(2020)
In this volume of essays, Mark W. Dennis and Darren J. N. Middleton have curated a wide-ranging discussion of Shūsaku Endō’s final novel, Deep River, in which four careworn Japanese tourists journey to India’s holy Ganges in search of spiritual as well as existential renewal. Navigating Deep River evaluates and probes Endō’s decades-long search to find the words to explain Transcendent Mystery, the difficult tension between faith and doubt, the purpose of spiritual journeys, and the challenges posed by the reality of religious pluralism in an increasingly diverse world. The contributors, including Van C. Gessel who translated Deep River into English in 1994, offer an engaged and patient exploration of this major text in world fiction, and this anthology promises to deepen academic appreciation for Endō, within and beyond the West.
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CHOICE 58.4 (2020)
“Taken together, the ‘new perspectives’ offered by this collection of essays on Endo’s novel Deep River (Fukai Kawa, 1993) amount to a wide-ranging and intriguing look at both the writer (1923-96) and his final book. Dennis and Middleton gathered papers addressing, inter alia, Endo’s lifelong search to understand his Roman Catholic faith, Buddhist and Hindu spirituality, the theology of the natural world (including the sacred river Ganga of the title) and the relationship between Japan and India. The division of the book into two sections—‘Historical and Comparative Approaches’ and ‘Literary and Theological Approaches’—belies the subtle and effective interweave of philosophical and historical material, as well as the emotional and personal challenges (faced not only by the characters of Endo’s novel but also by the reader) in moving outside comfort zones and discovering the Other alongside what is deep within. This is a unified set of papers—both readable and intellectually enjoyable for those interested in modern Japanese literature, literary theology, and any aspect of Endo’s life and work. Highly recommended.”