Shusaku Endo

An early novel written some 30 years ago, The Girl I Left Behind tells of the choices made by young adults who are learning who they are and what they want in life. Endo's compact, emotionally lacerating novel Silence is currently being made into a film by Martin Scorsese.

Silence is a 1966 novel of historical fiction by Japanese author Shūsaku Endō. It is the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th century Japan, who endures persecution in the time of Kakure Kirishitan that followed the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion. The recipient of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize, it has been called …