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Sachiko
In novels such as Silence, Endō Shūsaku examined the persecution of Japanese Christians in different historical eras. Sachiko, set in Nagasaki in the painful years between 1930 and 1945, is the story of two young people trying to find love during yet another period in which Japanese Christians were accused of disloyalty to their country.
In the 1930s, two young Japanese Christians, Sachiko and Shūhei, are free to play with American children in their neighborhood. But life becomes increasingly difficult for them and other Christians after Japan launches wars of aggression. Meanwhile, a Polish Franciscan priest and former missionary in Nagasaki, Father Maximillian Kolbe, is arrested after returning to his homeland. Endō alternates scenes between Nagasaki--where the growing love between Sachiko and Shūhei is imperiled by mounting persecution--and Auschwitz, where the priest has been sent. Shūhei's dilemma deepens when he faces conscription into the Japanese military, conflicting with the Christian belief that killing is a sin. With the A-bomb attack on Nagasaki looming in the distance, Endō depicts ordinary people trying to live lives of faith in a wartime situation that renders daily life increasingly unbearable. Endō's compassion for his characters, reflecting their struggles to find and share love for others, makes Sachiko one of his most moving novels.
In the 1930s, two young Japanese Christians, Sachiko and Shūhei, are free to play with American children in their neighborhood. But life becomes increasingly difficult for them and other Christians after Japan launches wars of aggression. Meanwhile, a Polish Franciscan priest and former missionary in Nagasaki, Father Maximillian Kolbe, is arrested after returning to his homeland. Endō alternates scenes between Nagasaki--where the growing love between Sachiko and Shūhei is imperiled by mounting persecution--and Auschwitz, where the priest has been sent. Shūhei's dilemma deepens when he faces conscription into the Japanese military, conflicting with the Christian belief that killing is a sin. With the A-bomb attack on Nagasaki looming in the distance, Endō depicts ordinary people trying to live lives of faith in a wartime situation that renders daily life increasingly unbearable. Endō's compassion for his characters, reflecting their struggles to find and share love for others, makes Sachiko one of his most moving novels.
432 pages, Paperback
First published March 27, 1986
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349 people want to read
About the author
Shūsaku Endō
384 books1,052 followersShusaku 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).
(from the backcover of Volcano).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 29, 2020
Man has no right to kill his brother. It is no excuse that he does so in uniform: he only adds the infamy of servitude to the crime of murder.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
An historical novel telling the touching story of two young people, Sachiko and Shūhei, who are living in Nagasaki during the second world war and whose lives threaten to be washed away like twigs on the beach by the gigantic waves of war, struggling with the particular issues and moral dilemmas of belonging to the Christian minority in a time when their nation considers their religion as unpatriotic.
Review in progress.
(***½ )
Percy Bysshe Shelley
An historical novel telling the touching story of two young people, Sachiko and Shūhei, who are living in Nagasaki during the second world war and whose lives threaten to be washed away like twigs on the beach by the gigantic waves of war, struggling with the particular issues and moral dilemmas of belonging to the Christian minority in a time when their nation considers their religion as unpatriotic.
Review in progress.
(***½ )
August 10, 2020
This is a first English translation of the author’s 1986 novel, written when he was 64. I have wanted to read his respected novel, Silence, written 20 years earlier, yet the topic of the oppression and slaughter of Christian martyrs in the early 17th century felt out of synch with my bent to tap into the transition to modernism and postmodernism in Japanese literature. This tale again deals with the oppression of Japanese Christians, although this time I was attracted to the potential of learning more about the transformations of Japanese culture during the run-up to World War 2 and struggles on the home front during the war.
Sachiko and Shuwei grow up in the vibrant Catholic community in Nagasaki, where they play with children of American missionaries and experience the wisdom, kindness, and sacrifice of Polish priests. The girl Sachiko is a good student who follows a spiritual and reserved path, while the boy Shuwei is a poor student who forever gets in trouble for his pranks. During their sojourns at an abandoned house, Sachiko develops a secret affection for the rebellious Shuwei, whereas his attachment to her is more in the realm of a sister. Years later he comes back from school more thoughtful and a budding poet, which moves her more toward love for him (despite seeing how wretched his verse is). They are rudely awakened to the dangerous trajectory their society in on from a a violent encounter with a policeman, who expresses his hatred of them as traitors in choosing the religion of their enemies and belief in a foreign god instead of revering their emperor as a living god.
I felt there was a bit too much repetition about the silence of the church over the moral conflict between Christ’s messages and support for the war. Nevertheless, the theme bears some focus. While Sachiko does her duty to work in an airplane factory and Shuwei eventually accedes to getting drafted into the navy and trained as an aviator, we are privy to the true path of love and sacrifice in the face of taken by the Polish priest Father Maximillian Kolbe. Upon returning to his homeland from Nagasaki, he gets arrested and shipped to Auschwitz, where his constant praying irritates most of the prisoners given the daily evidence that God must not exist. The preface to this book tells us that Shuwei is an amalgam in many ways of Endo and his brother during the war and that the story of Father Kolbe and his acts of martyrdom are closely biographical and the basis for his being canonized as a saint in 1982.
Any reader will naturally feel trepidation over the setting of Nagasaki. The same for the known fate of many Japanese pilots toward the end of the war. Yet Endo does not subject us to the details and experience of these tragic circumstances. He leaves it to the reader to conjure up the erasure of lives and community brought on by the war, and somehow grasp the power of love that asks nothing in return. Despite being an atheist, I found the read very moving, engaging, and not maudlin (unlike a somewhat parallel work by Gail Tsukiyama, “Street of a Thousand Blossoms”).
Today is anniversary of nuclear bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1944. It was an accident that it became the alternate target after the primary one of a more industrial city had to be skipped over due to smoke from earlier conventional bombing.
This book was provided by the publisher for review through the Netgalley program.
Sachiko and Shuwei grow up in the vibrant Catholic community in Nagasaki, where they play with children of American missionaries and experience the wisdom, kindness, and sacrifice of Polish priests. The girl Sachiko is a good student who follows a spiritual and reserved path, while the boy Shuwei is a poor student who forever gets in trouble for his pranks. During their sojourns at an abandoned house, Sachiko develops a secret affection for the rebellious Shuwei, whereas his attachment to her is more in the realm of a sister. Years later he comes back from school more thoughtful and a budding poet, which moves her more toward love for him (despite seeing how wretched his verse is). They are rudely awakened to the dangerous trajectory their society in on from a a violent encounter with a policeman, who expresses his hatred of them as traitors in choosing the religion of their enemies and belief in a foreign god instead of revering their emperor as a living god.
