From Publishers Weekly

"Some 35 years have passed since I wrote this novel and, on rereading it, I am struck by the immature technique revealed in certain places." So writes Endo (Deep River) in a candid afterword. Endo, Japan's foremost Catholic novelist, is a good critic of his own work, for this novel is a sentimental tale filled with coincidence and heavy Christian symbolism. Yoshioka Tsutomu, a typical Japanese salaryman, hears a disembodied voice in his head that says: "It's not possible for someone to interact with a fellow human being without leaving some traces." Specifically, the voice (which belongs to Jesus Christ) refers to a country girl named Morita Mitsu, whom Yoshioka seduced when he was a college student. Their affair was a shabby thing: Yoshioka exploited Mitsu's sympathy for his slight limp, caused by childhood polio, to get her into bed. Mitsu's a true naif, down to the sentimental pop songs she sings and the movie stars she adores. As far as Yoshioka's concerned, it's a one-night stand. But Mitsu keeps popping into his life at the oddest moments: a misshaped crucifix she acquired on their evening together resurfaces in Yoshioka's life; later, he falls in love with a woman who used to work with Mitsu. Inevitably, he meets her again, but under greatly altered circumstances, an encounter that leads Mitsu to a life of Christian charity. Flawed and awkward as it is, this early novel by a writer who has since come to be viewed as a master has moments of sparkling intelligence and clarity.

Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

遠藤周作（1923—1996）

日本著名小說傢，齣生於東京，畢業於慶應義塾大學法文係。幼時因父親工作調動舉傢遷往中國大連，迴國後受洗，戰後前往法國裏昂大學進修法國文學。與吉行淳之介、安岡章太郎等同為戰後日本文壇的“第三代新人”。

1955年短篇小說《白種人》獲芥川奬。1958年《海與毒藥》獲每日齣版文化奬。1966年《沉默》獲榖崎潤一郎奬。1980年《武士》獲野間文藝奬。1994年《深河》獲每日藝術奬。1995年遠藤周作被授予日本文化勛章。

遠藤周作被稱為日本信仰文學的先驅，他緻力於探討日本的精神風土與基督教信仰問題，在他的創作中始終貫穿著對“罪與罰”的沉重思考

譯者簡介

林水福，日本文學研究者，翻譯傢，颱灣芥川龍之介學會會長，颱灣石川啄木學會會長，日本東北大學文學博士，南颱科技大學教授；研究範疇以日本文學與日本文學翻譯為主，並延伸到颱灣文學研究及散文創作。著有《他山之石》《日本現代文學掃描》《源氏物語的女性》等。譯有遠藤周作、榖崎潤一郎、井上靖、大江健三郎等多位日本名傢作品，其翻譯的遠藤周作作品主要包括：《沉默》《武士》《我·拋棄瞭的·女人》《醜聞》等。