Silence

Father Sebastian Rodrigues sets sail for Japan in 1640. He is on a mission to find one of the Portuguese Jesuits that went before him, a spiritual example to the younger priests, and disprove the shocking rumours that this man has betrayed his faith. Embarking full of idealistic fire, Rodrigues soon finds that life in this strange land will challenge his convictions, too. For the Tokugawa shogunate has banned Christianity and expelled all the missionaries from Japan - and the believers who remain must worship in secret or face torture and execution.Inspired by the author's own experience as a Japanese Catholic, this masterpiece of historical fiction, hailed as one of the twentieth century's finest novels, tells a harrowing story of compassion, doubt, and enduring faith.

Shusaku Endo (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, all published by or forthcoming from Pushkin.