I felt there was a bit too much repetition about the silence of the church over the moral conflict between Christ’s messages and support for the war. Nevertheless, the theme bears some focus. While Sachiko does her duty to work in an airplane factory and Shuwei eventually accedes to getting drafted into the navy and trained as an aviator, we are privy to the true path of love and sacrifice in the face of taken by the Polish priest Father Maximillian Kolbe. Upon returning to his homeland from Nagasaki, he gets arrested and shipped to Auschwitz, where his constant praying irritates most of the prisoners given the daily evidence that God must not exist. The preface to this book tells us that Shuwei is an amalgam in many ways of Endo and his brother during the war and that the story of Father Kolbe and his acts of martyrdom are closely biographical and the basis for his being canonized as a saint in 1982.
Any reader will naturally feel trepidation over the setting of Nagasaki. The same for the known fate of many Japanese pilots toward the end of the war. Yet Endo does not subject us to the details and experience of these tragic circumstances. He leaves it to the reader to conjure up the erasure of lives and community brought on by the war, and somehow grasp the power of love that asks nothing in return. Despite being an atheist, I found the read very moving, engaging, and not maudlin (unlike a somewhat parallel work by Gail Tsukiyama, “Street of a Thousand Blossoms”).
Today is anniversary of nuclear bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1944. It was an accident that it became the alternate target after the primary one of a more industrial city had to be skipped over due to smoke from earlier conventional bombing.
This book was provided by the publisher for review through the Netgalley program.
November 23, 2024
2024 Review
Full review here. Yup, I still sobbed at the end this time!
2021 Review
Silence by Endō Shūsaku has a terrible majesty I still feel nearly three years after reading it. Sachiko is lighter, though its subject matter is still unbelievably heavy. (I cry at books all the time but this one made me sob. Silence numbed me for a while.) Endō details life on the homefront during WWII in Japan, weaving in the story of St Maximilian Kolbe. While Sachiko doesn't have the same literary power as Silence, Endō's skill is still marvelous to read.
"Through my reading of literature, I came to understand that every person has a life of real depth. Even if it seems like there's nothing in a person's exterior to recommend them, I learned that each person, along with their pains and sorrows and joys, has hopes and prayers that accumulate like a geological layer in the depths of their swamp-like core." (367)
That. That's the whole book right there. That's why I read novels in the first place. That's why I'm still not over the penultimate chapter of Sachiko. That's why the chapter in the perspective of the Auschwitz commandant still has me reeling. Who gave Endō the right to do that to my emotions??
Sachiko, our heroine, comes from a line of Kirishitans, the Christians who survived from the times depicted in Silence to this day. She grew up in the Catholic community of Nagasaki, a center for Catholicism in Japan. Ōura Church (destroyed by the atomic bomb) plays a central role in Sachiko's life, and is deeply referential to Kiku's Prayer, another Endō novel. Her interior life, from childhood to the end of the war, is the current that carries the novel along. As Sachiko comes of age, Japan enters WWII, even though it has long been at war in Asia. Though we get into the heads of other characters, Sachiko is the chain linking everything together. She is the heart of this world. The other main character, Shūhei, took a while to grow on me, and I never really loved him. The translator argues that Shūhei is highly autobiographical, and certainly his story is similar to what Endō endured during WWII. However, there seems to be some push and pull in the character, as if Endō doesn't want to put himself fully on the page through Shūhei, but allows Shūhei to wrestle with many of the questions that seem perennial in Endō's work.
Endō doesn't give Japanese Christianity a pass in Sachiko. He raises age-old questions about faith vs. nationalism, pacifism, complicity, and more through his characters. If there is ever a war of this scale in my lifetime--one with a draft--I will surely turn to Sachiko again to question alongside its characters. Unlike Silence, I can see myself re-reading Sachiko frequently. More than other WWII novels I've read recently, Sachiko stares war in the face and dares to question it.
Kolbe, though canonized and depicted with other 20th century martyrs above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, is still somewhat controversial. Before canonization, his martyrdom was contested, because he was not killed for his Christian faith. The monastery Kolbe helped establish in Nagasaki survived the atomic bomb and remains active today. Yet, his leadership style and some of his comments have left a conflicted legacy. Endō weaves all of this into the Kolbe part of the novel, showing him as a conflicted and occasionally divisive man, yet one whose belief in love surpasses all. The passages about Kolbe in Auschwitz could almost stand on their own as a novella. A few chapters, in the third-person narration of the whole book, get inside the heads of others imprisoned at Auschwitz and even a Nazi commandant. I'd never read a Holocaust story by a Japanese writer, so that angle alone fascinated me. Combined with Endō's trademark wrestling with theodicy, this portion of Sachiko is breathtaking.
Some portions of the novel seemed rather heavy-handed to me, as if the narrative voice intruded too much, nearly in didactic ways. Sachiko's keepsake box is referred to in identical terms throughout the novel with such frequency that I wondered if Sachiko was originally published in installments. I cast all this up to not being very familiar with Japanese literary conventions and styles. These portions weren't too distracting, though deeper statements made me put down the book to think for a while--not a bad thing, but it made reading go more slowly. I felt I was feasting on food for thought while reading.
Van C. Gessel's English translation of Sachiko is, I believe, the only one available, and I highly recommend it. His translation notes are sparing, so each one is useful and not distracting. I would have understood much less of Sachiko without his notes, especially not the autobiographical elements of Shūhei. Endō's note at the end makes me think Shūhei might really be autobiographical: "I'm certain that again today, Sachiko will pass by me on the street." (406) Regardless, Sachiko stands on its own as a novel, though it's not quite the masterpiece Silence is.
I recommend Sachiko to those who have sufficiently recovered from Silence to face many of the same questions in different ways, and to those who, justifiably, might not want to tackle Silence. And, of course, to anyone who wants to read about Japanese home front life during the war. I will be tracking down more Endō novels that have been translated into English. Even though I can't put myself through the film adaptation of Silence at this point, I am grateful for its release, which seems to have spurred publishers to print translations of Endō's other novels. His books seem to take place in the same universe, with references that Gessel kindly explains, and I am left thirsty for more. Or, that may be dehydration from all the crying. Either way, more Endō, please!
Full review here. Yup, I still sobbed at the end this time!
2021 Review
Silence by Endō Shūsaku has a terrible majesty I still feel nearly three years after reading it. Sachiko is lighter, though its subject matter is still unbelievably heavy. (I cry at books all the time but this one made me sob. Silence numbed me for a while.) Endō details life on the homefront during WWII in Japan, weaving in the story of St Maximilian Kolbe. While Sachiko doesn't have the same literary power as Silence, Endō's skill is still marvelous to read.
"Through my reading of literature, I came to understand that every person has a life of real depth. Even if it seems like there's nothing in a person's exterior to recommend them, I learned that each person, along with their pains and sorrows and joys, has hopes and prayers that accumulate like a geological layer in the depths of their swamp-like core." (367)
That. That's the whole book right there. That's why I read novels in the first place. That's why I'm still not over the penultimate chapter of Sachiko. That's why the chapter in the perspective of the Auschwitz commandant still has me reeling. Who gave Endō the right to do that to my emotions??
