SCANDAL

by Shusaku Endo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1988

Physical decay, embattled Christianity, man's dual nature: in this latest, death-haunted work, Endo wrestles with familiar themes. Suguro is a much-respected, 65-year-old Japanese Christian novelist--like his creator (his next novel will be entitled Scandal). He enjoys a marriage of ""poised tranquility"" though severely limited communication, and is becoming aware of the ""vile, putrid smell"" of old age; his liver problems are as severe as his wife's arthritis. Another sort of problem arises when he sees, on two public occasions, a mocking version of his own face. A hallucination? A doppelganger? An impostor? The mystery is compounded by rumors that Suguro has been seen visiting peep-shows. Something must be done, for a self-seeking journalist, Kobari, is on his trail, hoping to destroy his image. Suguro's investigations lead him to a female artist and self-proclaimed masochist (who later commits suicide) and to Madame Naruse, an eminently respectable widow working as a hospital volunteer. Her revelations to Suguro about her past marriage, which encapsulated the darkest impulses of the human heart, form the centerpiece of the novel. It is she, too, who arranges for Suguro to observe his ""double"" drooling over the drugged body of an adolescent girl, a naif, Suguro's part-time employee. This vision of evil is succeeded by its opposite: the ""double"" is enveloped in ""a profound light. . .filled with love and compassion."" While Suguro's ability to reconcile these opposites is left in doubt, the practical problem of journalist Kobari is resolved swiftly when Suguro's publisher pays him for a compromising photograph of Suguro and then burns it. Some of this is vintage Endo (the Naruse marriage, Suguro as voyeur), but the surprisingly awkward narrative execution (the Kobari business is handled quite superficially) means that this is unlikely to rank as one of the memorable treatments of duality.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1988

ISBN: 0720612411

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION