By the "New York Times "bestselling author of "The Bone Clocks" and "Cloud Atlas "- Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize In 2007, " Time" magazine named him one of the most influential novelists in the world. He has twice been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize." The New York Times Book Review" called him simply a genius. Now David Mitchell lends fresh credence to "The Guardian" s claim that each of his books seems entirely different from that which preceded it. "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" is a stunning ...
Read More
By the "New York Times "bestselling author of "The Bone Clocks" and "Cloud Atlas "- Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize In 2007, " Time" magazine named him one of the most influential novelists in the world. He has twice been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize." The New York Times Book Review" called him simply a genius. Now David Mitchell lends fresh credence to "The Guardian" s claim that each of his books seems entirely different from that which preceded it. "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" is a stunning departure for this brilliant, restless, and wildly ambitious author, a giant leap forward by even his own high standards. A bold and epic novel of a rarely visited point in history, it is a work as exquisitely rendered as it is irresistibly readable. The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island that is the Japanese Empire s single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged Dutch East Indies Company; and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, costly courtesans, earthquakes, and typhoons comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk who has five years in the East to earn a fortune of sufficient size to win the hand of his wealthy fiancee back in Holland. But Jacob s original intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with Orito Aibagawa, the disfigured daughter of a samurai doctor and midwife to the city s powerful magistrate. The borders between propriety, profit, and pleasure blur until Jacob finds his vision clouded, one rash promise made and then fatefully broken. The consequences will extend beyond Jacob s worst imaginings. As one cynical colleague asks, Who ain t a gambler in the glorious Orient, with his very life? A magnificent mix of luminous writing, prodigious research, and heedless imagination, "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" is the most impressive achievement of its eminent author. Praise for "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" "" A page-turner . . . [David] Mitchell s masterpiece; and also, I am convinced, a masterpiece of our time. Richard Eder, "The Boston Globe" "" An achingly romantic story of forbidden love . . . Mitchell s incredible prose is on stunning display. . . . A novel of ideas, of longing, of good and evil and those who fall somewhere in between [that] confirms Mitchell as one of the more fascinating and fearless writers alive. Dave Eggers, "The New York Times Book Review" The novelist who s been showing us the future of fiction has published a classic, old-fashioned tale . . . an epic of sacrificial love, clashing civilizations and enemies who won t rest until whole family lines have been snuffed out. Ron Charles, "The Washington Post" By any standards, "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet "is a formidable marvel. James Wood, "The New Yorker" A beautiful novel, full of life and authenticity, atmosphere and characters that breathe. Maureen Corrigan, NPR"
Read Less
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet: a Novel to cart. $1.29, good condition, Sold by More Than Words rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Waltham, MA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Good. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, a Novel to cart. $2.16, good condition, Sold by Your Online Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet to cart. $2.19, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet to cart. $2.19, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet to cart. $2.19, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, a Novel to cart. $2.81, very good condition, Sold by The Maryland Book Bank rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from baltimore, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, a Novel to cart. $3.75, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, a Novel to cart. $4.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, a Novel to cart. $4.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, a Novel to cart. $4.00, very good condition, Sold by Half Price Books Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Random House.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
One of the valuable features of a reading group is that it encourages readers to explore works they would not otherwise choose for themselves. This can result in unexpected finds but it can also result in tedious reading. In either case, the chance is worth taking. Our reading group recently chose David Mitchell's novel "The Thousand Autums of Jacob de Zoet" (2010). Although Mitchell has a broad following, I had not earlier read him. In thinking about the book, I found useful many of the reader reviews which express a wide variety of responses to Mitchell's novel.
Mitchell's book is a lengthy, sprawling historical novel set near Nagasaki, Japan between 1799 and 1811. Most of the action takes place during the first year. The book considers European efforts to open up Japan for trade. Most of the book involves the activities of the Dutch. The late sections of the story show the rivalry between the Dutch and the British. Japan at the time was an isolated, by choice, feudally organized culture that wanted to severely limit European trade because, among other reasons, it strongly opposed earlier efforts by missionaries to convert the Japanese to Christianity. The Europeans were interested in markets and economic domination.