Sachiko, our heroine, comes from a line of Kirishitans, the Christians who survived from the times depicted in Silence to this day. She grew up in the Catholic community of Nagasaki, a center for Catholicism in Japan. Ōura Church (destroyed by the atomic bomb) plays a central role in Sachiko's life, and is deeply referential to Kiku's Prayer, another Endō novel. Her interior life, from childhood to the end of the war, is the current that carries the novel along. As Sachiko comes of age, Japan enters WWII, even though it has long been at war in Asia. Though we get into the heads of other characters, Sachiko is the chain linking everything together. She is the heart of this world. The other main character, Shūhei, took a while to grow on me, and I never really loved him. The translator argues that Shūhei is highly autobiographical, and certainly his story is similar to what Endō endured during WWII. However, there seems to be some push and pull in the character, as if Endō doesn't want to put himself fully on the page through Shūhei, but allows Shūhei to wrestle with many of the questions that seem perennial in Endō's work.
Endō doesn't give Japanese Christianity a pass in Sachiko. He raises age-old questions about faith vs. nationalism, pacifism, complicity, and more through his characters. If there is ever a war of this scale in my lifetime--one with a draft--I will surely turn to Sachiko again to question alongside its characters. Unlike Silence, I can see myself re-reading Sachiko frequently. More than other WWII novels I've read recently, Sachiko stares war in the face and dares to question it.
Kolbe, though canonized and depicted with other 20th century martyrs above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, is still somewhat controversial. Before canonization, his martyrdom was contested, because he was not killed for his Christian faith. The monastery Kolbe helped establish in Nagasaki survived the atomic bomb and remains active today. Yet, his leadership style and some of his comments have left a conflicted legacy. Endō weaves all of this into the Kolbe part of the novel, showing him as a conflicted and occasionally divisive man, yet one whose belief in love surpasses all. The passages about Kolbe in Auschwitz could almost stand on their own as a novella. A few chapters, in the third-person narration of the whole book, get inside the heads of others imprisoned at Auschwitz and even a Nazi commandant. I'd never read a Holocaust story by a Japanese writer, so that angle alone fascinated me. Combined with Endō's trademark wrestling with theodicy, this portion of Sachiko is breathtaking.
Some portions of the novel seemed rather heavy-handed to me, as if the narrative voice intruded too much, nearly in didactic ways. Sachiko's keepsake box is referred to in identical terms throughout the novel with such frequency that I wondered if Sachiko was originally published in installments. I cast all this up to not being very familiar with Japanese literary conventions and styles. These portions weren't too distracting, though deeper statements made me put down the book to think for a while--not a bad thing, but it made reading go more slowly. I felt I was feasting on food for thought while reading.
Van C. Gessel's English translation of Sachiko is, I believe, the only one available, and I highly recommend it. His translation notes are sparing, so each one is useful and not distracting. I would have understood much less of Sachiko without his notes, especially not the autobiographical elements of Shūhei. Endō's note at the end makes me think Shūhei might really be autobiographical: "I'm certain that again today, Sachiko will pass by me on the street." (406) Regardless, Sachiko stands on its own as a novel, though it's not quite the masterpiece Silence is.
I recommend Sachiko to those who have sufficiently recovered from Silence to face many of the same questions in different ways, and to those who, justifiably, might not want to tackle Silence. And, of course, to anyone who wants to read about Japanese home front life during the war. I will be tracking down more Endō novels that have been translated into English. Even though I can't put myself through the film adaptation of Silence at this point, I am grateful for its release, which seems to have spurred publishers to print translations of Endō's other novels. His books seem to take place in the same universe, with references that Gessel kindly explains, and I am left thirsty for more. Or, that may be dehydration from all the crying. Either way, more Endō, please!
July 30, 2020
HISTORICAL FICTION THAT DIDN'T IMPRESS ME
At first I was intrigued by this book. The theme of Christians living in Japan before and during WWII was fascinating, especially with all the difficulties and prejudices they faced. However, there was just such a disconnect between the theme and the execution that I couldn't get into it at all. I couldn't feel the emotions, the difficulties or the urgency that I was expecting.
👎 WHAT I DISLIKED 👎
Parallel stories: This book features two parallel stories. One takes place in Nagasaki and follows Sachiko and Shuhei, two childhood lovers who face the difficulties of wartime Japan. The other takes place in Auschwitz and follows a young man named Henryk and a Christian priest, Father Kolbe. Father Kolbe has been in Japan and has met Sachiko and Shuhei. But other than that the two stories don't have anything to do with each other. The have no impact on one another. And they don't merge or meet at the end, leaving me very unsatisfied.
Resolution: The best story, as far as I'm concerned, was the Auschwitz story. It had the rawest emotions and the realest people. However, that story was never actually resolved. It was just... abandoned. We never get to know what happened to the people we meet there. Most unsatisfactory.
Emotions: I was expecting so many emotions from this story - perhaps a bit understated and hidden as I have encountered in Asian literature before. I was expecting understated. I didn't expect non-existing. But that's what they were. Except for few glimpses of raw, painful emotions during the Auschwitz story, emotions were a true rarity in this book.
Characters: Neither Sachiko, Shuhei or any of the other minor characters seemed to have any real personality. They felt wooden and I never actually got a feeling for any of them. They didn't endear themselves to me.
Plot: It just didn't attract me or speak to me.
Gloss: There was something about the story that made it feel superficial. As if everything had been glossed over. Like there was an inability to dig deeper and get to the true root of the characters, the emotions or the plot.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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At first I was intrigued by this book. The theme of Christians living in Japan before and during WWII was fascinating, especially with all the difficulties and prejudices they faced. However, there was just such a disconnect between the theme and the execution that I couldn't get into it at all. I couldn't feel the emotions, the difficulties or the urgency that I was expecting.
👎 WHAT I DISLIKED 👎
Parallel stories: This book features two parallel stories. One takes place in Nagasaki and follows Sachiko and Shuhei, two childhood lovers who face the difficulties of wartime Japan. The other takes place in Auschwitz and follows a young man named Henryk and a Christian priest, Father Kolbe. Father Kolbe has been in Japan and has met Sachiko and Shuhei. But other than that the two stories don't have anything to do with each other. The have no impact on one another. And they don't merge or meet at the end, leaving me very unsatisfied.
Resolution: The best story, as far as I'm concerned, was the Auschwitz story. It had the rawest emotions and the realest people. However, that story was never actually resolved. It was just... abandoned. We never get to know what happened to the people we meet there. Most unsatisfactory.
Emotions: I was expecting so many emotions from this story - perhaps a bit understated and hidden as I have encountered in Asian literature before. I was expecting understated. I didn't expect non-existing. But that's what they were. Except for few glimpses of raw, painful emotions during the Auschwitz story, emotions were a true rarity in this book.
Characters: Neither Sachiko, Shuhei or any of the other minor characters seemed to have any real personality. They felt wooden and I never actually got a feeling for any of them. They didn't endear themselves to me.
Plot: It just didn't attract me or speak to me.
