A Blurb of Excitement // Samantha Tedder

     To say I am excited to read this book is an understatement. In a perfect world, I would have studied abroad in Japan in high school or taken a trip there after I graduated. The Japanese people have been on my mind and heart since before I received a call to missions in high school. Their history, language, and culture are so beautifully unique due to their stand-offish nature throughout the ages. 

    As seen in Silence, they are a secluded island nation that keeps to themselves even to this day. While Japanese media has become popular in the West, and Japan seeks to modernize, it still is distinctly Eastern. Reading through the eyes of priests who have a heart for these people as well has been interesting so far. Unlike in modern times, where I find myself they had little resources outside of what was reported by missionaries before them about the Island they were about to call home. They knew little of the nuances of the rich culture they found themselves in.

    Their plight of lice reminds me of another piece of Japanese media, Grave of the Fireflies by Studio Ghibli. The story is one of two siblings post-WWII nuclear fallout and their little lives by the river. Insects symbolize different things within the movie, and I wonder if the same can be said for the insects in this book. As of now, we've only seen the lice, which they briefly forget upon seeing the sun for the first time in weeks, but I intend to look out for any more insect mentions as they too can be silent creatures.

P.S. I commented on Emory Cooper and Raygan Boster's posts

Comments

  1. Emma Kate PattersonApril 12, 2022 at 1:46 AM

    I like that you connected your personal life to the book. I also like that you provided background information on geography of Japan.

    ReplyDelete

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