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

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.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction: Silence in the World Mark W. Dennis (Texas Christian University, USA) and Darren J. N. Middleton (Texas Christian University, USA) Part One: Background and Reception 1. Before Silence: Stumbling Along with Rodrigues and Kichijiro Kevin M. Doak (Georgetown University, USA) 2. Silence on Opposite Shores: Critical Reactions to the Novel in Japan and the West Van C. Gessel (Brigham Young University, USA) 3. The 'Formality' of the fumie?: A Re-consideration of the Role of the fumie in Silence Mark Williams (University of Leeds, UK) 4. Endo and Greene's Literary Theology Darren J. N. Middleton (Texas Christian University, USA) 5. Charting Endo's Catholic Literary Aesthetic Mark Bosco, S.J. (Loyola University, Chicago, USA) 6. Forbidden Ships to Chartered Tours: Endo, Apostasy, and Globalization Christopher B. Wachal (Marquette University, Milwaukee, USA) Part Two: Christianity and Buddhism 7. The Catholic Shift East: The Case of Japan Christal Whelan (Independent Scholar and Filmmaker) 8. Agape Unbound in Silence and Deep River Elizabeth Cameron Galbraith (St. Olaf College, USA) 9. Discerning the Marshland of This World: Silence from a Japanese Buddhist Perspective Dennis Hirota (Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan) 10. A Buddhist Reading of the Blue Eyes of Jesus in Silence Mark W. Dennis (Texas Christian University, USA) Part Three: Endo's Theology 11. Literature as Dohansha in Silence Jeff Keuss (Seattle Pacific University, USA) 12. Is Abjection a Virtue?: Silence and the Trauma of Apostasy Dennis Washburn (Dartmouth College, USA) 13. 'And Like the Sea God was Silent': Multivalent Water Imagery in Silence” Frances McCormack (National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland) 14. Laughter Out of Place: Risibility as Resistance and Hidden Transcript in Silence Jacqueline Bussie (Concordia College, USA) Part Four: Teaching Silence 15. Silence in the Classroom John Kaltner (Rhodes College, USA) Part Five: Later Adaptations 16. Silence, a play Steven Dietz 17. Silence, a film Martin Scorsese Contributors For Further Reading Index

About the Author :
Mark W. Dennis is Associate Professor of East Asian Religions at Texas Christian University, USA. Darren J. N. Middleton is Professor of Literature and Theology at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He is the author of three books, including Theology after Reading: Christian Imagination and the Power of Fiction (2008), as well as four edited volumes on religion, literature and film.

Review :
Approaching Silence is an anthology of essays (and one play) edited by Darren J. N. Middleton and Mark W. Dennis that explores the possible interpretations of the novel; it serves as a fitting prelude to the long-awaited Scorsese film of Silence that is due for release in the US in November. A deeply rewarding book. A great contribution, with a fine collection of Endo scholars thinking candidly about the intense consciousness of problems in approaching Silence (original titled Scent of the Sunny Spot). The inter-disciplinary approaches and the range of issues discussed are diverse, complementary with each other, and effectively constitute the book as a coherent intellectual project. Recommended.