When I Whistle: A Novel

by Shūsaku Endō, Van C. Gessel (Translator)

One of Endo's most unusual and powerful novels is set largely in a modern hospital, with themes and scenes that eerily seem to predate Never Let Me Go.

When I Whistle," businessman Ozu recalls his youth in the days before World War II, after he happens to meet Aiko, the love interest of his old school friend. Meanwhile, his doctor son, Eiichi, is ruthlessly advancing his career through dishonesty and some highly immoral medical practices and Aiko is at the heart of this. The novel moves back and forth between the lives of the father and son.

Eiichi is contemptuous of the outmoded values of his father's world and ruthless in pursuit of success at his hospital. The story reaches a terrible climax when Aiko, now a middle-aged cancer-sufferer, is admitted to the hospital and Eiichi is part of a conspiracy to test a new drug on her.

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Japanese Literature, Literary Fiction, Literature, Classics, Drama

273 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Shusaku Endo (遠藤周作), born in Tokyo in 1923, was raised by his mother and an aunt in Kobe where he converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of eleven. At Tokyo's Keio University he majored in French literature, graduating BA in 1949, before furthering his studies in French Catholic literature at the University of Lyon in France between 1950 and 1953. A major theme running through his books, which have been translated into many languages, including English, French, Russian and Swedish, is the failure of Japanese soil to nurture the growth of Christianity. Before his death in 1996, Endo was the recipient of a number of outstanding Japanese literary awards: the Akutagawa Prize, Mainichi Cultural Prize, Shincho Prize, and Tanizaki Prize.
(from the backcover of Volcano).

Reviews

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Why do pure and simple people like Flatfish have to die?

A plain, unassuming fellow. A fellow maybe a little cunning, but one who, somewhere in his heart, embraced a purity that made him treasure the first love of his youth. Fellows like that probably existed everywhere in the world. But this particular fellow died in the war, leaving behind him only the suit that he wore, a pen, and a notebook.

Doesn't that … make you … sad? Ozu felt like shouting to the stars in the sky.

I don't feel sad when a strong man or a hero dies. But I mourn when a fellow like Flatfish dies. It's unbearably sad precisely because he was the sort of fellow you can find anywhere."
(206-7)

I hadn't read anything by Shusaku Endo before I started When I Whistle, but I'll definitely be reading his other works now that I've finished it.

[Dhanaraj Rajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and Half Stars. I would have given it five stars had it ended the way I wanted it to end. That is too preposterous from my part. But then we are only human........

The book is about a father and his son. The stories of both the father and son are presented in the alternative chapters. The father's story happens in prewar/war time Japan and ths tory of the son happens in the post war Japan.

FATHER - PRE WAR/WAR TIME - TRADITIONAL
SON - POST WAR - MODERN.

The times have changed and with time everything is changed. This is wonderfully captured in the alternative chapters. It adds to the momentum and the ploy serves for the theme of juxtaposition in the most appropriate way.

A Quote: "Some people leave no impression at all upon your heart, no matter how often you encounter them in life. But there are also people who touch your life only once whom you cnnot forget for as long as you live."

And why so?
Because they make life beautiful for us. In a way this novel is a story about such impressions made by certain people on one of the protagonists (The Father).

The son is totally different. The people are useful as long as they can help you progress in life. There is nothing wrong in making use of them to promote oneself to higher position. People are passing clouds or temporary boats to be used to cross the river and to be discarded without a prick of conscience.

