This was a challenging read. Mostly because I was trying to read it while on vacation with kids running around me. (As the curator of the resort pointed out, a mother reading a book titled "Silence" is quite the oxymoron!) Because my reading was rather stop and go, I don't think I experienced the full essence of this one. But, it is a very powerful, though-provoking fictional (albeit realistic) account of Catholic missionaries in Japan in the 1600s. Even though it takes time to read, it is time well spent!