Gloss: There was something about the story that made it feel superficial. As if everything had been glossed over. Like there was an inability to dig deeper and get to the true root of the characters, the emotions or the plot.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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July 26, 2025
Van C. Gessel's excellent translation of 女の一生〈2部〉サチ子の場合 Onna no isshō 2: Sachiko no baai (A Woman's Life, Part II: Sachiko) by Shūsaku Endō. The Japanese novel was originally published in 1982; this translation in 2020.
In fact the novel is as much about Sachiko's childhood friend Shūhei, who is drafted into the Japanese navy after the government puts an end to student deferments.
Sachiko is, Gessel suggests (p.xi), the "Christ-like companion" who shares Shūhei's grief but never loses her love for him and her own faith.
If occasionally a bit didactic, cumulatively the novel is deeply moving, especially the final chapters that cut between Sachiko at her aircraft parts factory and the flight of the B-29 bomber from Tinian to Kokura--the original destination of the second atomic bomb--on to the destruction of Nagasaki; and the final, "Aftermath" chapter.
Need to go on and read 女の一生〈1部〉キクの場合 Onna no isshō 1: Kiku no baai (A Woman's Life, Part I: Kiku, translated as Kiku's Prayer: A Novel) next.
In fact the novel is as much about Sachiko's childhood friend Shūhei, who is drafted into the Japanese navy after the government puts an end to student deferments.
There wasn't anything I could do about it. I enlisted not out of duty, but out of resignation. Not from patriotism, but from fear.(p.367)He trains as a pilot and eventually joins one of the kamikaze Special Attack Units, all the while wrestling with his Christian faith, its commandment "Thou shalt not kill," and the "silence" and "negligence" of the Church that "has offered us no words of truth that would help us respond when we are faced with the predicament of having to kill another person."(p.371)
Sachiko is, Gessel suggests (p.xi), the "Christ-like companion" who shares Shūhei's grief but never loses her love for him and her own faith.
If occasionally a bit didactic, cumulatively the novel is deeply moving, especially the final chapters that cut between Sachiko at her aircraft parts factory and the flight of the B-29 bomber from Tinian to Kokura--the original destination of the second atomic bomb--on to the destruction of Nagasaki; and the final, "Aftermath" chapter.
Need to go on and read 女の一生〈1部〉キクの場合 Onna no isshō 1: Kiku no baai (A Woman's Life, Part I: Kiku, translated as Kiku's Prayer: A Novel) next.
July 23, 2021
This book... blew me away. The writing is not Endo's best, but the story and characters more than made up for it. Full review: https://classicsconsidered.com/2021/0...
February 6, 2021
This historical-based novel a couple of story concentration Nagasaki during WWII.
Starting with Maxmillian Kolbe's time building up a community of Franciscans there before he returns home, is arrested, and martyred. The telling of parts of his story is very well told and moving.
The other storyline involves some childhood friends as they grew up in this turbulent time. The semi-persecution of Christian families and the distrust of them by officials and the government. Themes of how do a Catholic react to the situation and can they really participate in the war.
Starting with Maxmillian Kolbe's time building up a community of Franciscans there before he returns home, is arrested, and martyred. The telling of parts of his story is very well told and moving.
The other storyline involves some childhood friends as they grew up in this turbulent time. The semi-persecution of Christian families and the distrust of them by officials and the government. Themes of how do a Catholic react to the situation and can they really participate in the war.
June 19, 2020
I received this free ebook as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a very powerful and moving story of the meaning of love—friend, romantic, and of mankind— set primarily in Japan during WWII. I had not read any historical fiction of WWII from the Japanese perspective so I appreciated this frame of reference. The writing is rich and engaging. Overall, a very worthwhile read.
March 16, 2022
DNF 70%
I ended up DNF-ing this book, because the parararell stories did not work for me. Because i thought other than that some of the characters has meet brifely, it did not make impact on each other. Like i had hoped, just felt very unessesary to have it like this.
I got this eARC from Netgalley.
I ended up DNF-ing this book, because the parararell stories did not work for me. Because i thought other than that some of the characters has meet brifely, it did not make impact on each other. Like i had hoped, just felt very unessesary to have it like this.
I got this eARC from Netgalley.
July 23, 2020
Synopis:
The book tells the story of two childhood friends, Sachiko and Shūhei, who grew up in Nagasaki as a minority: they were raised as Christians. The church they attend is run by a group of Polish priests that is very loving to the community, but constantly spied on by the local police. As the years pass by, everyone's life gets more difficult because of the consequences from the on-going WW2. Relationships, faith and love are all put to test while Japan's situation only gets worse.
Review:
This was my first time reading a book by Shūsaku Endō and, because of that, before starting the book I did some research on his works. Reading about his books set my expectations for Sachiko very high and I was not disappointed. Endō's ability to make me feel exactly the same emotions as the characters is something a book has not made me experience in in years.
The characters have big personalities and well built backgrounds, in a way that their actions are always justified. Shūhei was my favorite and reading about his dilemma concerning the relation between war and Christianity, the silence of the Church and his overall doubt in the religion were heartbreaking. I also loved the parallel drew between Shūhei's feelings and Martin's (the Aushwitz Adjutant) lack of feelings.
The chapters in Aushwitz were also outstanding. The lack of hope, the desperation and the agony were almost palpable. This is one thing I love about historical fiction: we already know some parts of the story, and it is amazing when the author is true to those moments and builds his narrative in a way that will create a feeling of anticipation towards certain moments. Shūsaku Endō did exactly that.
Of couse, I wouldn't have enjoyed this book so much if it wasn't for the incredible and thoughtful translation of Van C. Gessel. He translated the work into a beautiful prose, paying attention to explain his choice of words when necessary.
This was a wonderful, heartbreaking and beautiful book.. I am very thankful to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for gifting me with this e-copy in exchange for an honest review. I will post a review on Instagram on pub date, but i have already recommended it for many people and hope to continue doing so.
The book tells the story of two childhood friends, Sachiko and Shūhei, who grew up in Nagasaki as a minority: they were raised as Christians. The church they attend is run by a group of Polish priests that is very loving to the community, but constantly spied on by the local police. As the years pass by, everyone's life gets more difficult because of the consequences from the on-going WW2. Relationships, faith and love are all put to test while Japan's situation only gets worse.
Review:
This was my first time reading a book by Shūsaku Endō and, because of that, before starting the book I did some research on his works. Reading about his books set my expectations for Sachiko very high and I was not disappointed. Endō's ability to make me feel exactly the same emotions as the characters is something a book has not made me experience in in years.
The characters have big personalities and well built backgrounds, in a way that their actions are always justified. Shūhei was my favorite and reading about his dilemma concerning the relation between war and Christianity, the silence of the Church and his overall doubt in the religion were heartbreaking. I also loved the parallel drew between Shūhei's feelings and Martin's (the Aushwitz Adjutant) lack of feelings.
