izzymark's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jbmorgan86's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the most beautiful and haunting books I've ever read. It troubles me deeply. Essentially, it is a story of historical fiction that deals with the idea of God's silence. If God is truly all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful, why is God silent in the face of suffering? This is going on my favorite shelf and I cannot wait for the Scorsese movie to come out next year.
rainpunk's review against another edition
4.0
Heartbreaking and beautiful. Scorsese's adaptation is the best book-to-film adaptation I've ever encountered, so you won't get much more from reading this than you will from watching the movie. But the book is still well worth your time.
Although it's about a Christian's experience, you don't need any Christian background to empathize with the difficult plight of the Jesuit Priest and the hidden Christians he interacts with. The story is about the pains of reconciling part of your core identity when faced with extreme opposition and hardship. I know the author Shusaku Endo was Catholic, but the book does not preach about what Truth is. If anything, the book skirts around a lot of deep discussion of Truth, and is much more about inclined to discuss the division between internal beliefs and external actions. Religion is treated equal parts a belief system and equal parts a practice, and anthropologically it is absolutely a tool of trade and dominance.
Although it's about a Christian's experience, you don't need any Christian background to empathize with the difficult plight of the Jesuit Priest and the hidden Christians he interacts with. The story is about the pains of reconciling part of your core identity when faced with extreme opposition and hardship. I know the author Shusaku Endo was Catholic, but the book does not preach about what Truth is. If anything, the book skirts around a lot of deep discussion of Truth, and is much more about inclined to discuss the division between internal beliefs and external actions. Religion is treated equal parts a belief system and equal parts a practice, and anthropologically it is absolutely a tool of trade and dominance.
mayatatiana's review against another edition
4.0
sick. and shoutout to the translator too bc it was rly beautifully written
sfletcher26's review against another edition
5.0
A simply mesmerising story of Jesuit missionaries to Japan in the 17th century.
A tale that powerfully deals with issues of belief, martyrdom and inculturation.
A tale that powerfully deals with issues of belief, martyrdom and inculturation.
kristidurbs's review against another edition
4.0
A fictional tale of Portuguese priests sent as missionaries to Japan in the 1600s, at a time when Christianity was illegal and Christians met martyrdom or suffered until denying their faith.
Things that made this book good: it tackles issues of spreading Christianity in other cultures; the book posits a philosophical dilemma of being forced to choose between denying one's faith or else to watch national Christians die a horrendous death; and ultimately the book wrestles deeply with the feelings and belief of the characters that God is silent, especially in times of persecution.
The first half is written in first person as letters, then shifts between 3rd person and 1st person POV for the second half. At times this felt confusing, but the first half as letters was effective at covering a lot of historical ground and moving the plot along.
Suspenseful, thought-provoking, and cruel, "Silence" is a great work of literature.
Things that made this book good: it tackles issues of spreading Christianity in other cultures; the book posits a philosophical dilemma of being forced to choose between denying one's faith or else to watch national Christians die a horrendous death; and ultimately the book wrestles deeply with the feelings and belief of the characters that God is silent, especially in times of persecution.
The first half is written in first person as letters, then shifts between 3rd person and 1st person POV for the second half. At times this felt confusing, but the first half as letters was effective at covering a lot of historical ground and moving the plot along.
Suspenseful, thought-provoking, and cruel, "Silence" is a great work of literature.
kaylee_kdc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s important reading and I appreciate that but the pacing was fairly slow and the narrator bothered me to no end. It was good and the symbolism went crazy so I’ll give it that for sure.
madisoncoglianese's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mkayverse's review against another edition
2.0
The message and theme of the book were kinda empowering, however, the writing was really dry to me and I didn't have any interest in continuing reading it so I went to summaries of the chapters.
it was like eating a dry piece of cake and having to stop to drink a lot of water. but even though it's not my cup of tea, it inspires conversation about faith that is important.
it was like eating a dry piece of cake and having to stop to drink a lot of water. but even though it's not my cup of tea, it inspires conversation about faith that is important.