Silence

(Paperback)

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'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

Reviews

One of the finest historical novels written by anyone, anywhere . . . Flawless -- David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks
This is a masterpiece. There can be no higher praise * Daily Telegraph *
One of the finest novels of our time -- Graham Greene
A remarkable work . . . sombre, delicate and startlingly empathetic -- John Updike * New Yorker *
Superb and harrowing - his masterpiece * Observer *
A marvellous book . . . Shusaku Endo is giving deep thought to the most basic problems of truth and how in exchanging it among ourselves we misconstruct its nature at every step * Spectator *
Silence is a compelling historical fiction, a potent distillation of the paradoxes and ambiguities of faith and, from a Christian author, a daring challenge to religious orthodoxy -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read * Guardian *

Author Bio

Shusaku Endo is widely regarded as one of the greatest Japanese authors of the late twentieth century. Born in 1923, he won many major literary awards and was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times. His novels, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages, include The Sea and Poison, Wonderful Fool, Deep River and Silence. He died in 1996.