Silence

‘One of the finest novels written by anyone anywhere … Flawless’
‘One of the finest novels of our time by perhaps Japan’s greatest twentieth-century author’
‘A masterpiece. There can be no higher praise’ * Daily Telegraph *
A marvellous book … Endo is giving deep thought to the most basic problems of truth’ * Spectator *
‘Silence is Endo’s masterpiece … The precision of its writing, the force of its plot, the sympathy of its characterization, all move towards making it a profound imaginative experience’ * Observer *
‘Profound and moving’ * The Times *
His masterpiece * Los Angeles Times *
Endo’s great gift to his readers…is to dignify ambiguity.
Halfway between a devotional fable and a lucid psychological study…Endo is a writer we ought to know about. * Kirkus Reviews *
Searching and austere…a dark gem of historical fiction. * Sydney Morning Herald *
‘A masterly novel … A crucial book: both a great story and a cogent re-examination of the Christian myth’ * Sunday Telegraph *
‘A remarkable work … sombre, delicate and startlingly empathetic’ * New Yorker *

Shūsaku Endō (1923-1996) was baptised as a Catholic in childhood, and was one of the first Japanese students to study abroad after the Second World War, spending several of his university years in France. On his return, he immediately found success as a novelist, with works that repeatedly explore the themes of spirituality and the relationship between Japan and the West. A winner of the Akutagawa Prize and recipient of Japan’s Order of Culture, he is remembered as one of the country’s foremost post-war authors. As well as Silence, he is celebrated for the novels Deep River, The Samurai, and The Sea and Poison.

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