The chapters in Aushwitz were also outstanding. The lack of hope, the desperation and the agony were almost palpable. This is one thing I love about historical fiction: we already know some parts of the story, and it is amazing when the author is true to those moments and builds his narrative in a way that will create a feeling of anticipation towards certain moments. Shūsaku Endō did exactly that.
Of couse, I wouldn't have enjoyed this book so much if it wasn't for the incredible and thoughtful translation of Van C. Gessel. He translated the work into a beautiful prose, paying attention to explain his choice of words when necessary.
This was a wonderful, heartbreaking and beautiful book.. I am very thankful to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for gifting me with this e-copy in exchange for an honest review. I will post a review on Instagram on pub date, but i have already recommended it for many people and hope to continue doing so.
August 8, 2020
The story is based during the 1930s-1945 Nagasaki Japan. It follows the story of two young Japanese Christians Sachiko and Shuhei. Growing up as Christians in a country that sees your religion as unpatriotic, isn't easy especially when Japan is on the brink of war.
We also get introduced to Father Maximillian Kolbe a Franciscan priest and former Missionary at the start of the book, as he travels from his homeland to Nagasaki. His story takes him back to his home town where he is arrested and taken to Auschwitz.
we see Shuhei struggle with his beliefs with his looming conscription to the Japanese army, being a Christian it is a sin to kill. This was such an insightful and emotional book. There have been so many books written about WWII but I haven not read one that was from the frame of reference of Japan. This is one thing that struck me the most. The author writes about the struggle of day to day life. The constant battle with what is right and wrong. The emotions that the characters feel is palpable. You can feel the emotions leaping out of the page. The characters have been written with so much depth, and I love how there is distinct emotional divide between some of the characters. That it goes from one end of the spectrum to the other. The contrast of Nagasaki to Auschwitz, makes it hard to swallow. There are so many poignant moments in the story.
This truly is a beautiful heartbreaking tale. The translation of the book as been perfect, I can not imagine that there has been any lose of felling that the book wasn't able to get across. I definitely will read Shusaku Endo other books
We also get introduced to Father Maximillian Kolbe a Franciscan priest and former Missionary at the start of the book, as he travels from his homeland to Nagasaki. His story takes him back to his home town where he is arrested and taken to Auschwitz.
we see Shuhei struggle with his beliefs with his looming conscription to the Japanese army, being a Christian it is a sin to kill. This was such an insightful and emotional book. There have been so many books written about WWII but I haven not read one that was from the frame of reference of Japan. This is one thing that struck me the most. The author writes about the struggle of day to day life. The constant battle with what is right and wrong. The emotions that the characters feel is palpable. You can feel the emotions leaping out of the page. The characters have been written with so much depth, and I love how there is distinct emotional divide between some of the characters. That it goes from one end of the spectrum to the other. The contrast of Nagasaki to Auschwitz, makes it hard to swallow. There are so many poignant moments in the story.
This truly is a beautiful heartbreaking tale. The translation of the book as been perfect, I can not imagine that there has been any lose of felling that the book wasn't able to get across. I definitely will read Shusaku Endo other books
April 27, 2020
What is Sachiko about ? Sachiko is the story of a life, of love, faith and sacrifice. There's nothing to throw away in it. This English edition is coming out over 30 years after the release of the original japanese version, and I have no idea why it took so long to adapt it in English. However, the wait is really worth it, as the English version flows seamlessly.
True beauty is hidden in this book. Even though the plot takes place during WWII, every character is just so pure at heart, and that is completely touching.
Religion is a huge topic here. It annoyed me a little when I started reading, but I was able to understand how it's very relevant to the story, and in the end, it makes the story all the more powerful, as it is a central point of the book.
Seeing Sachiko's growth through the years and hardships is inspiring, and the way she does everything in her power to make everyone proud while trying to pursue her own dreams and want really gets you. I so wanted to hug the girl.
From childhood to elderhood (is that even a word ?), we see Japan evolve through the eyes of Sachiko, a typical woman of that era : respectful while rebelling in her own little ways, through love and faith.
Long story short : I fell in love with Sachiko, both as a character and as a book. Fans of historical fiction will definitely be head over heels for Sachiko too !
True beauty is hidden in this book. Even though the plot takes place during WWII, every character is just so pure at heart, and that is completely touching.
Religion is a huge topic here. It annoyed me a little when I started reading, but I was able to understand how it's very relevant to the story, and in the end, it makes the story all the more powerful, as it is a central point of the book.
Seeing Sachiko's growth through the years and hardships is inspiring, and the way she does everything in her power to make everyone proud while trying to pursue her own dreams and want really gets you. I so wanted to hug the girl.
From childhood to elderhood (is that even a word ?), we see Japan evolve through the eyes of Sachiko, a typical woman of that era : respectful while rebelling in her own little ways, through love and faith.
Long story short : I fell in love with Sachiko, both as a character and as a book. Fans of historical fiction will definitely be head over heels for Sachiko too !
October 9, 2020
Sachiko is a young girl growing up in Japan, learning the definition of love. A polish missionary, Father Maximillian Kolbe, befriends her and, before returning to his homeland and the Nazi concentration camps, he gives her a gift of a holy card displaying the message that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for another. She plays with two American brothers whose father works in Japan and one troubled local boy, Shuhei, who rebels daily against authority. As the years pass, the Americans leave and she finds herself daily defending Shuhei and gradually falling in love with him. World war breaks out. Fr. Kolbe is martyred at Auschwitz. The four friends head toward possible destruction: Shuhei, as a Navy pilot, the Americans as enemies, and Sachiko, as a citizen of Nagasaki. The stories of these characters are beautifully told by Endo Shusaku. Through their thoughts God and religion, the morality of war and degrees of love are discussed and debated throughout this work. The ideas stated will remain with this reader for a long time.
March 27, 2021
Incredible. Deeply moving and deeply thought provoking. Endō writes of the life of Sachiko and that of Father Kolbe who it briefly intersected with. An exploration of humanity, ethics, love and loss.
September 13, 2020
Set mainly in Nagasaki between 1930 and 1945, this thought-provoking novel tells the story of two young people coming of age in a difficult time for Japanese Christians. Sachiko and Shuhei grow up as part of a Catholic community and as children are free to play happily with the children of American missionaries and mix with the Polish monks also in the city. But they find their Christian beliefs increasingly coming under scrutiny as war approaches. Can a Japanese Christian also be a loyal subject? Japanese Christians were frequently persecuted and treated with suspicion. Shuhei in particular also wrestles with his Christian beliefs. His faith tells him that killing is wrong. His country wants to send him to kill. As he faces conscription, he has to somehow reconcile his beliefs with his duty to his nation. The Church seems to be unable to offer him either guidance or solace. A second strand of the novel follows a Polish Franciscan priest who leaves his monastery in Nagasaki and returns to Poland where a grim fate awaits him in Auschwitz. We follow his own commitment to his faith. The novel is throughout a meditation on and exploration of Christian beliefs, a subject which Endo has explored before, primarily in his novel Silence, and he was a leading Christian writer (1923-1996) in Japan. I found the novel an interesting read, not least because I knew very little about the Japanese Christian community, but I found the characterisation rather flat and in spite of their harrowing experiences, always felt on the outside looking in rather than relating to and identifying with the protagonists. A novel of ideas rather than character, but none the less enjoyable for that.
