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Summary: Silence
Review: 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.
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Summary: Moving Towards A True Doctrine of Compassion
Review: 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.
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Summary: powerful
Review: Silence is set in 17th Century Japan during an incredible period of persecution towards Christians (both Japanese and foreign). The novel deals with this persecution and the ramifications of priests turning apostate and denying their faith. The protagonist is a Portuguese priest named Sebastian Rodrigues. He learns of his mentor, Padre Ferreira, who after years of mission work denied Christ under torture. This is after Ferreira wrote glowing letters about Japanese Christians who had held fast to their faith under such persecution and torture. Rodrigues traveled to Japan to learn if these rumors are true (as the letters from Ferreira stopped) and if Ferreira really did apostatize. As one of the only priests in Japan, Rodrigues has to sneak into the country and immediately go into hiding, all the while performing his priestly duties to a Christian brotherhood that has not had contact with clergy in years. Knowing only his companion, Rodrigues has no idea where to look for Ferreira. His time in Japan is spent in persecution and in hiding. This novel is a study in the path from strong faith to doubt and how religious persecution affects faith. While the novel is not exactly cheerful and the ending is not uplifting as one might expect with a novel with this topic (the usual expectation would be some sort of redemption in the end), this is a very well written novel, even in translation. Excellent work by Mr. Endo.
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Summary: Outstanding book!
Review: The author, Shusaku Endo, was an famous Christian writer in Japan. His idea of Christianity is clearly expressed in this book
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Summary: The meaning of love
Review: There isn't much to be added to what others have said about this very moving account of the persecution of Christians in 17thC Japan and the apparent silence of God in one priest's experience. The tribulations and suffering lead toward an inevitable climax and exploration of God's love and mercy. This would be a great book for a discussion group. For a similar theme, check out The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell.
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Summary: "Silence" is golden
Review: This book probably has the best ending, withiin the last two pages, of any book I have read on theology. Excellent message throughout the book and it makes one think.
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Summary: Where is God when the faithful suffer?
Review: This book provides a beautiful window through which to view the questions of theodicy and the nature of faith. As a great fan of Endo, I recently introduced members of my church to Silence. The result was an honest, frutiful conversation of the pain and doubt that often shakes the foundations of our lives. Do yourself a favor, find a group and read Silence together!
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Summary: Where is God when it hurts?
Review: 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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Summary: Penetrating and Powerful
Review: This extremely intense novel of Shusaku Endo deals with the persecution of Christians and the Christian missionaries from the West in the 17th century Japan. As a historical novel it is a valuable contribution to Christian literature by this Japanese theologian and novelist. No wonder, he is often compared to Graham Greene. Sebastian Rodrigues, a Catholic priest of the Jesuit Order, the protagonist of the novel arrives in Japan with his confrere Francisco Garrpe during the persecution of Inoue the magistrate of Nagasaki, in order to help the Japanese Christians in their struggle and also to find out the truth about the apostate priest Ferreira whom they knew to be zealous for the Christian faith. Landing in the suburbs of Nagasaki they find their hiding place on a mountain with the help of the villagers. Soon the persecutors enter the village and they have to flee. Before long, falling into the hands of the persecutors, Garrpe joins the many martyrs in death and Rodrigues goes through the intense struggle of watching the sufferings of the Christians in his confinement. While undergoing the physical hardships of the prison, he has to deal with the mental agony caused by the absolute silence of God in the midst of the sufferings of His people. The insufferable mental torments like the voices from those in 'the pit' and the contacts with Ferreira bring Rodrigues to step on the 'fumie' and become another apostate. Sebastian Rodrigues of Endo was in real life Guiseppe Chiara who died some forty years after his apostasy, stating that he was still a Christian. Endo's perspectives on the western garb of Christianity preached in Japan and the land of Japan as a swamp sucking up all sorts of ideologies only to transform and distort them in the process, are fascinating. The popularity of Endo's novel proves that Japan is not indifferent to Christianity but awaits a form of Christianity that will suit its national character. This book is a masterpiece dealing with faith and suffering; it should be recommended to any serious-minded Christian for spiritual nourishment.
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Summary: Art as Sacrament
Review: This gripping historical novel is set in 17TH century Japan, during the shogun's brutal persecution of the Catholic Church. The Jesuit's Provincial Superior, Cristovao Ferreira has reportedly recanted his faith over martyrdom. Soon after, Fathers Rodrigues and Garppe embark on a treacherous mission to determine their mentor's fate and continue the work of Francis Xavier. A harrowing journey of the soul ensues as we are placed in a moral quandary that tests the core of our faith. This is not a conventional tale of heroic missionaries. Simple peasants are put to horrific deaths as their savvy tormentors taunt priests with; "you claim Christ died for them, but it is they who die for you". Can evangelization and service ever be unjust? Endo's story raises troubling questions in a manner not available to theologians or apologists. One of which is God's silence in the face of intense suffering. When faced with doubt whose voice do we hear? Where does true communion begin and psychological projection end? This emotional novel offers rich meditations but no easy answers. His lively prose contains strong character development along with a heart-wrenching history lesson. Disturbing and graphic imagery is used, as are recurring symbols regarding; the Japanese "swamp", the face of Christ, and the role of Judas. Given the current crisis bestting the Church, this latter theme is especially instructive . As Father Rodrigues sets out, the Saviour's face is "strong and vigorous". During his mission the appearance of Christ gradually changes. Confronted with trampling the sacred image of Madonna and Child so as to escape martyrdom, it is the true face of Christ that looks back at the tortured priest. In presenting us with this face of Jesus, Shusako Endo's internationally acclaimed masterpiece rises to the level of a sacrament for all who willingly receive it.
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