Two stories wonderfully blended in a single novel. Endo is a master story teller.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shūsaku Endō is often likened to Graham Greene and rightfully so. The comparison is as flattering to Greene as it is to Endo. Both men were truly great writers. Endo and Greene both were self-proclaimed Catholics who wrote novels about man's great difficulty in making morally good choices in situations where the benefits of doing the immoral thing were great.
"When I whistle" tracks the parallel stories of a father Ozu who developed his world-view prior to WWII and his son Eiichi a highly unethical doctor who developed his vision of life after the great war. The novel reminds me of the penitential rite:
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do;

Eiichi the son is a thoroughly nasty piece of business. He performs dirty deeds and backstabs everyone in his entourage. Ozu the father, who consistently has good intentions, sins by failing to act or by taking half-measures. While Eiichi is without question a hopeless case, the reader can be hopeful about Ozu who at the end of the novel still has the strong desire to do good.
The secondary characters of the novel are a much better lot and leave the reader with a warm glow. A colleague of Eiichi refuses to practice medicine in the same unethical fashion preferring to work in a modest clinic rather than at a glamorous research hospital where one must make moral comprises. Ozu's closest friend from secondary school endures many setbacks in life but always conducts himself in a highly decent manner. A young girl that Ozu will meet during his teen years will also live a very virtuous life only to be needlessly killed as a guinea pig in one of Eiichi's medical experiments.
Endo is indeed highly judgemental but what the reader notices above all is his great finesse. I recommend this book highly although it is clearly not a masterpiece of on the same level as the "Silence."

[Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

If someone told you that Japan before World War II was different than Japan today, you'd say, trying to restrain sarcasm, "really?." "No, no," your friend would quickly add, "I mean there was a different spirit. People felt and thought differently." That's the point where if you are at a cocktail party, you might say, "I think my wife may be looking for me." What Shusaku Endo does in this novel is to let you experience in your own bones how the spirit of certain age is replaced by another. I know it is not very precise to talk about the spirit of a nation or of a people, but that is the point of the novel- that such a "thing", which exists, cannot be properly expressed in abstract concepts. What Endo's novel does is make you feel the loss of something valuable. The loss becomes your loss. And he also lets you feel and understand that what replaced what was lost is not as valuable, somehow. How this is done is through the telling of two different but connected stories separated by time. From the story of two young boys and from the story of the son of one of these boys forty years later the author allows you to experience the "spirit" of a nation during two different time periods. The reader extrapolates from the story of individual lives the collective culture of a society. The culture is Japan in Endo's book but it can also be any place you live. It's not just a case of old man's nostalgia (Endo's and my own), for a simpler more innocent time, a time when you would fall in love and it wold be forever. It's more a case that Endo's novel is like a haiku, or a single calligraphy stroke, evoking something you feel but cannot name. Something sad and pure and fleeting and happy too in its own quiet way.

[María Greene F · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRIMERA LECTURA: SEPTIEMBRE 2024.

No me di cuenta de que me llegara tanto hasta que me vi ahogándome por mis propias lágrimas. Súper bien escrito, a veces con personajes un tanto dicotómicos, porque nadie puede ser tan bueno ni tan malo (aunque quizá sí) pero sentí que pudo traspasar todo lo que es ser una generación afectada por la guerra y a la vez no dejar de contar otras historias interesantes que también ocurren en la vida.

Hacia la mitad NO PUDE SOLTARLO MÁS y eso que eran altas horas de la madrugada, leía y lloraba, por suerte era fin de semana largo dieciochero, jajaja. Pucha que lloré. LLORÉ y no porque todo el tiempo pasaran cosas terribles, sino que por la sensibilidad, la humanidad y en especial el estoicismo dulce que tiene en general la literatura asiática.

Súper bueno y de verdad tocó mi corazón. Bastante carente del fin hollywoodense, cosa que en lo personal yo aprecio, pero así es la vida a veces y eso también está bien. Muy, muy profundo, muy especial, totalmente meritorio de ser leído.

Por ahí vi después que este autor es considerado "el Graham Greene" del Oriente (es como de la misma generación), yo todavía no leo nada de mi tocayo de apellido, pero admitamos que es piropazo.

Por supuesto que eso no significa que no le baste el mérito que tiene por sí solo.



SEGUNDA LECTURA: JUNIO 2025.

Lo puse en el Club de lectura que hice este año porque encontré que era una buena muestra de literatura japonesa y además porque, ya lo había dicho, en la primera lectura no sólo tocó mi corazón sino que casi me lo rompe de todo el manoseo, jaja.

