- Paperback: 254 pages
- Publisher: Peter Owen Ltd; 2nd Revised edition edition (31 Oct 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0720614309
- ISBN-13: 978-0720614305
- Product Dimensions: 18.2 x 12.4 x 2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 423,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
Volcano demonstrates that the novelist can be a poet as well as a biographer, shaping and colouring people and places to suit a transforming, individual vision of life. --Sunday Times
His virtues could be seen as old-fashioned ones plot, character, motive, moral confrontation. But such virtues have a place in fiction, and Endo gives them new life. --Anthony Thwaite, New York Times Review of Books
A most intelligent and distinguished work --Allan Massie, Scotsman
His virtues could be seen as old-fashioned ones plot, character, motive, moral confrontation. But such virtues have a place in fiction, and Endo gives them new life. --Anthony Thwaite, New York Times Review of Books
A most intelligent and distinguished work --Allan Massie, Scotsman
His virtues could be seen as old-fashioned ones plot, character, motive, moral confrontation. But such virtues have a place in fiction, and Endo gives them new life. --Anthony Thwaite, New York Times Review of Books
A most intelligent and distinguished work --Allan Massie, Scotsman
His virtues could be seen as old-fashioned ones plot, character, motive, moral confrontation. But such virtues have a place in fiction, and Endo gives them new life. --Anthony Thwaite, New York Times Review of Books
A most intelligent and distinguished work --Allan Massie, Scotsman
Product Description
A significant work in Shusako Endo s oeuvre, Volcano is a powerful novel of ideas as well as 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 famous Akadeke volcano, Endo s novel charts the conflicts between them which have explosive results and poses profound questions about man s relationship with nature. Rich in symbolism and enhanced by two of the author s most remarkable characters, Volcano is unforgettable. This is the first paperback edition of one of Endo s finest works of fiction.
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3 reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Do not go gently into that good night
1 Jan 2003
Format:Hardcover
This is a rather short novel about three different entities dealing with their retiring years. One of the entities is the director of a provencial Japanese weather station who is the local expert on a dormant volcano. Another is an apostate Catholic Priest who senses that his life ceased its' meaning when he ceased his calling. The last entity is the volcano itself. Although we don't sense a personality to the volcano, it is a metaphor to the other two; is there life left in it or has it spent all it had already.
There is a good deal of reflection by the two human characters about their lives. The director discovers that his obsession with the volcano cost him the love of his family. The apostate priest is "tolerated" in his declining years. He is obsessed with proving his theory that Japanese culture is incompatable with Christianity. He bases this on his theory that Japanese do not sense guilt as Western cultures do. Thus Christ's death on the cross loses its' meaning.
We read on in hopes for an epiphany of sorts that would allow the two men to resurrect their lives. In the end we are left only wondering about the future of one of the entities.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The Volcano in Man's Heart
5 April 2011
Format:Paperback
This book centers around four main characters and their relationship to a supposedly inactive volcano named Akadake. The volcano takes on a personality of its own, and it seems that it is a picture of a sin and evil. Father Sato, one of the characters in the book, says that "We can think of Akadake as a symbol of the thing that we call sin." (168) Even though people in the story may not realize it, or may not want to realize it, the volcano is actually active. In the same way, even though a person may not realize it, or may not want to realize it, the human heart is corrupt.
Jinpei Suda, who just retired from the Weather Bureau, is an expert on Akadake. He has been convinced that it is no longer active based on previous studies and his own work during his career. He has built up a reputation in his field based on Akadake. However, shortly after his retirement his life goes into a tailspin- his health, his family, and perhaps even his long-held theories on Akadake are about to go out the window. Just as Suda's life is revealed for what it really is, the volcano gives signs that it is not inactive.
Durand is a bitter and cynical excommunicated priest who is convinced that the people of Japan cannot understand the concept of sin and redemption. He is also convinced that Akadake will erupt and destroy a retreat that Father Sato is building on the volcano. He spends time living in a hospital room due to poor health (Suda ends up in the room next to Durand).
City Councilman Aiba seeks Suda's expertise on the volcano because he wants to build a lavish hotel on it. He wants assurance that Akadake is indeed no longer active so he can go on with his business.
Father Sato is a Catholic priest who has a dream to build a retreat on Akadake. He wants to continue on with his projects and says that Akadake "has changed to an utterly peaceful mountain." (168) He visits the excommunicated priest Durand in the hospital once in a while because he feels that he has to, but in reality he doesn't want to be bothered with people like Durand.
