From the author of "Silence, " this powerful novel of ideas is also a sensitive and moving depiction of the trials of old age, set in the central region of Japan With two masterly portraits of two men who have lived their lives--both physically and metaphorically--under the shadow of the Akadeke volcano, this crucial work in Endo's oeuvre charts the conflicts between them, which have explosive results. This is the first paperback edition of one of Endo's greatest works.