Publication
New Directions (1995), Edition: Reprint, 224 pages
Original publication date
1993 (original Japanese)
1994 (English: Gessel)
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Genres
Description
In this moving novel, a group of Japanese tourists, each of whom is wrestling with his or her own demons, travels to the River Ganges on a pilgrimage of grace.
User reviews
LibraryThing member BALE
Endo is a deep and passionate writer. The surface meaning of his novels defies his more profound intent. There is something beautifully lyrical about Endo's work that makes him among the top writers of our time.
LibraryThing member technodiabla
I liked this book more and more as I read it. Each of the 5 characters' stories was engaging and poignant in a different way, but it really grabbed me after they arrived in India. Although Endo was a Christian, I didn't find find this story to be predominantly Christian. In fact, it strives to be
There are several Christ figures in the story: the myna, Otsu, Indira Gandhi, Isobe's wife, Kiguchi's war buddy, but then there's the Hindu goddess to balance it all out. I think this book would make excellent material for a comparative religion discussion. Even if it is a Christian story, it is definitely an Eastern interpretation.
Endo's writing was interesting to me. Having just completed three other Japanese novels, this book does read differently. It could be because it is more contemporary, but I realized I was not picturing Japanese characters in my mind while reading. Somehow, very subtly, his European affinity and influences come out in his writing. Could be the translation too. I look forward to reading more of his novels so I can compare them. 4.25 stars.
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much more than that-- the story of the journey to salvation and love that is common to several religions (Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism.) I think Endo even makes a point that individual religions trying to own or constrain that journey is what leads to strife, poverty, war. There are several Christ figures in the story: the myna, Otsu, Indira Gandhi, Isobe's wife, Kiguchi's war buddy, but then there's the Hindu goddess to balance it all out. I think this book would make excellent material for a comparative religion discussion. Even if it is a Christian story, it is definitely an Eastern interpretation.
Endo's writing was interesting to me. Having just completed three other Japanese novels, this book does read differently. It could be because it is more contemporary, but I realized I was not picturing Japanese characters in my mind while reading. Somehow, very subtly, his European affinity and influences come out in his writing. Could be the translation too. I look forward to reading more of his novels so I can compare them. 4.25 stars.
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
This is the second Shusaku Endo novel I have read as part of a year long read of Endo's works on LibraryThing.com. Once again, Endo addresses the theme of religious belief. In this novel, a group of Japanese tourists travel to India, several of whom seek answers to their individual inner darkness.
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A grieving widow seeks his wife's reincarnated soul, a WWII veteran seeks peace for the soul of a friend, a fable writing animal lover seeks to right an old wrong, and a woman seeks answers from "The Onion"/Jesus/her nemesis, Otsu. Intrigued yet? Endo addresses the nature of humankind and its need for a religious belief system that encompasses all of humanity in its many forms. Chunanda, the ancient mother goddess who offers breast milk to all despite her ancient age and many years of suffering, seems to exemplify the nature of the River Ganges, the sacred site for the dead, the dying, and those seeking purification, regardless of who they have been during their lives. Endo weaves a fascinating story and tries to answer profound questions which at one time or another occur to most people. Does he offer an acceptable answer? I think you must decide for yourself! Show Less
LibraryThing member CBJames
This books was one of the strangest reading experiences I've had in a while.
The story concerns a group of Japanese tourists, visiting Buddhist holy sites on a tour of India. It's a bit like one of those 1970's movies that featured a disparate cast of characters thrown together and then forced to
One couple is on their honeymoon--she's unhappy that she didn't get to go to Europe while he wants only to take pictures of the strange sights he sees. One man is looking for the reincarnation of his wife who died from cancer years before. He has heard of a child who claims to be a reincarnated Japanese woman. Another is a World War II veteran hoping to have prayers said for his fallen comrades who did not make it home from their time in South Asia. Yet another is a woman traveling in search of a college acquaintance, a failed priest rumored to be working among the impoverished Hindu pilgrims on the banks of the Ganges river.