Mi veredicto es el mismo: UN LIBRO PRECIOSO. Sí, algunos personajes siguen siendo un poco exagerados, en especial el hijo (¿habrá realmente gente así?) pero igual cinco estrellas TOTALES Y ABSOLUTAS. Me hizo sentir tal respeto y compasión por las luchas de generaciones que no le tocaron a una. Uno nunca sabe por qué otros pueden estar marcado de la manera en que lo hacen y a veces es cierto que no nos tocan la misma intensidad de luchas.

En otras palabras, este libro también me hizo sentir agradecida. De cosas que sí me llegaron más fácil que a la mayoría de la gente de tiempos más antiguos, donde la guerra y el hambre eran más la norma y la excepción. Hoy aún existe, sí, y últimamente - lamentablemente - al menos la guerra parece bastante en boga, pero pese a eso, en ese sentido al menos, nos ha tocado harto más fácil.

También me hizo sentir mucha reverencia y ternura por la verdadera lucha que llevan los otros, esa oculta que no se comparte porque nadie más entendería y es que este libro hace algo que no ocurre tanto: una alabanza al héroe anónimo, al hombre (o mujer) del día a día que sale adelante lo mejor que puede, ama y vive lo mejor que puede, sin esperar que nadie lo valide y sin pensar ni siquiera en que alguien lo estuviera mirando.

[Peter D. Great · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite novels of all time. Sadness and beauty perfectly blended. Just try to get through this book without a few drops falling from the corners of your eyes.

[Matheos G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel about reflections and opposite forces. a father tethered to the past, watching it dissolve around him. a son only concerned with the future, allowing it to consume his humanity. first love, bright and fiery, turning into old love, soft and comforting. one doesn’t exist without the other, and one can exist on its own forever. ultimately, we are all a mosaic of what is around us, for good or ill

[David Garrity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a charming read that was eminently enjoyable. As someone who is interested in both pre and post war Japanese life this work totally fit the bill. Great insights into how people lived, cultural elements and societal expectations of the time provided great interest and insight . The friendship between main characters Ozu and Flatfish was central to the story and brilliantly scripted by the author. There was a lot of nuance in their interactions as well as their connections with other characters in the story. The chapter where Ozu returns the pen (Flatfish’s most prized possession) to Aiko was incredibly poignant.
Uncomplicated yet artfully crafted, When I Whistle continues my experience of fabulous Endo works.

[Emmkay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earlier this year, I read Silence, and when I came across another Endo I was eager to check it out. When I Whistle alternates between the stories of a man and his son. Ozu is now a middle-aged under-achiever in post-war Japan. He is prompted to reminisce about a friendship in his youth just before and during the Second World War. Ozu's son Eiichi is a ruthlessly self-promoting young physician, resentful of his father's inability to assist him in fulfilling his ambitions. The translation is periodically a bit awkward (e.g. the occasional attempts at a colloquial 'ain't'). The novel, however, was well worth reading.

[Maria Mikhailova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Насколько Япония загадочная страна, настолько японская литература для меня пока непостижима. "Посвисти для меня" - показалась мне довольно просто и незамысловато написанной книгой, в не очень хорошем переводе, что самое интересное - несколько лишенной смысла... Эпизоды жизни отца, эпизоды жизни сына. Конфликт поколений, да. Но, и пока читала, и после, я не могла сопереживать ни одному, ни другому герою: их характеры не раскрыты, их устремления иногда сомнительные, иногда загадочные, иногда просто странные. Может, таки японская литература мне пока не по зубам... А может, я не поняла задумку автора, ну или же ее там и не было...

[Merilyn Meristo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ehkki sisu pendeldab II maailmasõja ja tänapäeva vahel, olenevalt millise peategelase millist eluperioodi kirjeldatakse, on kõik, mis toimub inimlikul tasandil, täiesti ajatu. Mulle meeldib, kui ausalt on kirjeldatud vastiku omakasupüüdliku manipulaatori mõttekäike ja kui kaasatundmapanevalt on käsitletud hapra ja normidest erineva tegelase elu. Väga sirgjoonelise looga raamat, milles autor näitab inimhinge mitmekülgset palet. Südamlik.