April 14, 2020
An historical tale of love set in the 1930s, Sachiko charts the lives of two young Japanese Christians, Sachiko and Shūhei, aswell as those of a pair of Polish missionaries in Nagasaki. As political tensions rise, the characters face persecution; making their daily lives unbearable and challenging their faith.
Whilst Shusaku's novel is impeccably researched and impressively far-reaching- the focus splits between Nagasaki and Auschwitz- I found the narration quite alienating.
To begin with, It's delivery appears over-worked and deliberate;
" At a Yakitiri street stall jammed among many others along the riverbank, Detectives Kaneda and Ono were chomping on Yakitori skewers and watching the old chef wash up his cooking utensils."
Whilst the use of verbs feels self-conscious, the selection of adjectives is limited and immature. I'm uncertain how many different aspects of a setting should be described as gloomy but I'm fairly sure that it is fewer than there are here with: " something gloomy lurking beneath the city";"gloomy-looking houses"; "the mood of everyone (being) gloomy" as they are unable "to escape the surge of this gloomy fate".
Rather than immersing the reader in the pages, it feels like a walk through a story-plot that keeps you at arms length; over-telling in an 'in-case-you-missed-that' kind of way. Whether this is because the author's original words have been somewhat lost in translation or if it's because he doesn't trust the reader to interpret his intentions correctly, I don't know but it is uncomfortable.
Furthermore, I quickly became frustrated with both the descriptive passages and the dialogue which, for me, fall at the first 'show don't tell' hurdle of writing:
"So it's the same as caring about us, huh?"
"Well, yes it's the same. But caring very deeply about someone is called love."
"Then, Kiku..." to satisfy her own curiosity, and to see her mother's reaction, Sachiko asked, "Then Kiko loved Seikichi, didn't she?"
Her mother said nothing.
"She did, didn't she? She really loved him."
With a peculiar look on her face, Sachiko's mother gave no response. She wasn't sure whether Sachiko was innocent and understood nothing, or whether she was mocking her mother."
Nevertheless, my thanks to netgalley, the publisher and the author for sharing a copy with me in return for my honest opinion.
Whilst Shusaku's novel is impeccably researched and impressively far-reaching- the focus splits between Nagasaki and Auschwitz- I found the narration quite alienating.
To begin with, It's delivery appears over-worked and deliberate;
" At a Yakitiri street stall jammed among many others along the riverbank, Detectives Kaneda and Ono were chomping on Yakitori skewers and watching the old chef wash up his cooking utensils."
Whilst the use of verbs feels self-conscious, the selection of adjectives is limited and immature. I'm uncertain how many different aspects of a setting should be described as gloomy but I'm fairly sure that it is fewer than there are here with: " something gloomy lurking beneath the city";"gloomy-looking houses"; "the mood of everyone (being) gloomy" as they are unable "to escape the surge of this gloomy fate".
Rather than immersing the reader in the pages, it feels like a walk through a story-plot that keeps you at arms length; over-telling in an 'in-case-you-missed-that' kind of way. Whether this is because the author's original words have been somewhat lost in translation or if it's because he doesn't trust the reader to interpret his intentions correctly, I don't know but it is uncomfortable.
Furthermore, I quickly became frustrated with both the descriptive passages and the dialogue which, for me, fall at the first 'show don't tell' hurdle of writing:
"So it's the same as caring about us, huh?"
"Well, yes it's the same. But caring very deeply about someone is called love."
"Then, Kiku..." to satisfy her own curiosity, and to see her mother's reaction, Sachiko asked, "Then Kiko loved Seikichi, didn't she?"
Her mother said nothing.
"She did, didn't she? She really loved him."
With a peculiar look on her face, Sachiko's mother gave no response. She wasn't sure whether Sachiko was innocent and understood nothing, or whether she was mocking her mother."
Nevertheless, my thanks to netgalley, the publisher and the author for sharing a copy with me in return for my honest opinion.
July 17, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
History calmly casts off those who are useless, who have no worth.
This book, published in Japanese in 1986, follows Sachiko and Shūhei, childhood friends who come of age during the Second World War in Nagasaki. Now finally translated into English, this novel, like many of Endō’s other works, is rooted in a Christian community in Japan.
Sachiko and Shūhei, raised Catholic, both form connections to a Polish missionary, Father Kolbe, who stays in Nagasaki for a few years during their early childhood. He leaves a deep impression on the pair, especially Sachiko, who remains a devoted practicing Catholic into adulthood.
At the height of the war, Father Kolbe ends up in Auschwitz, where he maintains his selflessness and strives to bring love to the darkest of places. While Father Kolbe endures the worst of hardships, Shūhei tries to reconcile his faith with his duty to his country. As the end of the draft deferment for students looms over him, Shūhei searches for answers from various sources, including Sachiko herself. Their relationship slowly blossoms into more than a childhood friendship. As Sachiko and Shūhei tackle difficult personal questions, the certain fate of Nagasaki looms over them, of which the characters are completely ignorant.
The clash of religion and nationalism is strong throughout this entire book, as is the question of the morality of war itself. Father Kolbe’s experience in Auschwitz with various other characters also poses important questions about the limits and ethics of self-preservation. Endō weaves these themes carefully into this love and coming of age story.
In this world, any who believed in love were slaughtered, and none who tried to love others could be allowed to live.
I found this book to be haunting in its content and breathtaking in its prose. The chapters from inside Auschwitz were claustrophobic. I had to put this book down in order to breathe again after certain passages.
This is a book I will be thinking about for a long time, which is something I am always searching for in my reading. While this is another historical fiction book set in WWII, it comes from a different perspective, and is also a classic that is newly available to English audiences.
History calmly casts off those who are useless, who have no worth.
This book, published in Japanese in 1986, follows Sachiko and Shūhei, childhood friends who come of age during the Second World War in Nagasaki. Now finally translated into English, this novel, like many of Endō’s other works, is rooted in a Christian community in Japan.
Sachiko and Shūhei, raised Catholic, both form connections to a Polish missionary, Father Kolbe, who stays in Nagasaki for a few years during their early childhood. He leaves a deep impression on the pair, especially Sachiko, who remains a devoted practicing Catholic into adulthood.
At the height of the war, Father Kolbe ends up in Auschwitz, where he maintains his selflessness and strives to bring love to the darkest of places. While Father Kolbe endures the worst of hardships, Shūhei tries to reconcile his faith with his duty to his country. As the end of the draft deferment for students looms over him, Shūhei searches for answers from various sources, including Sachiko herself. Their relationship slowly blossoms into more than a childhood friendship. As Sachiko and Shūhei tackle difficult personal questions, the certain fate of Nagasaki looms over them, of which the characters are completely ignorant.
