From the author of Silence, this powerful novel of ideas is also a sensitive and moving depiction of the trials of old age, set in the central region of Japan. With two masterly portraits of two men who have lived their lives—both physically and metaphorically—under the shadow of the Akadeke volcano, this crucial work in Endo's oeuvre charts the conflicts between them, which have explosive results. This is the first paperback edition of one of Endo's greatest works.
Author
Shusaku Endo (遠藤周作), born in Tokyo in 1923, was raised by his mother and an aunt in Kobe where he converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of eleven. At Tokyo's Keio University he majored in French literature, graduating BA in 1949, before furthering his studies in French Catholic literature at the University of Lyon in France between 1950 and 1953. A major theme running through his books, which have been translated into many languages, including English, French, Russian and Swedish, is the failure of Japanese soil to nurture the growth of Christianity. Before his death in 1996, Endo was the recipient of a number of outstanding Japanese literary awards: the Akutagawa Prize, Mainichi Cultural Prize, Shincho Prize, and Tanizaki Prize. (from the backcover of Volcano).