The author is Japanese, the concerns of the characters are both universal and specific to Japanese culture. I come to the story as an outsider, just as the book's characters come to India as outsiders, putting me at a doubly removed distance from the events described. That religion and spirituality play such important roles in the book also served to distance me from the book as I have little to do with either. The characters end up spending a great deal of time on the banks of the Ganges River where Hindu pilgrims go to die or to spread the ashes of their departed family members. Some very devote people drink the water of the Ganges as they bathe in it. The customs around these rituals are difficult for a Westerner to understand, again putting me at further distance from the narrative.
But in spite of the distance between my own experience and that of the characters, I came to care for all of them and to understand if not partake in their spiritual journey. Mr. Endo works some magic here, because by rights I should never have made it all the way through this book. At one point, during a discussion about the nature of God, I even began to suspect that I had picked up a piece of Christian fiction by accident somehow, though by the end of the novel it's clear that Mr. Endo's message is greater than any one religious point of view can contain.
I still don't know quite what to make of the experience I had reading Deep River. How is it that Mr. Endo has made me consider the intermingling of life and death experienced by those who bathe in the Ganges among the ashes of the dead as something wonderful? Something I might consider doing?
That's quite an accomplishment.
I recommend Deep River and look forward to reading more by Shusaku Endo.
The story concerns a group of Japanese tourists, visiting Buddhist holy sites on a tour of India. It's a bit like one of those 1970's movies that featured a disparate cast of characters thrown together and then forced to
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confront each other through facing a common hardship. Their tour is not a very good one.One couple is on their honeymoon--she's unhappy that she didn't get to go to Europe while he wants only to take pictures of the strange sights he sees. One man is looking for the reincarnation of his wife who died from cancer years before. He has heard of a child who claims to be a reincarnated Japanese woman. Another is a World War II veteran hoping to have prayers said for his fallen comrades who did not make it home from their time in South Asia. Yet another is a woman traveling in search of a college acquaintance, a failed priest rumored to be working among the impoverished Hindu pilgrims on the banks of the Ganges river.
The author is Japanese, the concerns of the characters are both universal and specific to Japanese culture. I come to the story as an outsider, just as the book's characters come to India as outsiders, putting me at a doubly removed distance from the events described. That religion and spirituality play such important roles in the book also served to distance me from the book as I have little to do with either. The characters end up spending a great deal of time on the banks of the Ganges River where Hindu pilgrims go to die or to spread the ashes of their departed family members. Some very devote people drink the water of the Ganges as they bathe in it. The customs around these rituals are difficult for a Westerner to understand, again putting me at further distance from the narrative.
But in spite of the distance between my own experience and that of the characters, I came to care for all of them and to understand if not partake in their spiritual journey. Mr. Endo works some magic here, because by rights I should never have made it all the way through this book. At one point, during a discussion about the nature of God, I even began to suspect that I had picked up a piece of Christian fiction by accident somehow, though by the end of the novel it's clear that Mr. Endo's message is greater than any one religious point of view can contain.
I still don't know quite what to make of the experience I had reading Deep River. How is it that Mr. Endo has made me consider the intermingling of life and death experienced by those who bathe in the Ganges among the ashes of the dead as something wonderful? Something I might consider doing?
That's quite an accomplishment.
I recommend Deep River and look forward to reading more by Shusaku Endo.
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LibraryThing member xieouyang
This is probably my favorite of the three of Endo's books I've read so far. It deals with similar religious issues he explores in the other two novels (I haven't looked what is the chronological order in which he wrote them) but seems to go deeper on this one, no pun intended. This is one of those
Several Japanese go to India on a tour presumably to visit Buddhist sites- after all, India is the birth place of the Buddha. There is Mr. Isobe who's lost his wife Keiko after a long period of suffering in the hospital. But before dying she tells him that she will be reincarnated as a young girl; so he goes to India searching for his wife. In the process he comes to realize how much he took his wife for granted, and that he didn't become closer to her only until the last months when she was sick in the hospital.
Then there is the case of Naruse Mitsuko who, as a wealthy young student, lived frivolously and with her clique of friends made fun of a young, shy man named Otsu. She actually seduces only to reject him- all for fun. She marries a young, rich guy but nothing in the world satisfies her, but she's a total non-believer. At some point she learns that Otsu has joined a seminary to become a priest and that he is in France. He actually convinces her husband to go there for their honeymoon, and leaves her husband in Paris to enjoy the shows while she goes to the country, presumably to visit the locations of a novel she'd read while in college. She actually goes to visit with him and learns that he's having difficulty in the seminary because his Catholic belilefs do not concord those with the traditional church.
