SILENCE

Jesuit priest Sebastian Rodrigues sets sail for Japan in 1640, full of idealistic fire. But the cold land he arrives in has no place for missionaries: the Tokugawa shogunate has banned Christianity, and believers face torture and execution. Living in hiding, leading worship in secret, Rodrigues begins to question the true meaning of compassion – and the limits of his own belief. This stunning work of historical fiction – introduced by Martin Scorsese, who adapted it into a film – is one of literature’s deepest explorations of doubt, fellowship, and enduring faith.