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I had been interested in reading this book for a substantial amount of time, and during that time I had read some rather positive reviews and I heard a good deal about this book. I'm also aware that there is also a film based on this, but at this particular time, I have no intention in watching it.

This book was enough for me. It was delicately, but also powerfully told in a prose most beautiful, and despite parts of it proving difficult to read, I found the entire experience with this book most rewarding.

During these pages we are told the story of a jesuit priest called Sebastian Rodrigues who has travelled to Japan in order to discover the truth about his mentor, who has been reported to have defected from his Catholic faith. During the first part of the book we experience the journey that Sebastian Rodrigues had to to take, and then once he physically arrives in Japan, the narration masterfully shifts to third person. I thought this worked well, and certainly added to the tone of the story.

The tone was desperately grim, and to learn of all the abysmal acts of torture and the sacrificing of one's life in order to keep faith in God is heavy going, even for me. I learned before reading this book that the title of this book is in fact a question, and that question is 'Why did God remain silent?' Why did God remain silent during the endurance of so much pain and torture?

This was a complex and fascinating novel, complete with wonderful writing. I would love to read more from Endō.