[Dollisapi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Varias cosas tengo que decir de este libro, del autor y de la edición en específico que leí.
Es importante decir que Shusaku Endo es un personaje que maneja historias controversiales y personajes muy bien definidos, cuyas motivaciones van más allá de la moral binaria. Esta historia en específico nos cuenta en quince capítulos dos historias que convergen en una sola. Un capítulo está dedicado a los recuerdos de Ozu padre con su amigo Fletán y el que sigue va dedicado a su hijo Eiichi Ozu un doctor para quien el éxito laboral es sinónimo de felicidad absoluta.
La historia es preciosa; conjuga el cómo vivieron la Segunda Guerra Mundial los japoneses de clase media-baja (y también clase baja) y, también, la reconstrucción de post-guerra. Las relaciones entre las naciones de Alemania y Japón se ven en los pequeños detalles: los artefactos preciosos de importación, los títulos de noticias que leen los personajes y la idea de que Alemania domina el continente europeo.
El tema de la experimentación en seres humanos, contrario a la otra obra de Endo (El mar y veneno), se toca muy por encima de lo que uno esperaría. Son detalles más éticos y negligentes que controversiales. Aún así el tema está bien manejado y uno puede palpar las intenciones de cada uno de personajes los involucrados.
El texto fluye rápidamente y las notas al pie de página son muy pocas y contadas ya que no se citan demasiadas palabras japonesas. Sin embargo, la traducción se siente fluida pero al texto final le hicieron falta algunas revisiones. Encontramos dedazos y comillas extras. Esto es un problema porque Ático de los libros, la editorial, es bastante más cara que otras y podríamos sentir que el texto no fue tratado con suficiente cuidado pese a que el papel en el que fue impreso es de excelente calidad.
Este libro es interesante bien narrado y con un final contundente (cosa rara en los escritores asiáticos).

[Seiren Nemuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Shusaku Endo ya había leído Silencio, que me interesó por el tema que trata y me atrapó por la forma de narrarlo y presentarlo. Cuando Silbo me tomó por sorpresa. Tuve un lapso, no recordé al escritor a la primera pero yo doy gracias por cualquier pieza de literatura japonesa que llegue a mis manos. Al principio no me ubiqué muy bien. Creo que la primera parte de la novela es algo débil, no por lo segmentado, es más como si esos primeros dos capítulos no hubieran visto una segunda revisión. Es sólo una impresión, claro está. Pero a medida avanza la historia la sensibilidad de la misma cobra más fuerza e impregna la narrativa y el estilo parece hacerse más rico y más fluido.
Resalta, sobre todo, ese contraste entre generaciones. Los traumas del pasado y las ambiciones futuras. Ozu y su hijo tienen puntos de vista completamente diferentes y esto no sólo se nota en sus constantes discusiones, sino también en sus acciones y el valor que le dan a la vida. Al Eiichi le pesa que su padre no haya sido más ambicioso, y crea en él un complejo al notar como sus compañeros pueden contar a mejores puestos ya que tienen el respaldo de sus padres. Eiichi ve su profesión como una forma de alzarse. Ozu padre, por otro lado, marcado por las injusticias de la guerra y la perdida tiene una visión de la vida más tranquila y desinteresada. Y es entre estos dos personajes que discurre la historia, entre el pasado y el hoy, hasta que ambos se encuentran en un punto en presente que deja claro al fin que la sensibilidad presente es otra.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro lento, que lleva en paralelo dos historias, las de un padre y un hijo. La Segunda Guerra Mundial como punto de ruptura entre un periodo en el que aún era permisible tener sueños e ideales, y otro en el que la supervivencia a cualquier precio se convirtió en un imperativo. Resulta extraño, sin embargo, porque el segundo periodo, la posguerra de los años setenta más o menos, con un milagro económico produciéndose en Japón y ninguna guerra en el horizonte, debería haber sido el momento más adecuado para convertirse en mejores personas, y en su lugar.... Muy triste y muy hermoso.

