SOURCE: "Heavy Themes with a Light Touch," in Spectator, Vol. 273, No. 8661, July 9, 1994, pp. 33-4.

[In the following review, Hodson points out that Endo writes about heavy themes in his novel Deep River, but that he "explores them with a lightness of touch that avoids sensationalism."]

Shusaku Endo is a strong candidate to win Japan's next Nobel prize for literature. He's also a Christian. So far, so good. But sitting in the shade beside a pool in Umbria, or huddled on the beach at Southwold, Spectator readers might think twice before choosing his book—about a group of Japanese pilgrims going to Benares—for holiday reading. Japan, Christianity, India … it all seems a bit too much like hard work. Why not settle for the real stuff that's safe, familiar and predictable—another helping of exclamation marks from Julie Burchill, or something nice and undemanding by Amanda Craig?

The author...