Volcano isn't the most enjoyable book that Endo has written. There are no endearing characters in it. It is not unusual for Endo's novels to be a little dark and this is definitely one of them. Endo is an excellent writer, however. He did his research on volcanoes for this one; it is said that he even had himself lowered by helicopter into one.
Jinpei Suda, who just retired from the Weather Bureau, is an expert on Akadake. He has been convinced that it is no longer active based on previous studies and his own work during his career. He has built up a reputation in his field based on Akadake. However, shortly after his retirement his life goes into a tailspin- his health, his family, and perhaps even his long-held theories on Akadake are about to go out the window. Just as Suda's life is revealed for what it really is, the volcano gives signs that it is not inactive.
Durand is a bitter and cynical excommunicated priest who is convinced that the people of Japan cannot understand the concept of sin and redemption. He is also convinced that Akadake will erupt and destroy a retreat that Father Sato is building on the volcano. He spends time living in a hospital room due to poor health (Suda ends up in the room next to Durand).
City Councilman Aiba seeks Suda's expertise on the volcano because he wants to build a lavish hotel on it. He wants assurance that Akadake is indeed no longer active so he can go on with his business.
Father Sato is a Catholic priest who has a dream to build a retreat on Akadake. He wants to continue on with his projects and says that Akadake "has changed to an utterly peaceful mountain." (168) He visits the excommunicated priest Durand in the hospital once in a while because he feels that he has to, but in reality he doesn't want to be bothered with people like Durand.
Volcano isn't the most enjoyable book that Endo has written. There are no endearing characters in it. It is not unusual for Endo's novels to be a little dark and this is definitely one of them. Endo is an excellent writer, however. He did his research on volcanoes for this one; it is said that he even had himself lowered by helicopter into one.
A superbly written and dark yet hopeful novel
12 Mar 2012
Format:Paperback
Volcano was originally published in 1959, and is set the town of Kagoshima on Kyushu Island, which is situated at the edge of a dormant volcano, Akadaké. Suda Kun has just retired after a long career as the Section Chief of the Surveillance Section of the regional Weather Bureau. He was called the "Akadaké Demon", as he claimed to know more about the volcano than anyone else on the island, despite his lack of a formal education. He wishes to publish a book about his research in order to cement his reputation, and agrees to help Aiba, a local city councilman, in a profit making scheme in exchange for financial support of his book.
Father Sato is the popular leader of a small but growing Catholic church in town, who has replaced Father Durand, a Frenchman who was removed for committing apostasy. Durand, embittered by his fall, receives frequent visits by Sato, but he belittles his former assistant and his plans to build a sanctuary for his followers on the side of the volcano.
Suda and Durand are felled by serious illness, and are faced with their own mortality. At the same time Akadaké is showing signs of renewed life after decades of dormancy, which threaten the plans of Aiba and Father Sato. Suda, who has proclaimed that the volcano is permanently dormant, chooses to ignore clues which indicate that it is becoming active. Durand actively tries to undermine Sato's position and the faith of the people he formerly ministered to. Both men face their own mortality and guilt about their past behavior, while the smoking volcano towers over them ominously, as if in judgment of them.
Volcano is a superbly written and dark yet hopeful novel, whose two main characters experience torment and guilt in the face of imminent death. Suda's lack of compassion toward his wife and sons and Durand's lack of belief in the faith of his parishioners lead directly to the fall of each man, as the volcano serves as a metaphor for both good and evil, and as a symbol of the unchanging power of Nature and God.
Father Sato is the popular leader of a small but growing Catholic church in town, who has replaced Father Durand, a Frenchman who was removed for committing apostasy. Durand, embittered by his fall, receives frequent visits by Sato, but he belittles his former assistant and his plans to build a sanctuary for his followers on the side of the volcano.
Suda and Durand are felled by serious illness, and are faced with their own mortality. At the same time Akadaké is showing signs of renewed life after decades of dormancy, which threaten the plans of Aiba and Father Sato. Suda, who has proclaimed that the volcano is permanently dormant, chooses to ignore clues which indicate that it is becoming active. Durand actively tries to undermine Sato's position and the faith of the people he formerly ministered to. Both men face their own mortality and guilt about their past behavior, while the smoking volcano towers over them ominously, as if in judgment of them.
Volcano is a superbly written and dark yet hopeful novel, whose two main characters experience torment and guilt in the face of imminent death. Suda's lack of compassion toward his wife and sons and Durand's lack of belief in the faith of his parishioners lead directly to the fall of each man, as the volcano serves as a metaphor for both good and evil, and as a symbol of the unchanging power of Nature and God.
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