Un libro lento, che porta avanti parallelamente due storie, quelle di un padre e di un figlio. La seconda guerra mondiale come spartiacque tra un periodo in cui era ancora permesso avere dei sogni e degli ideali, e quello in cui la sopravvivenza ad ogni costo é diventata un imperativo. Strano peró perché il secondo periodo, un dopoguerra degli anni '70 piú o meno, con un miracolo economico in atto in Giappone e nessuna guerra all'orizzonte, sarebbe dovuto essere il tempo piú adatto per diventare persone migliori, e invece....
Molto triste e molto bello.

[Beatriz V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Cuando silbo” retrata a la perfección el conflicto entre dos generaciones de japoneses de distintas mentalidades. La de Ozu, su amigo Fletán y Aiko marcada por la Segunda Guerra Mundial y la siguiente generación, la de Eiichi, joven médico e hijo de Ozu con una visión del mundo que recoge lo peor de la cultura occidental: la ambición de triunfo, de poder, de dinero a costa de renunciar a las antiguas tradiciones japonesas y a algunos principios éticos que parecían impensables décadas atrás.

El autor con una prosa ágil y sencilla nos plantea estas dos caras de un país y nos recuerda que el fin jamás justifica nuestras acciones porque hay valores como la amistad, el respeto, la lealtad y la conciencia que deben ser incuestionables siempre.

[Angela Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

El libro tiene dos historias, una la de Fletan y Ozu, dos amigos, una relación que a lo largo del libro nos da la sensación de que todo es efímero, todo pasa, no somos nada, y la otra es la historia del hijo de Ozu, Eichi, un médico jóven, arrogante que empieza a construir su pasado, que algún día mirará atrás y sentirá esa nostalgia que impregna de belleza y sublima cualquier pequeñez.
El enlace de estas dos historias es Azuma, el primer amor de Fletan y una paciente con la que experimenta Eichi.
En esta novela se mezcla el amor, la amistad, la ética médica y la juventud y la tristeza de las mueres que deja la guerra, narra de forma sencilla el espíritu triste y decaído de un Japón derrotado.

[Nicté Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una catástrofe divide a las personas: de un lado quedan quienes la vivieron, con sus lecciones y su dolor, y del otro quienes no; esas generaciones futuras que podrán o no aprender algo de lo quedó registrado en la historia, de lo que les cuenten, de lo que supongan. ¿Cómo serán las generaciones futuras, de esta catástrofe que hoy nos toca a nosotros?, después de leer mientras silbo, esta pregunta me ronda en la cabeza.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as Silence, but very different. It felt modern, yet it was not repulsive. It deals with problems and brokenness head-on, but doesn't justify them. Nice rhythm... I liked it.

[Stranger Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maravillosa historia sobre la enfermedad, la guerra y la infancia perdida. Triste, profunda, adictiva y poética. Una obra increíble para iniciarse en la literatura japonesa por la puerta grande.

[Harrison Shi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasure it was to enter this world that Shusaku Endo created. I enjoyed the flashback scenes at Nada middle school that built the beginning of this novel. The memories are beautifully simple and emotional. Class pranks, summer swims at the beach, and long treks home from school tailing their crush. Ozu and Flatfish’s time together was a blur of shenanigans and discovery.

Then we get to the whole other side of this novel, which involves a return to the present with Ozu’s son Eichii who is a doctor. We follow Eichii as he navigates the politics of a hospital. As questions of ethics begin to come to the surface, the novel remains heartfelt as the scenes in the hospital only continue to further the book’s emphasis on lost youth, friendship, and memory.

Sometimes memories are all we’re left with and where does that leave us when they start to fade?

[Effie Gavriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two totally different worlds between two generations presented in a masterful simplicity that really carries you away.

