{"product_id":"9781805330387","title":"The Samurai by Shusaku Endo","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Serious, theologically-charged fiction of the highest quality: full, bleak, richly particular'\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 1980 Noma Literary Prize - a darkly absorbing portrayal of the first Japanese voyage across the Pacific, by the author of Silence\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 17th-century Japan, a diplomatic mission sets sail for the West. Among those facing the combined perils of the sea and foreign courts are ambitious Spanish missionary Pedro Velasco, and Hasekura Rokuemon, a disregarded samurai determined to recover his family's standing. They travel to Mexico City, Rome and back - but Japan's new rulers are persecuting Christians, and if the men survive the journey, they may not survive their homecoming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis true story of courage and endurance is told with Endo's signature power and simplicity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTranslated by Van C. Gessel.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e SHUSAKU ENDO (1923-1996) was one of the greatest novelists of postwar Japan. Baptised as a Roman Catholic as a child, his work explores the relationship between East and West from his unique perspective as a Japanese Christian. Endo won the Akutagawa Prize and the Yomiuri Literary Prize, was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times, and received an Order of the Culture from the Japanese government. Among his other novels are \u003ci\u003eDeep River, The Sea and Poison,\u003c\/i\u003e and his masterpiece \u003ci\u003eSilence\u003c\/i\u003e, all published by or forthcoming from Pushkin Press.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e VAN C. GESSEL (b. 1950) is the former Dean of the College of Humanities at Brigham Young University, and the foremost translator into English of the work of Shusaku Endo. He holds a doctorate in Japanese literature from Columbia University, and in 2018 received Japan's Order of the Rising Sun for his contribution as a translator of Japanese literature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307704463733,"sku":"9781805330387","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805330387.jpg?v=1762804976","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9781805330387","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}