Endo does a magnificent job depicting this, and Silence is an outstanding book because of it.

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...

I have just finished reading this book and I am moved to such depths as I didn't know existed.

Endo, in his inimitable way, takes us into dark and treacherous waters: into an examination, indeed a portrait, of what lies beyond the end of faith. The questions he raises are questions all people of faith should consider for themselves, though whether we can be as honest as the protagonist, Father Rodrigues, is will remain a secret known only to ourselves.

This book, more than all of Endo's fine novels, takes the reader on a journey to encounter God in ways that may prove unsettling, but worthy of the effort all the same.

If you read only one book in your whole life, read this one.

"Silence" is perhaps one of the finest novels written that addresses the meaning of Christian faithfulness in the midst of intense persecution and suffering. The protagonist, a Jesuit missionary named Rodrigues, arrives in hostile Japan with a sense of pride and confidence in his faith. But his witness of the martyrdoms taking place and the intense psychological torture the authorities inflict upon him and others force a reexamination of who he thinks Jesus is and where God might be in the midst of all the tribulation.

Endo's deeply compassionate portrait of all the characters involved--even the apostastes and the persecutors--made the novel quite controversial upon its release in the Japanese Christian community. But I admire his courage for not feeding the reader easy answers. The book is unflinchingly realistic in the dilemmas faced and Rodrigues's crisis of faith, though occasionally the symbolism is blunt and unnuanced (a problem somewhat corrected in Endo's later novel, "The Samurai"). Ferreira, the apostate missionary, is particularly a complex and intelligent character who speaks eloquently about why the Japanese are so resistant to Christianity. If he is right, then all missionaries and others trying to spread the Gospel to foreign nations ought to rethink their methods and approaches to sharing their faith. ("The Samurai" also addresses these issues in an even more direct way.)

I recommend that all Christians who care about their persecuted brethren, are thinking about foreign missions work, or in general wonder what it's like to be put in a truly hard spot for one's faith, to read this novel carefully and prayerfully. The book shouldn't make you comfortable, but I think the discomfort is salutary, and will hopefully help those of us who have faith to come to a deeper understanding of "the cost of discipleship" (Bonhoeffer).

Endo's novel is a fascinating look at the Christian faith in the midst of brutal, cruel persecution. The novel is set in the 17th century. Two Portuguese Catholic priests journey into Japan with two goals in mind: To minister to the Japanese, and to find their former mentor, a priest named Ferreira, who may or may not have apostatized.

Silence is a well-balanced work. The story is deeply moving without becoming heavy-handed. The characters are very well thought out and developed. Endo uses a very interesting technique in this novel: The first several chapters are narrated by one of the priests. We see the events that develop through his eyes and how they affect him. About halfway through the book, the priest is no longer narrator, but perhaps we can see inside his soul better from another's vantage point. This is a book that I will think about for a long, long time.

I don't really have much to add to all the other glowing reviews which this gem of a novel rightfully deserves. It is a starkly told, heart-wrenchingly laconic depiction of the trial of faith and the slow, painful journey of an idealistic young priest to discovering a true theology of the cross. He has to learn the hard way that the power of Christ is not in displays of supernatural force or lightning and thunder, but in self-abdicating love Who chose to suffer with those who suffer, allowing Himself to be trampled in order that we might come to understand the true meaning of love. There are words on every page which pierce you to the depths of your soul, but none more so than when the Christ of the bronze fumie calls to the reluctant apostatizing priest: "Trample! Trample! I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. It was to be trampled on by men that I came into the world. It was to share in men's suffering that I carried my cross." Suddenly, a whole new picture of Jesus forms in your mind, and one suspects that it is closer to the truth than many of us triumphalist Christians may be comfortable with.

On the level of style, however, Endo is also a master craftsman. I have not read such a well-written novel in a very long time. Never have I been struck before by such an unusual, quiet authorial voice which nevertheless demands that you pay attention. I can see why Philip Yancey holds Endo in such high esteem. He stands in the grand tradition of Christian doubters who produced masterworks of world literature (along with Grahame Greene, Fyodor Dostoevsky, etc.) and every critically thinking Christian owes it to themselves to read this book.

Silence is one of the most moving, most gut-wrenching, and most true novels I have ever read. It explores the questions which all Christians and non-Christians have to ask themselves at some time in their life to find out where they are. It does so in a way that is remarkabley compelling.

Silence is the story of Father Rodrigues, a Portuguese priest who travels to Japan in the Sixteenth Century during their Christian persecution. Once there, he tries to carry out his mission but sinks in the "swamp of Japan." He faces unimaginable tortures and lives through the most profound anguish of humanity. All the while, he struggles with questions about God. Why is God silent amidst human suffering? He faces questions about what it means to truly be a Christian.

Silence is an unflinching book, taking on what is possibly the central dilemma of Christianity. I read this in a college class in which people took varied things away from the book. For myself, Silence was one of the most triumphant books of the Christian faith I have ever read. It marks a profound move from a Christian doctrine of doctrine towards a Christian doctrine of compassion. I don't believe that God is silent in this novel. This novel asks God some tough questions, and He quietly answers in a voice that moves mountains.

Silence is an excellent book based on the trials of a Catholic Priest attempting to do missionary work in Japan in the early 17th century. This was a time of persecution an tribulation for Christians in Japan as the Government had decided that Christianity could no longer be allowed to flourish in the country.

The Japanese took great pains to stamp out Christians, using torture to force padres and Christians alike to apostatize, and trample a fumie in order to prove their apostasy. It was a brutal time for Japanese Christians as well as the Priests who attempted to lead them.

In the end, Father Sebastian Rodrigues, the main character, must make some increasingly difficult decisions and come to some difficult conclusions concerning his faith and his God. I highly recommend this book, as it was very moving. I think it will strike a particular chord w/Christians especially, but recommend it for everyone.