[Monique]

Love. War. And corruption in the medical establishment.

[Uriah O'Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Endo weaves two stories with an effortless poise largely lost in modern fiction. A tale of love, woe, and obsession set in WWII Era Japan, When I Whistle rocks you gently between charming accounts of life and friendship, and gripping maps of loss, defeat, and human malice.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterful study in character development: Endo's positioning of each character as a foil to the others is remarkable. A novel and an author deserving of wider renown.

[Geneva Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shusaku Endo is a novelist who captures emotions and the events that change lives in subtle and dramatic ways. This is a novel about many things: love, betrayal, medical care, friendship, devotion, responsibility, and the myriad ways in which our actions impact others. He has a realism about his work that is fragile and breathtaking at once. In this story, he deftly goes back and forth from narrator Ozu to Ozu's son, Eiichi, sometimes in the present and often in pre-war Japan. We are brought from his school days in Nada where he meets his gangly, awkward friend Flatfish. The novel is exceptional in that it so precisely captures the restless energy of high schoolers figuring things out, to their parting, and eventual drafting in the Army for WWII. The novel follows Flatfish's reverence for Akio, a young woman who he idealizes. Akio's story pre and post-war life is covered, and intersects in an unusual way with Ozu's as Ozu's son Eiichi, a doctor in the early 1960's, is involved in her treatment of cancer. The bond between Flatfish, Aiko, and Ozu is at the core of this story, and it crosses life, death, war, and separation.

Eiichi's narration is a contrast to to the sensitive heart of his father; Eiichi is incensed that he does not have the advantage of a well-connected family to advance his position at the Tokyo hospital where he works. Eiichi works overtime to put into motions schemes that destroy colleagues and uses the hospital as his own revolving dating service, playing with the hearts of nurses. Evincing signs of psychopathy, Eiichi's driven and relentless pursuit for glory and success is a fascinating character study. It is also a stark contrast to his father's life, built from the rubble of WWII.

Ozu's reflections at the end of the story beautifully capture the transient and mysterious nature of life. We are here for a short time, intersecting lives and hearts, and forming bonds or breaking them. In Endo's world, words are the brushstrokes of a delicate and fluid painting, full of the the pathos and joy of life. An outstanding and unforgettable story of life, loss, and love, integrity, ethical dilemmas, and the eternal strength of friendship.
Comment

[Nadin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Появления этой книги в электронке я ждала еще с самого ее выхода. Было ощущение, что это моё и её стоит ждать.
Ощущения не подвели. Даже хорошо, что взялась я за нее только сейчас, т.к. после 24 февраля я более остро ощущаю книги с военной тематикой.

Повествование построено вокруг двух временных линий. Обе линии хороши, я даже не могу сказать, какая для меня была более интересной.

Первая линия о детстве и юности двух ребят. Она похожа на анимешку в жанре повседневность, только более жизненная, т.к. беззаботные будни в школе заканчиваются, начинается бесперспективная взрослая жизнь, в которую врывается война. Глава про войну получилась слишком смазанная, не раскрывает она степень участия героя в войне. Здесь уж читатель должен додумать сам. Определенно одно, мимо она не прошла.

Вторая линия о сыне одного из этих ребят, который живет уже в далекие послевоенные годы, строит карьеру врача. Ради своей карьеры он готов идти по головам людей. Эта линия полна цинизма врачей, для которых пациенты – лишь ресурс для исследований и написания научных статей. Но помимо этого, здесь остро чувствуется конфликт отцов и детей, разрыв поколений. Сын никогда не понимал отца, ему тошно от постоянных воспоминаний отца о военных годах. Он не представляет, что такое война, не хочет представлять, для него это что-то далекое, о чем не стоит даже думать. Сейчас я понимаю, что для людей, которые пережили войну, она никогда не будет чем-то далеким. О ней нельзя забыть и вычеркнуть, как что-то несущественное.

Достаточно драматичным образом автор соединяет две линии и ставит в конце жирную запятую. Запятую, потому что у живых жизнь продолжается, каждый продолжает идти выбранным им путем.