The main character in the novel is the young Jacob de Zoet. He is a bookkeeper who travels with the Dutch East Indies Company to Japan in the hopes of earning enough money to win the hand of Anna, the woman he loves. Jacob is a devout Christian. He smuggles a family psalter into Japan at great risk to himself. As the story progresses, Jacob falls in love and proposes to a beautiful, intelligent Japanese woman, Orito, a midwife studying European medicine, whose face is severely burned. Besides the historical theme and the love theme, the book explores the character of de Zoet, among other people, and how he develops during his stay in Japan. Jacob's mission was to examine the books of the trading company and to root out corruption and fraud. He has a strong sense of honesty in the middle of a corrupt trading partnership between the Dutch and the Japanese together with intellectual curiosity and a wish to better himself.
An extraordinary number of characters and types people this novel, and the story is told from a number of perspectives and voices. The tone shifts throughout. The book raises several issues involving personal moral decision. At three critical places, de Zoet, Orito, and the British frigate captain, Penhaglion, are presented with significant ethical choices and engage in a combination of reflection, moving forward and backtracking. With its large cast and meandering storytelling, the book also explores Dutch social structure, including its servants and slaves, Japanese society, Dutch-British relations, and the rise of Napoleonic Europe. A substantial portion of the novel is set in a wicked Japanese monastery and nunnery. Activities at the monastery are outside the pale of any ethical standards, both those of the Japanese and those of the Europeans. I would have liked a consideration of the nature and purpose of Japanese monasticism, rather than only its corruption.
The book displays a collage of themes and a collage of action. Much of the book has the quality of a yarn more than a historical novel or a character study. It includes graphic portrayals of medical operations, beheadings, tortures, long, carefully planned intrigues, narrow escapes from disaster, poisonings, and much else.
Some of the scenes in this book work well. De Zoet's character is developed as is that of his friend, the scholarly Dr. Marinus. I was pleased to see Marinus play Scarlatti on the harpsichord. The scenes of life on the British frigate, Phaeton, and of its captain are among the best in the book. They reminded me of the wonderful novels of Patrick O'Brien dealing with this time period.
On the whole, I was markedly dissatisfied with this book. It is written with a panoramic sweep that is overly broad and not sustained. I thought the book might have benefitted from more modest ambitions. The treatment of Japanese culture, and the Japanese attitude towards the Europeans remains at a basic level. I would have welcomed a more thoughtful, focused treatment. Although the book includes some good, clear writing, it suffers from its form, from verbosity, overwritng, and straining for effect. Some of the long passages, such as the opening of chapter 39, that have attracted admiration seem to me strained and theatrical. The book pulls in to many directions at once and dissipates whatever strength its themes might have. The writing is slow and difficult. I did not find the content of this novel justified the serious effort required to work through it.
I would have welcomed a serious treatment of Japan, its culture, and its early relationship with Europeans. I did not find such a treatment in this book. What there might be is buried among a welter of other material. It was valuable, as suggested at the outset of this review, to make the effort required to read this novel as part of a book group to share thoughts and as part of a community of online readers and reviewers. It is also important to me try to explain the reasons for disliking a book that has been praised by other good readers. In spite of some valuable aspects, this book left me seriously disappointed.
Robin Friedman
Martha S
Oct 11, 2012
Fascinating and well-written
A time and place that readers know nothing about; interesting characters; touching love story....
Leon
Jun 16, 2011
Another David Mitchell marvel
I don't have a long time to write this critique, so I'll get the point - David Mitchell is absolutely schizoid. No one can write in so many personalities, dialects, and side plots. He is absolutely amazing and, at the end, you'll swear you read and anthology or something from several authors.
If you have any doubts whatsoever, pick up a copy of "Cloud Atlas" (if you can afford it - it is EXPENSIVE, unless you get it on your Kindle) and you will be treated to a masterpiece of the richest literature. Enjoy.
RHYN
Sep 16, 2010
a Different Time & Place
A curious peek into the Japanese character and societal values as well as a good historical fiction story that has all the elements of a 17th century Madam Butterfly.
