Book Review: THE FINAL MARTYRS by Shusaku Endo

The Final Martyrs by Shūsaku Endō
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"I have the impression that trees and rocks and even postcards saturated with the thoughts of men must all speak to one another in hushed voices."

"The Final Martyrs" is the title of the first short story in this collection containing 11 powerful short stories, three of which moved me to tears.

"The Final Martyrs" is itself very familiar... as it was the germ of what later became Endo's most famous novel, "Silence."

I read the short books while queuing in the hospital for a long overdue physical checkup.

Going to the hospital can be a deeply reflective activity, as it is a place of absolutes, where the order of the day is literally life and death. One can't help but think existential thoughts when one is surrounded by extremes in health and illness, and Endo happened to suit the occasion perfectly. In fact, quite a few of the stories here take place in graveyards and hospitals.

This is my third Endo book, but it was my first time to read his shorter works. And I was surprised to find that the shorter form affected the heart more powerfully than the longer novels. The themes may be more fully fleshed out in SILENCE and THE SAMURAI, but there is much to said for brevity's concentrated impact.

Endo is a Catholic writer who captures the pain of growing up as part of a minority group where his faith used to be outlawed, punishable by torture and death. Like the best composers, Endo has written literary variations on a single theme, each grain containing an entire soul's universe. Incorporating autobiographical elements as well as historical figures like Kolbe and real Japanese martyrs, to read Endo is to experience the communion of saints in an almost palpable manner. How fortunate I feel, that his books have cast this shadow "in the river of my life."(a favorite Endo phrase)

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