Книга сугубо японская, читая, нужно представлять себя японцем. Она неброская, неяркая вроде как простая, но душевная и располагающая к себе. Она написана японцем для японцев.

[David Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

11.17
I had not heard of Endo before seeing this book at a local bookstore. I don’t know what made me pick up the book, but I’m glad I did. Endo is in the canon of modern Japanese not novelists , and a Japanese friend tells me he’s standard reading for students. I can see why.

Endo is an extremely clear, direct writer, and his flat style (I mean this as a compliment) allows the intensity of the psychological, social, and moreal delemias full range with ever descending into being maudlin or overwrought. I look forward to reading his other works.

This novel focus on two related stories - the first focus on two boys in their last year of high school (Ozo and his odd friend Flatfish) at the dawn of Japan’s involvement in WWII and the other other on Ozo’s son (a young doctor) well after the war ends. The stories connect when the girl of Flatfish’s teen infatuation because a patient in the son’s ward. The novel bristles with subtle and often ambiguous moral issues. Some of the main themes include:

* The difference between pre and post War II Japan. Pre- simple, rural, stern, nationalistic; post- modern, sophisticated, materialistic. It’s Both are striving, and ruthless in a way. The post materialism and nihilism of the son does not compare favorable with the pre-war simplicity. Yet, the novel is not nostalgic.
* Endo construct the novel’s two parts as parallels. The first, Flatfish will do anything to will Akio and the Son for this bosses daughter. Neither is real love, but Flatfish’s is based on sweet naiveté while the son’s is is purely gain success.
* Why the memory certain events and people stay with us and remain poignant.
* The novel brims with the small decisions we make the impact they have on others and the longer term impact on ourselves.

[Anton Kovner · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

По своему интересная книга, с присущим японцам созерцанием.
Мне немного не хватило в ней целостности в противопоставлении поколений.
Да, есть мерзкий сын - карьерист (надо отметить, что его мерзость прекрасно описанна) на фоне отца, вспоминающего юные годы. Но как будто в любом поколении были карьеристы, и не до конца понятно, почему у отца не получилось привить своему сыну правильные ценности.

[Andika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buku ini saya dapat dari Book Fair tahunannya anak-anak Fakultas Ekonomi Unpar setahunan yang lalu. Saya membelinya dari stand Periplus Bookstore. Terjemahan novel Jepang ke bahasa Inggris dengan kondisi lumayan dibandrol seharga 5000 perak saja, siapa yang mampu melewatkannya?

Harga yang murah itu ternyata membuat saya cukup lama menunda-nunda membaca When I Whistle. Namun, begitu saya melakukannya ternyata buku ini tidak mengecewakan. Shusaku Endo ternyata adalah seorang penulis yang telah mendapatkan berbagai penghargaan di Jepang sana. Tema novel ini tidak jauh berbeda dari tema yang juga diangkat oleh novelis Jepang lainnya, Haruki Murakami: kritik terhadap modernisme. Walaupun demikian, gaya menulis keduanya berbeda jauh. Apabila tulisan Murakami sureal dan banyak mencantumkan referensi pop, maka dunia dalam tulisan Endo terasa lebih dekat dan banyak menganalisis pilihan moral yang diambil para karakternya.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting but sad story. There are actually two stories, one about a father and another about his son. Father's story is largely about his adolescent school years, his relationship with his friend and their clumsy efforts to befriend girls from the local school. The war intervenes and all go their separate ways. The son's story is more interesting although challenging. He is an ambitious young doctor working in a hospital. His morals are questionable and treatment of patients unethical even by the standards of the day (circa 1965). This all comes into focus when treating a patient with cancer who it transpires is one of the grown up girls from his father's past.

An uncomfortable read at times, particularly when learning of how the son plans to use people and opportunity to further his ambitions. The final chapters highlight the contrasts between the morals of father and son. In some respects then a depressing story as father and son grow apart.