Another traveler is Mr. Numada, a writer of children's stories about animals. He had been very sick with a pulmonary disease who would keep a bird in his house- his wife did not like that at all. But when he is sick, she brings him a Myna bird to keep him company. The bird, in a strange turn of events, dies on the day that he decides to go through a critical operation. He is going to India too- in search of peace.
Finally, there is Kiguchi, suffering from the aftereffects of having fought in Burma. He went through a lot during the retreat of the Japanese forces- death and starvation all around him. He carries that burden, and the recollection of his close friend who actually ate human flesh to save Kiguchi.
The best parts of the book are the inner struggles of these souls in their search for some resolution that will give meaning to their lives. Endo deals again solidly with the issues of the Christina faith within the Japanese culture.
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books that once I finish it, I want to read again immediately. Several Japanese go to India on a tour presumably to visit Buddhist sites- after all, India is the birth place of the Buddha. There is Mr. Isobe who's lost his wife Keiko after a long period of suffering in the hospital. But before dying she tells him that she will be reincarnated as a young girl; so he goes to India searching for his wife. In the process he comes to realize how much he took his wife for granted, and that he didn't become closer to her only until the last months when she was sick in the hospital.
Then there is the case of Naruse Mitsuko who, as a wealthy young student, lived frivolously and with her clique of friends made fun of a young, shy man named Otsu. She actually seduces only to reject him- all for fun. She marries a young, rich guy but nothing in the world satisfies her, but she's a total non-believer. At some point she learns that Otsu has joined a seminary to become a priest and that he is in France. He actually convinces her husband to go there for their honeymoon, and leaves her husband in Paris to enjoy the shows while she goes to the country, presumably to visit the locations of a novel she'd read while in college. She actually goes to visit with him and learns that he's having difficulty in the seminary because his Catholic belilefs do not concord those with the traditional church.
Another traveler is Mr. Numada, a writer of children's stories about animals. He had been very sick with a pulmonary disease who would keep a bird in his house- his wife did not like that at all. But when he is sick, she brings him a Myna bird to keep him company. The bird, in a strange turn of events, dies on the day that he decides to go through a critical operation. He is going to India too- in search of peace.
Finally, there is Kiguchi, suffering from the aftereffects of having fought in Burma. He went through a lot during the retreat of the Japanese forces- death and starvation all around him. He carries that burden, and the recollection of his close friend who actually ate human flesh to save Kiguchi.
The best parts of the book are the inner struggles of these souls in their search for some resolution that will give meaning to their lives. Endo deals again solidly with the issues of the Christina faith within the Japanese culture.
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LibraryThing member cait815
I can't think of a single adjective that would do justice to this book or the feelings that it evoked within me.
LibraryThing member autleaves78
In this novel, Endo reminds us that the faces of God are many and possibly within each of us. He gently nudges the reader to question if it is a good idea to get locked down too tightly into any specific religion, because we might forget that God's presence can be found everywhere, including the
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desolate and impoverished places described near the Ganges River in India. His writing is reflective and thoughtful. Show Less
LibraryThing member cjyurkanin
Another book I started with high hopes which failed to live up to my expectations. Endo's characters all end up seeming contrived and sometimes ridiculous in their actions and dialogue as the stories progress and they make their pilgrimages to the Hindu and Buddhist holy sites along the Ganges. I
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was hoping for some insight into Christianity as it is viewed and experienced in Japan and the Orient but was instead treated to an individual's ecumenistic dreams. And I think maybe he sets up some of his characters as straw men to let us all know what he thinks of modern materialistic Japan. The character's backgrounds are all somewhat interesting and I think Endo writes very well (or has been translated very well). However, no great events happen, no deep thoughts are offered, no great revelations are found, and ultimately, the book ends up being a rather boring read. I saw another review somewhere before I started reading this that said: "Deep River, Shallow Story" - I agree. It's not your everyday pulpish junk, so I bumped up the 2.5 stars to 3. I can't imagine spending time on another Endo work again. Show Less
LibraryThing member JBarringer
This book reminds me of the Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), and of The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder. Like those books, Deep River is a collection of character sketches tied together by a situation, in this case a group of Japanese tourists on a tour of India. The author explores themes of
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death and rebirth, faith and religions(especially Christianity and Buddhism), and suffering in its various forms. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dreesie
In this novel Endo looks at the motives for several Japanese tourists to visit India. Their tour guide, a Japanese man who moved to India permanently after studying there, feels most come to visit Buddhists sites, though Buddhism is no longer big in India. Others come to stare.
