Shusaku Endo

With an introduction by Martin Scorsese 'One of the finest historical novels written by anyone, anywhere ...Flawless' - David Mitchell Father Rodrigues is an idealistic Portuguese Jesuit priest who, in the 1640s, sets sail for Japan on a determined mission to help the brutally oppressed Japanese Christians and to discover the truth behind unthinkable rumours that his famous teacher Ferreira has renounced his faith. Once faced with the realities of religious persecution Rodrigues himself is forced to make an impossible choice: whether to abandon his flock or his God. Winner of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize, Silence is Shusaku Endo's most highly acclaimed novel and a classic of its genre. It caused major controversy in Japan following its publication in 1967. Silence will soon be a major film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver.

In 1613 the missionary Father Pedro Velasco's dream comes true. For the first time, the Japanese are going to cross the Pacific Ocean. And he is going with them. As he sets sail with a group of Samurai, for Mexico, then Spain and finally Rome, his zealous hope is that, by opening up relations with the western world, Japan will become ripe for conversion to Christianity - with him as Bishop. But fate has other plans for Father Velasco.A gripping portrayal of an extraordinary historical voyage, filled with danger and hardship, The Samurai is a haunting novel of endurance, faith and hubris.'Endo to my mind is one of the finest living novelists' Graham Greene'Powerful, beautifully written' New Statesman

With an introduction by Martin Scorsese 'One of the finest historical novels written by anyone, anywhere ...Flawless' - David Mitchell Father Rodrigues is an idealistic Portuguese Jesuit priest who, in the 1640s, sets sail for Japan on a determined mission to help the brutally oppressed Japanese Christians and to discover the truth behind unthinkable rumours that his famous teacher Ferreira has renounced his faith. Once faced with the realities of religious persecution Rodrigues himself is forced to make an impossible choice: whether to abandon his flock or his God. Winner of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize, Silence is Shusaku Endo's most highly acclaimed novel and a classic of its genre. It caused major controversy in Japan following its publication in 1967. Silence will soon be a major film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver.