Audiobooks by Shusaku Endo

Portraits of a Mother: A Novella and Stories

"Shusaku Endo (1923-1996), widely considered one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, is known for his historical novels, which masterfully probe the encounters between the cultures and religions of East and West from a Japanese Catholic perspective. A salient and curious theme in his work is the unique image of a maternal God, and a concomitant sense of loss and longing for maternal love. Confronting the Shadows, the semiautobiographical novella discovered at the Endo Museum in Nagasaki in 2020, is the author's most personal work and constitutes the interpretive key to his entire oeuvre. Translated into English here for the first time, it tells the story of Suguro, an aspiring novelist who was separated from his mother after his parents' divorce. Desperate to understand the woman his mother was, he sets out to retrace her footsteps, only to find himself face to face with his own demons. Accompanying the novella are five stories; exploring complex truths in uncomplicated prose, each tale discloses the intricacies of the sacred feminine and the apprehensions and joys of familial love. Endo once again beams bright light on the hidden corners of the human heart in this intimate and remarkable new collection."

Shusaku Endo (Author), David Shih (Narrator)

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[German] - Silence (Ungekürzte Lesung)

"SILENCE (dt.Schweigen) ist der wichtigste Roman des gefeierten japanischen Autors Shusaku Endo. Er verursachte nach seiner Veröffentlichung im Jahr 1966 eine große Kontroverse in Japan. Shusaku Endo, ein japanischer Katholik, erzählt die Geschichte zweier portugiesischer Missionare, die im siebzehnten Jahrhundert in Japan versuchen, die dortige unterdrückte christliche Bewegung zu unterstützen. 1638 bricht Pater Sebastião Rodrigues nach Japan auf, um der Wahrheit hinter den undenkbaren Gerüchten, dass sein berühmter Lehrer Ferreira seinem Glauben abgeschworen habe, nachzugehen. Nach seiner Ankunft erlebt er die brutale und unmenschliche Verfolgung der Christen. Angesichts der Ereignisse in einer Gesellschaft, die keine Toleranz kennt und in der der Tod an der Tagesordung ist, stellt der Autor die immerwährende Frage: Wie kann Gott zu all dem schweigen?"

Shusaku Endo (Author), Benno Fürmann (Narrator)

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