The clash of religion and nationalism is strong throughout this entire book, as is the question of the morality of war itself. Father Kolbe’s experience in Auschwitz with various other characters also poses important questions about the limits and ethics of self-preservation. Endō weaves these themes carefully into this love and coming of age story.
In this world, any who believed in love were slaughtered, and none who tried to love others could be allowed to live.
I found this book to be haunting in its content and breathtaking in its prose. The chapters from inside Auschwitz were claustrophobic. I had to put this book down in order to breathe again after certain passages.
This is a book I will be thinking about for a long time, which is something I am always searching for in my reading. While this is another historical fiction book set in WWII, it comes from a different perspective, and is also a classic that is newly available to English audiences.
May 26, 2020
Sachiko provides an interesting and fact based account of the life of a young person who survived the bombing of Nagasaki. War is a tragedy and many atrocities on both sides occur. It is horrific reading the account of this young woman and the years that followed. She truly was never able to escape the tragedy of her youth experiences. Many will fault the United States for its bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, this story is just one side of the tragedy. The U.S. was unfortunately lured into the war with Japan and the Japanese were no easy enemy. Their treatment of U.S. POW's who were also drafted citizens, their own citizens, and the inhumane bombing of Pearl Harbor among others was atrocious. Japan had to be stopped. It is a good read and has its place in a balanced account of the Pacific theater of WWII.
September 5, 2020
This novel may be slow for some readers but I appreciated the pace. I think the realism of the subdued dialogue and slower pace accurately reflect the way that the Japanese handle relationships (especially 50+ years ago). Although there weren't any surprises in this novel (since we all know the history), I liked the characters of Shusaku and Sachiko and wasn't sure how their story would end. Endo links the story of Shusaku and Sachiko's lives to their friendships with American children and a Polish minister which expand the scope of the novel. This was the first Endo book that I've read but it definitely won't be the last.
July 31, 2020
Posting here as I can't find the English translated version, which will be released in August 2020. I received it from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This was a wonderful telling of a story, tying together childhood friends from Nagasaki in a pre-WWII setting and also brings in Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Definitely worth a read.
July 24, 2019
日本の第二次世界大戦とそれに巻き込まれ、そして宗教の教えと戦争の矛盾を葛藤する二人の主人公。戦争の惨さ、そして国家に支配される人々。これも戦争の酷い話をクリスチャンの視点からの話。
December 8, 2021
Sublime.
August 19, 2020
*I received a free ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sachiko is the tale of two Japanese Christians from Nagasaki, Sachiko and Shuhei, told in the years leading up to and during WWII. Readers are also introduced to several Polish monks in Nagasaki at the beginning of the novel which later provides a path for Endo to write from Father Kolbe’s perspective in Auschwitz.
While I found the beginning of the novel delightful and had high hopes overall, it sadly lost a lot of steam about halfway through. I enjoyed Sachiko’s story from the beginning and the scenes taking place at Auschwitz were quite heavy and emotional, but Shuhei’s story really failed to interest me. I found him unlikable, which is unfortunate considering I felt the narrative shifted to make him the primary character towards the middle of the story. The moderate pacing from the earlier parts of the novel eventually turned to plodding, with a lot of the chapters feeling repetitive. There was quite a lot of focus on the character’s feelings about the war and how they could not reconcile them with Christianity which took up a large chunk of the narrative. Unfortunately, the reader was not meant to feel this but rather told this.
This novel really would have benefited from being trimmed down. While it is still an interesting read, it ends up being bogged down by repetition and mundane details that do not serve to advance the overall plot. While I would certainly be willing to give Shusako Endo another try, I think it will be a while before I pick up another of his novels.
I would recommend this book for anyone who has a vested interest in WWII, particularly from a Japanese perspective.
Sachiko is the tale of two Japanese Christians from Nagasaki, Sachiko and Shuhei, told in the years leading up to and during WWII. Readers are also introduced to several Polish monks in Nagasaki at the beginning of the novel which later provides a path for Endo to write from Father Kolbe’s perspective in Auschwitz.
While I found the beginning of the novel delightful and had high hopes overall, it sadly lost a lot of steam about halfway through. I enjoyed Sachiko’s story from the beginning and the scenes taking place at Auschwitz were quite heavy and emotional, but Shuhei’s story really failed to interest me. I found him unlikable, which is unfortunate considering I felt the narrative shifted to make him the primary character towards the middle of the story. The moderate pacing from the earlier parts of the novel eventually turned to plodding, with a lot of the chapters feeling repetitive. There was quite a lot of focus on the character’s feelings about the war and how they could not reconcile them with Christianity which took up a large chunk of the narrative. Unfortunately, the reader was not meant to feel this but rather told this.
This novel really would have benefited from being trimmed down. While it is still an interesting read, it ends up being bogged down by repetition and mundane details that do not serve to advance the overall plot. While I would certainly be willing to give Shusako Endo another try, I think it will be a while before I pick up another of his novels.
I would recommend this book for anyone who has a vested interest in WWII, particularly from a Japanese perspective.
September 8, 2020
Emotionally moving and thought provoking.
Sachiko is a dual timeline novel, one about two Japanese Christians, Sachiko and Shūhei, told in the years leading up to and during WWII and the second follows a Polish priest eventually sent to Auschwitz.
Both timelines were capturing but both hit differently. Through the perspective of Sachiko and Shūhei, readers can grasp the discrimination Japanese Christians faced for following a 'foreign religion' or the 'enemy religion', at a time when patriotism was highly regarded in the Japan. For the timeline in Auschwitz, it was just the most raw and explicit narration I've ever read of Auschwitz. If you cried during The Tattooist of Auschwitz you are going to need a moment to catch your breath with this one. I can't express how impressed I am that this novel is not only an English translation but originally written in 1986 when the author was 64. The research and the way he portrays Auschwitz 100% surpasses some novels I've read.
Why this novel lost some stars is because Sachiko and Shūhei's timeline started dragging on for a bit and I wish there was more depth to their characters and story. As for the Auschwitz perspective, it literally stopped. It was as if it got forgotten. So there is no closure to what happens to the characters in that timeline, which was very disappointing.
Overall, this story has left an imprint on me. I recommend this to WWII historical fiction readers who are looking to learn and remember. I look forward to reading Endo other works.
Thank you Columbia University Press for accepting my request through Netgalley to read Sachiko in exchange for an honest review.
Sachiko is a dual timeline novel, one about two Japanese Christians, Sachiko and Shūhei, told in the years leading up to and during WWII and the second follows a Polish priest eventually sent to Auschwitz.
