ŷ������

Silence is a cerebral book.
The book is based on the historical fact that officials in Japan tried to exterminate Christianity in the 17th century. The major character is father Sebastian Rodrigues, a Jesuit priest, sailed to Japan with another priest, father Garrupe, to give christians there the support they terribly need and to find out the truth about a beloved teacher, the older father Ferreira. What follows next is a story of anguish on the side of idealistic father Rodriguez- and brutality in the side of the Japanese.
The novel raises the eternal question of the "silence" of God. Other themes are the system of belief and its ability to sustain us in times of need, how much are our decisions self-serving and to what lengths will we go to justify our decisions to ourselves.
Father Rodriguez suffers mentally and is tormented by his inability to answer his own questions. He tries not to judge father Ferreira- but ends up apostatizing as well.
The book does not answer the questions it raises and that's why it keeps haunting us after reading.
Shusaku Endo masterfully draws characters and explains their deepest thoughts. His writing is beautiful even in translation.
I may not be as obsessed with the book like Martin Scorsese but I highly recommend it to serious readers. I hope the movie does not disappoint!