This group, though,
Interesting, and thankfully short, but the characters who travel all learn something about themselves, even if it is not what they were hoping to find.
This group, though,
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has a variety: Kiguchi, a veteran who survived the march through Burma, thanks to a friend; Isobe, whose wife recently died and asked him to find her reincarnated self; Mitsuko, divorced middle-aged woman, volunteer at the hospital Isobe's wife died in; Numada, a children's author who has recovered from a bad illness; Otsu is a college acquaintance of Mitsuko, now lives in India though he is technically a Catholic priest, but his philosophy matches Hinduism much better. Sanjo and his wife, newlyweds, play the part of the more typical tourists (complaining about the smell, the heat, the dirt, while trying to take pictures).Interesting, and thankfully short, but the characters who travel all learn something about themselves, even if it is not what they were hoping to find.
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
This is the second book that I have read by Roman Catholic, Japanese Author Shūsaku Endō. His books, Silence and Deep River are both included on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. Endō explores religion, especially Catholicism and the Japanese culture in his writings. In this
1. Osamu Isobe, a man looking for his reincarnated wife.
2. Mitsuko Naruse, a former housewife who takes a trip both as a pilgrimage and to see her ex-boyfriend Otsu as atonement for mistreating him
3. Numada, a bird watcher who wants to set a bird in his possession free.
4. Kiguchi, a former WWII Imperial Japanese Army soldier.
These characters are on a journey, a pilgrimage and it is the story of their individual pilgrimage. The deep river is the Ganges where all peoples are taken in and flow together.
This was an interesting book and look at both Japanese and Indian culture. One point the author makes; I think, is that all Gods are the same God and that in seeking God, no matter which God, that Jesus is born again in that person. Another point in the book is that peoples, cultures, and religions are at odds with each other and in the best circumstances, conflict remains. I personally did not enjoy the descriptions of the river but also believe that the author did an excellent job of painting the picture of the river bank and of India (without using the camera). This book did not inspire me to want to visit India.
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book, set during the time period when Indira Ghandi, prime minister of India, was assassinated examines the lives of 4 Japanese who are on a tour to India to visit Buddhist sites. 1. Osamu Isobe, a man looking for his reincarnated wife.
2. Mitsuko Naruse, a former housewife who takes a trip both as a pilgrimage and to see her ex-boyfriend Otsu as atonement for mistreating him
3. Numada, a bird watcher who wants to set a bird in his possession free.
4. Kiguchi, a former WWII Imperial Japanese Army soldier.
These characters are on a journey, a pilgrimage and it is the story of their individual pilgrimage. The deep river is the Ganges where all peoples are taken in and flow together.
This was an interesting book and look at both Japanese and Indian culture. One point the author makes; I think, is that all Gods are the same God and that in seeking God, no matter which God, that Jesus is born again in that person. Another point in the book is that peoples, cultures, and religions are at odds with each other and in the best circumstances, conflict remains. I personally did not enjoy the descriptions of the river but also believe that the author did an excellent job of painting the picture of the river bank and of India (without using the camera). This book did not inspire me to want to visit India.
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LibraryThing member amerynth
Shusako Endo's novel "Deep River" is the story of a group of travelers who visit Buddhist sites in India -- all very different people, who are all searching for something in their own way. This was thankfully a quick read.... I really couldn't get into it and found it rather dull.
Language
Original language
Japanese
ISBN
081121320X / 9780811213202
Physical description
224 p.; 5.2 inches
Pages
224