Both timelines were capturing but both hit differently. Through the perspective of Sachiko and Shūhei, readers can grasp the discrimination Japanese Christians faced for following a 'foreign religion' or the 'enemy religion', at a time when patriotism was highly regarded in the Japan. For the timeline in Auschwitz, it was just the most raw and explicit narration I've ever read of Auschwitz. If you cried during The Tattooist of Auschwitz you are going to need a moment to catch your breath with this one. I can't express how impressed I am that this novel is not only an English translation but originally written in 1986 when the author was 64. The research and the way he portrays Auschwitz 100% surpasses some novels I've read.
Why this novel lost some stars is because Sachiko and Shūhei's timeline started dragging on for a bit and I wish there was more depth to their characters and story. As for the Auschwitz perspective, it literally stopped. It was as if it got forgotten. So there is no closure to what happens to the characters in that timeline, which was very disappointing.
Overall, this story has left an imprint on me. I recommend this to WWII historical fiction readers who are looking to learn and remember. I look forward to reading Endo other works.
Thank you Columbia University Press for accepting my request through Netgalley to read Sachiko in exchange for an honest review.
September 15, 2022
'Sachiko' is a beautiful story that I had to take breaks from.
The first half of the book focuses more on the story of Polish missionaries in Japan before the start of WWII. It's interesting but a very slow start that makes you wonder why the book is named 'Sachiko' at all. Then a large part brings you inside Auschwitz - to be honest I'm not sure I would have started the book if I'd known how much detail the first part of the book imagines what happened to Maximilian Kolbe after he left Japan and the effect he had on others during the years he was there. If that was something you were interested in reading an account of, I would really reccomend this book. Endo took me outside of Kolbe, outside of Sachiko and really tried to understand the breath of humanity involved in such a terrible event.
The second half of the book is a very 'Japanese' love story that maybe isn't so understandable in the modern day. The characters struggle with their position in the world as Christians who are forced to kill and support other people killing others. They face discrimination and find love anyway. The story isn't always happy but it is realistic and moving - Endo uses his characters to explore a lot of very wide topics.
The story may not be something a modern audience can enjoy - which is something the author admits through the epilogue. This isn't Endo's best work but I'm so happy I read it.
The first half of the book focuses more on the story of Polish missionaries in Japan before the start of WWII. It's interesting but a very slow start that makes you wonder why the book is named 'Sachiko' at all. Then a large part brings you inside Auschwitz - to be honest I'm not sure I would have started the book if I'd known how much detail the first part of the book imagines what happened to Maximilian Kolbe after he left Japan and the effect he had on others during the years he was there. If that was something you were interested in reading an account of, I would really reccomend this book. Endo took me outside of Kolbe, outside of Sachiko and really tried to understand the breath of humanity involved in such a terrible event.
The second half of the book is a very 'Japanese' love story that maybe isn't so understandable in the modern day. The characters struggle with their position in the world as Christians who are forced to kill and support other people killing others. They face discrimination and find love anyway. The story isn't always happy but it is realistic and moving - Endo uses his characters to explore a lot of very wide topics.
The story may not be something a modern audience can enjoy - which is something the author admits through the epilogue. This isn't Endo's best work but I'm so happy I read it.
February 23, 2021
Overall engaging story about faith, love, culture and WWII history. Agree that the characters were a little flat and the story dragged at certain points. Still found it an engrossing and quick read. The inclusion of St Maximilian Kolbe's story perhaps felt a little disjointed at times with the story of Sachiko and Shuhei, but it did make sense as a way to depict a broader view of the war along with the themes of love and charity to our neighbors - how even seemingly minor interactions with our fellow humans can have a greater impact than we realize. Including Kolbe's story shows how light and hope can still exist even during a destructive and bleak era.
Note: There are a couple of instances where the wording incorrectly described Catholic beliefs and/or practices. While a non-Catholic may not catch these poorly worded phrases, they are jarringly incorrect to a Catholic and would never be used by a Catholic to describe those beliefs and/or practices. My guess it is an issue with the translation or due to the translator's lack of understanding of Catholicism.
Note: There are a couple of instances where the wording incorrectly described Catholic beliefs and/or practices. While a non-Catholic may not catch these poorly worded phrases, they are jarringly incorrect to a Catholic and would never be used by a Catholic to describe those beliefs and/or practices. My guess it is an issue with the translation or due to the translator's lack of understanding of Catholicism.
February 4, 2021
Rating 3.5 stars
Mainly set in Nagasaki between 1930s and the dropping of the A bomb and Auschwitz. In Nagasaki we followed Sachiko and Shuhei, two young Japanese Christians, as they grow up. In the case of Shuhei, he goes off to college before being called up to military duty. However Shūhei’s faces the dilemma when he is conscripted into the Japanese air force, as his Christian belief conflicts with the orders to kill. We also get a few chapters following Father Kolbe after he returns to his homeland of Poland. He is arrested and sent to Auschwitz. We then see the effect he has on the other prisoners with his Christian beliefs and also we see the situation from one of the officers at the camp as he processes the people coming in.
It is an interesting story, but somehow even though it is set during trying times for those involved, it seems to lack the emotion of the situation, even when the bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, when we read about the choice Shuhei makes or at Auschwitz; something is missing. At times there are repeated references to a box the Sachiko keeps her letters in and also poems keep getting repeated - bit of a grind at times.
There are footnotes throughout the book explaining the history or culture of Japan, which I found useful.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.
Mainly set in Nagasaki between 1930s and the dropping of the A bomb and Auschwitz. In Nagasaki we followed Sachiko and Shuhei, two young Japanese Christians, as they grow up. In the case of Shuhei, he goes off to college before being called up to military duty. However Shūhei’s faces the dilemma when he is conscripted into the Japanese air force, as his Christian belief conflicts with the orders to kill. We also get a few chapters following Father Kolbe after he returns to his homeland of Poland. He is arrested and sent to Auschwitz. We then see the effect he has on the other prisoners with his Christian beliefs and also we see the situation from one of the officers at the camp as he processes the people coming in.
It is an interesting story, but somehow even though it is set during trying times for those involved, it seems to lack the emotion of the situation, even when the bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, when we read about the choice Shuhei makes or at Auschwitz; something is missing. At times there are repeated references to a box the Sachiko keeps her letters in and also poems keep getting repeated - bit of a grind at times.
There are footnotes throughout the book explaining the history or culture of Japan, which I found useful.
I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.
May 15, 2020
DNF. Though I really wanted to like this book, as I thought it would give me an insight into a facet of Japan's history that I was unfamiliar with, I found the writing a little too plodding and demonstrative to allow me to become invested in the story. Perhaps it was the translation, but that made it hard to enjoy the story the way I would have liked to.
March 17, 2025
No Silence, that’s for sure. I was put off by the juvenile writing (which might be in part poor translation) and then I was outraged by a facile and puerile account of Auschwitz. Done.
November 4, 2025
“each person, along with their pains and sorrows and joys, has hopes and prayers that accumulate like a geological layer in the depths of their swamp-like core. Killing a person isn’t simply a matter of taking his life away. It’s unconscionably wiping out that person’s earnest hopes and prayers.”
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