大江健三郎长于将笔触放在遭遇多重困境的人物身上,他们或遭遇现实的重创,无法面对现在;或困于过去的创伤,无法走向未来。《万延元年的足球队》中的两兄弟——根所蜜三郎和根所鹰四就是这样相互纠缠的典型的一对人物。在这部小说里,大江以小村庄暴动事件为切入点,既向前追溯历史,揭开了兄弟二人及根所家族的伤痕,也立足现在,描写了鹰四、蜜三郎等人的挣扎。小说不仅展现了创伤给个人带来的巨大的影响,也于其中表现了大江对于战争和暴力的思考。
Kenzaburo Oe has written a number of novels featuring characters stuck in the plight of life, suffered from the trauma of either the present or the history. The Silent Cry tells the story of two brothers in the early 1960s: one is Mitsusaburo and the other one is Takashi, both of them have gone through a series of crises. By telling their story, Oe wants to show the impact of trauma, and his own opinion about war and violence.