Deep River in Reading 1001

Jan 23, 2018 Chinook rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001, europe, asia

For a short book, Deep River covers a lot. It’s interesting to be gazing through a window at the lives of these Japanese men and women as they themselves gaze through a window at Europeans (mostly French) and Indians. The main themes of the book are religion and grief - characters contemplate rebirth, Japanese Buddhism, the differences between Japanese Christianity and European Christianity, Hinduism and a few personal constructions, like the man who thinks of God as being in communion with natu ...more

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Dec 06, 2019 Kristel rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, 2019-botm

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 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 lookin ...more

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Jan 08, 2016 Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, 1001-books-challenge, my-1001-list

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 death and rebirth, faith and religions(especially Christianity and Buddhism), and suffering in its various forms.

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Jan 14, 2018 Sue Dix rated it it was amazing

This book tells the stories and backstories of a group of Japanese tourists in India and centers around the river Ganges and the varying views of religion by the tourists and the peoples of India. It is an intriguing and enfolding novel with vivid depictions of disease, war, poverty, and the ways in which the characters are affected by what they see and experience.

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Jan 19, 2018 Dree rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: in-translation, east-asia, 1001-read, 2018-reads

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, 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 wom ...more

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Dec 24, 2019 Jessica Haider rated it really liked it

Shelves: japan, bipoc-author, 1001-books, fiction

I read this since it was the random pick this month for Read 1001. It's the first book that I've ever read by Shusaku Endo and I knew pretty much nothing about this book. The Goodreads blurb about the book wasn't very informative either. All I knew going in that it was about a bunch of Japanese tourists who visit India.

Yes, the book does feature a cast of Japanese tourists on a group tour of India. Present day in the book is the mid 1980's but the book has frequent flashbacks and for me the mea ...more

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