REVIEW: “Silence” by Shusaku Endo

What constitutes betrayal? What is apostasy? Silence, Shusaku Endo’s poignant depiction of faith in crisis, follows a sequence of events that demands each character answers this on a personal level.

Rodrigues, a devout Portuguese priest in 1639, has set himself a fatal task. He must penetrate the islands of Japan and discover the truth behind the disappearance of renowned missionary, Ferreira. This is after the Japanese government has decided to make Christianity illegal.

Rumours from Japan have it that Ferreira has succumbed to apostasy under their brutal anti-Christian regime. Rodrigues doesn’t believe it — perhaps others may bend their faith under torture, but not Ferreira.

The rest of the novel unfolds through his perspective. Rodrigues is an honest, not entirely naive, narrator. He doesn’t mince his words in the letters he writes about how he sees the rest of the world — eternally damned unless the Church sends their movement abroad to convert them. While this is hardly someone we would find ourselves sympathising with, it is a gut-wrenching experience to see the isolating effect of living within a bubble of zealotry. Yet Rodrigues is made likeable through our first hand witnessing of his curiosity, his faith, and his exasperations. We see occasional flashes of wry cynicism battling with self-reproach as he realises the possible hazards of his worldview.

Ultimately — and this is the story’s strength — we see Rodrigues grow, and mature beyond the level his ignorance and inexperience had imposed on him. Rodrigues, in the midst of his religious fervor, asks uncomfortable yet sincere questions of personal faith under siege.

Rodrigues maps his spiritual journey around his perception of the passion of the Christ. The story brings to life parallels between his actions and the decisions made by the founder of his religion.

***Spoilers ahead.***

After spending much time in the wilderness, Rodrigues emerges to save his sheep — the Japanese “Kakure Kirishitan” hidden Christian community. He is then betrayed by one of his own flock. Rodrigues, like Jesus, faces a crucifixion of sorts. He is taken to hell — “the pit” — and hears the groaning of the damned. In the end, quite overcome by the burden his torturers put on him — he crucifies his faith. Thereafter Rodrigues is mocked and reviled by his own kind, and named an apostate.

When the faithful face the dilemma of having to speculate on what their religious figures might do in their shoes, and religion is silent on the topic, they must write their own truths in the light of their own intelligence. Rodrigues frequently wonders about the relationship between Christ and Judas, and what might have transpired after the betrayal. In the end he plays out his own personal convictions by blessing the man who betrayed him.

A book like this, sifting the subtleties of loyalty and betrayal, will find sympathetic readers in an intolerant climate which sometimes demands one abandons aspects of one’s identity. Silence will prove thought provoking for just about any reader.