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The Sea and Poison A Novel New Directions Paperbook Shusaku Endo Michael Gallagher 9780811211987 Books

Download As PDF : The Sea and Poison A Novel New Directions Paperbook Shusaku Endo Michael Gallagher 9780811211987 Books

The Sea and Poison A Novel New Directions Paperbook Shusaku Endo Michael Gallagher 9780811211987 Books

What would compel a man to dehumanize, torture, and murder his fellowman?

This is a question at the heart of Endo Shusaku’s painfully brilliant The Sea and Poison – my third Endo novel after Silence and Deep River, two of my favorite pieces of literature. While less overtly religious, The Sea and Poison is teeming with spiritual, ethical, and moral questions that appear to be hallmarks of Endo’s work.

Set against the background of experimental vivisections performed on American prisoners of war during World War II, Endo’s focus is on the the participatory characters – the doctors and nurses – rather than the victims. He examines them in detail to uncover their varying motivations for allowing themselves to become complicit in such heinous acts. One wrestles severely with a guilty conscious; another feels no such remorse and wonders why. As one character puts it towards the end, “The conscience of man . . . seems to vary a good deal from man to man” (pp. 166). Fear, self-interest, peer pressure, nihilism, cowardice, rebellion, and even protective love – these are just a few of the driving factors behind the characters’ willingness to participate.

The reader may be quick to condemn, but Endo challenges us to look inside ourselves and consider if we, too, would have done the same: “You and I happened to be here in this particular hospital in this particular era, and so we took part in a vivisection performed on a prisoner. If those people who are going to judge us had been put in the same situation, would they have done anything different?” (pp. 166-167). In the prologue to the main story, Endo skillfully shows that the atrocities of war are often committed by common, seemingly inconspicuous people. A gas station attendant. A farmer. How would we fare in a similar situation? What would compel us to participate in torture and murder?

This book was difficult to read at times. The operating scenes left me squeamish. An intense feeling of tension and uneasiness hovers over the entire story. I am, once again, left extremely impressed by Endo’s work and will definitely be reading more in the future.


Tags : The Sea and Poison: A Novel (New Directions Paperbook) [Shusaku Endo, Michael Gallagher] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <strong>The novel <em>The Sea and Poison</em> won the Akutagawa Prize when it was published in Japan in 1958 and established Shusaku Endo in the forefront of modern Japanese literature.</strong> <em>The Sea and Poison</em> was the first Japanese book to confront the problem of individual responsibility in wartime,Shusaku Endo, Michael Gallagher,The Sea and Poison: A Novel (New Directions Paperbook),New Directions,0811211983,9780811211987,General,Endo, Shusaku - Prose & Criticism,FICTION General,Fiction,Fiction - General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Modern fiction

The Sea and Poison A Novel New Directions Paperbook Shusaku Endo Michael Gallagher 9780811211987 Books Reviews

Shusaku Endo's The Sea and Poison is a very interesting and thought- provoking read. The story is about a dark and difficult topic and after reading I was lost deep in thought. It is the type of story that leaves you thinking over things, and that is mostly due to the author's writing style. I decided to read this after reading and enjoying both Shusaku Endo's Silence and Wonderful Fool. His writing style is just amazing. I would recommend this story to people interested in historical fiction. I bought the book in the Japanese language and paperback bunko format, so I would also recommend that if you want to learn the language.
This is an early novel by the Akutagawa prize-winning author Shusaku Endo. It is a slim tale that essentially is about the burden of guilt and the reality of evil. Like many of Endo's novels, it is based on actual historical events. Endo is a good historian and a good story teller, so he is able to grip the reader in these two ways throughout this disturbing novel.

I should also say that this is a book that will leave most readers feeling uncomfortable and thinking about their own personal sins and guilt. As a Roman Catholic author who wanted to squarely look at sin, crime, and evil, this is probably part of Endo's intention. While not as revelatory as Silence or The Samurai, this little novel is still quite good and quite interesting.
The Sea and Poison is a short, dark physiological exploration of the motives and morals of the men and women who performed vivisections of B29 airmen at Fukuoka Imperial University towards the end of World War II. The story primarily centers around the of Dr. Suguro, who in the opening of the book is practicing medicine in a dingy clinic in a backwater suburb of Tokyo, a curiosity considering his skill and proffiency that would suggest that he belonged in a proper hospital. But that career is fated to someone else it seems, for Dr. Suguro is haunted by the acts he and the other doctors committed during the war at the Fukuoka Hospital. A majority of the story takes place at the hospital, while Dr. Suguro is a young intern, and told from the multiple points of view of the doctors and nurses who would ultimately choose to take part in the horrendous acts of vivisections of POWs and their muted reactions to their crimes.

While the Sea and Poison is a short novel, it effectively explores the theme of morality and the practical ethics of person when under a great strain is not only willing to accept evil, but even become an active participate in unspeakable crimes. A combination for the demoralizing effect of air raids and the lust for power of the doctor’s at Fukuoka takes precedence over the care of patients to the point that their suffering and death have very little effect on the doctor’s who are all too ready to cover up mistakes and give into the demands of the military establishment. It was a bit surreal to see how the nihilism that swept Japan’s prewar culture and how the absolute devotion to authority led to doctor’s of all people to not only neglect their patients, but to harm and kill their patients with so little feeling. It’s scary to think how fragile people at times of personal crisis. The really remarkable thing about this book to me was how easy the decision became for many of the doctor’s and nurse’s who felt that there was really nothing else they could lose. A very good but very dark read whose themes are going to be with me for a while
What would compel a man to dehumanize, torture, and murder his fellowman?

This is a question at the heart of Endo Shusaku’s painfully brilliant The Sea and Poison – my third Endo novel after Silence and Deep River, two of my favorite pieces of literature. While less overtly religious, The Sea and Poison is teeming with spiritual, ethical, and moral questions that appear to be hallmarks of Endo’s work.

Set against the background of experimental vivisections performed on American prisoners of war during World War II, Endo’s focus is on the the participatory characters – the doctors and nurses – rather than the victims. He examines them in detail to uncover their varying motivations for allowing themselves to become complicit in such heinous acts. One wrestles severely with a guilty conscious; another feels no such remorse and wonders why. As one character puts it towards the end, “The conscience of man . . . seems to vary a good deal from man to man” (pp. 166). Fear, self-interest, peer pressure, nihilism, cowardice, rebellion, and even protective love – these are just a few of the driving factors behind the characters’ willingness to participate.

The reader may be quick to condemn, but Endo challenges us to look inside ourselves and consider if we, too, would have done the same “You and I happened to be here in this particular hospital in this particular era, and so we took part in a vivisection performed on a prisoner. If those people who are going to judge us had been put in the same situation, would they have done anything different?” (pp. 166-167). In the prologue to the main story, Endo skillfully shows that the atrocities of war are often committed by common, seemingly inconspicuous people. A gas station attendant. A farmer. How would we fare in a similar situation? What would compel us to participate in torture and murder?

This book was difficult to read at times. The operating scenes left me squeamish. An intense feeling of tension and uneasiness hovers over the entire story. I am, once again, left extremely impressed by Endo’s work and will definitely be reading more in the future.