Silence: Picador Classic: 66 Paperback – 13 Aug. 2015

Not an easy read if you do not have an ounce of religion in you but an important book nevertheless because it's about doubt as much as it is about faith. I just felt it was a relief to read something that came from the heart, that gave me such an excellent introduction to Japanese history, that explored ideas in a very serious way. I commend it but i know that anyone seeking instant or trite answers to life's questions will find it difficult.

The first half of this novel is a genuinely gripping account of a Christian missionary's journey into a sixteenth century Japanese heart of darkness. It's a chronicle of apostasy foretold. The terror of torture and persecution is palpable. And the abiding silence of God in the face of injustice and atrocity is complete and ineffable. That is Father Rodriguez's struggle. The image of the sea gulping its martyred victims wordlessly and unperturbed a recurring metaphor for a disinterested God.I found the novel, ultimately, somewhat repetitive in its preoccupations following Father Rodriguez's capture. It still offers some vivid and disturbing moments but somehow peters out as the inevitable conclusion unfolds. The aftermath is anticlimactic and vague. It all seems to fade, not into a profound quietude, as one might expect from the title, rather into an indistinct static: the sound of half-formed, unanswered prayers?

On the one hand, I didn't find this book to be gripping - I could go for a few days without reading it and wasn't desperate to get back to it. It feels slow moving at times, and the narrative is quite bleak and monotonous.On the other hand, there is a lot to reflect on. I imagine I would have enjoyed it less if I weren't Catholic myself. The ending, when it happens, seems as though it were inevitable, yet it leaves you ruminating on how the story built up to its final events.The relationship between Kichijiro and the priest was interesting and I will be thinking about it for a while to come.

For me this is s great book. I'm not Christian and learnt about this book due to the new Scorsese movie and was drawn to the story. I really got into this and found it grim, sometimes harrowing but couldn't put this down. I found that I was rereading several chapters to understand the rich emotion here. I found it very easy to read and not too long. I recommend this and look forward to the movie.

Really difficult to explain why I enjoyed this, even after finishing. But I was gripped and the story was fantastic.

Good quality print, a sleek cover and nice paper.The story is good, an interesting take on interior conflicts from a Japanese Catholic perspective.

Alter the DVD now read the book

A nice read - a good view into the past and the lives of early missionaries in Japan, along with their sufferings.