Deep River (1993)

Guest 6 years ago

This is Endo Shusaku's final book. For context, he wrote this as he was dying. This book, in my opinion, is best read after reading other works by Endo. He has brought back several themes and characters from former works and when they are taken into consideration, the underlying meaning of this particular works makes all the more sense. Endo also has a proclivity towards ambiguity in his writing. Generally, he doesn't write characters that are sympathetic. He writes characters that are wretched, mean, uncaring, or useless failures. He writes this way because he writes about humans, and humans are not always sympathetic. There are many themes in this novel and others by Endo, you need only be open to them. I would recommend if you're willing to look a little deeper.

Guest 7 years ago

I don't recommend

Aidan Price 7 years ago

This book seems good to me but thanks for the information!:)

Guest 7 years ago

I really wanted to like this book as it was highly recommended by a long-time friend. Unfortunately, I thought the book dragged on, the characters were hard to keep straight, and much of the narrative seemed overdone and not essential to the outcome.

While there were moments of brilliance in language, they didn't make up for the flaws. The author didn't generate much sympathy for any of the characters. The ending wasn't especially satisfying either. The religious theme, which was belabored in the story of Mitsuko and Otsu, didn't resonate with me.

My actual rating is 2.5*. I don't recommend the book unless you have time on your hands and nothing better to do.