Silence - brutally thought provoking

Silence, by Shusaku Endo, follows the physical and spiritual journey of Father Sebastian Rodrigues, a Jesuit priest who sets sail for Japan in 1640. The first missionaries had initially received a warm welcome and Christian communities sprung up and flourished, however, for some years now, a new regime has brutally oppressed anyone found to be following this religion, and many priests have been murdered. Father Rodrigues is determined to provide help and support to the ever decreasing Christian population, as well as try to find out what has happened to a priest he once knew and admired, who, it is rumoured, has rejected his faith. Forced to hide and perform any duties in secret, he soon witnesses the reality of the dangerous situation he is now in. He tries to keep one step ahead of the authorities but is finally betrayed and captured. He awaits his martyrdom, which he has already prepared for. However, the authorities know it will be more effective in suppressing Christianity if they can get a priest to deny his faith, rather than martyr. So, they torture and kill faithful Japanese people in front of him, telling him that he can stop all of this from happening if he denies his God. This is a book of vivid imagery and deep emotion. The spiritual dilemma for the central character, as well as those around him is powerfully described, and it is very difficult for the reader to remain detached. Heartfelt prayers seem to be answered by silence, and Father Rodrigues wonders where God is in that silence. I found this very tough to read due to the subject matter. Light, it is not. It is definitely a book that makes you think and I am still mulling over it over a week later. It is a book I think I would read again as I find myself reflecting on many of the questions and feelings that it has raised. Not a book to enjoy maybe, but definitely a book that might help one to meditate on some of life's big questions. The version I read was ably narrated by David Holt.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 288 print pages.
Price I paid: £1.99.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio CD, unabridged audio download.

The Elephant Keeper - touching relationship between man and beast

Tom Page is a young groom working on the estate of a wealthy landowner in Somersetshire during the 1770s. When his employer purchases two young elephants, Tom is given the task of caring for them ... and so The Elephant Keeper is born. Everything is new and exciting to Tom and, indeed, the elephants. They slowly find their way together, building trust and understanding. Tom names them Timothy and Jenny, and seems to be able to communicate with them in a remarkably intimate and gentle way (not a bit Dr Doolittle). When the elephants are split up, the relationship between Tom and Jenny deepens further. Not everyone is a fan of Jenny, and cruelty and tragedy share the same space as wonder and comfort. Tom tries to protect Jenny and she tries to return the favour. Their deep dependency on each other cannot help but affect Tom's relationships with family, friends, lovers and employers. This is a touching tale that really pulls at the heart strings. The story follows the pair over many years, as the elephant is passed from one owner to the next, with Tom always accompanying her. There may not be a clear ending, which normally annoys me in a book, but I was more than happy to be left "hanging" in this case. I found myself so invested in Tom and Jenny that I didn't want it to end, and it kind of didn't! Thank you Christopher Nicholson for your moving story that will definitely stay with me ... now, could I make room in my garden for an elephant?

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 292 print pages.
Price I paid: 50p.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, unabridged audio CD, ebook.

11.22.63 - The hazards of time travel!

Jake Epping, a high school teacher from Maine, is moving forward with his life following a messy divorce. While at his local diner, Al, friend and owner, reveals that he is terminally ill, and asks Jake to complete a mission he has been working on for many years. This mission is to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, 1963. Al believes if he can prevent this, then the world would be changed for the better and would not be in the state it is currently in. Nice theory, but that was 50 years ago! Not a problem it would seem, as Al's diner is sitting on a time bubble which, when you step through, takes you back to exactly the same time, place and date in 1958. Al has spent years in the past, planning and investigating ... to make sure that the conspiracy theorists are all wrong, and that Lee Harvey Oswald was indeed a lone gunman. Jake is finally persuaded when he realises he can also save someone he knows from a dreadful fate that happened to them during the same time period. He steps through the bubble and we enter a new world with Jake as our narrator. But the past doesn't want to be changed and it begins to fight back in ever increasingly brutal ways. 11.22.63 is a fantastically complex and thought provoking novel, with great characters, especially Jake and his love interest, Sadie (big up for school librarians). It feels exceptionally well researched and the passages set in the 50s and early 60s are full of details which evoke a time and place that could almost be a different planet. Author Stephen King gives the reader a masterclass in this time-travelling fantasy which reads like an historical thriller. It will take up many, many, MANY hours of your time reading it, but it is definitely time well spent. I read the audio version, narrated by Craig Watson, who must have been exhausted. And if you take one lesson from this book, it's Don't Mess With History, you might not like the result! The only other thing left to say is READ IT!

My STAR rating: FIVE!

Length: 1120 print pages.
Price I paid: £3.36 (bargain for a book of this magnitude, thanks Audible!)
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, MP3 CD, CD-ROM, ebook.