Approaching Silence: New Perspectives on Shusaku Endo's Classic Novel

by Darren J.N. Middleton (Editor), Mark Dennis (Editor)

Shusaku Endo is celebrated as one of Japan's great modern novelists, often described as "Japan's Graham Greene," and Silence is considered by many Japanese and Western literary critics to be his masterpiece.

Approaching Silence is both a celebration of this award-winning novel as well as a significant contribution to the growing body of work on literature and religion. It features eminent scholars writing from Christian, Buddhist, literary, and historical perspectives, taking up, for example, the uneasy alliance between faith and doubt; the complexities of discipleship and martyrdom; the face of Christ; and, the bodhisattva ideal as well as the nature of suffering. It also frames Silence through a wider lens, comparing it to Endo's other works as well as to the fiction of other authors.

Approaching Silence promises to deepen academic appreciation for Endo, within and beyond the West.

Includes an Afterword by Martin Scorsese on adapting Silence for the screen as well as the full text of Steven Dietz's play adaptation of Endo's novel.

448 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2014

Reviews

[Ben Smitthimedhin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I begin a new essay in this collection, I'm surprised by how thought-provoking each essay is. All the contributors had interesting perspectives from their respective field (English literature, Japanese studies, religious studies, philosophy, psychology, education, and anthropology), providing unique takes on pretty much every scene of Endo's Silence, especially the controversial fumi-e scene. Plus, this collection of essays comes with a bonus stage adaptation of Silence at the end and an Afterword by Martin Scorsese. What else could I ask for?