The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Summary:
In 1799, Jacob de Zoet disembarks on the tiny island of Dejima, the Dutch East India Company’s remotest trading post in a Japan otherwise closed to the outside world. A junior clerk, his task is to uncover evidence of the previous Chief Resident’s corruption.
Cold-shouldered by his compatriots, Jacob earns the trust of a local interpreter and, more dangerously, becomes intrigued by a rare woman – a midwife permitted to study on Dejima under the company physician. He cannot foresee how disastrously each will be betrayed by someone they trust, nor how intertwined and far-reaching the consequences.
My Review:
THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET was, I think, the most difficult book I’ve read this year.
Another reviewer mentioned that if you were tired of the summer reads and ready to pick up something worth reading, then this is the book to do it with and I completely agree.
The story here is so gritty and so real that, at times, I wasn’t sure whether my horror or fascination would win over. There were several times that I had to put the book down and just chew on what I was reading.
David Mitchell brought these characters to life. The story begins in the year 1699 in a little Dutch port in Japan. (Dutch as in, the Dutch lease it from Japan). There is a gruesome child birth, detailed and even a picture provided to give you the full on picture of what is happening. Then the story meanders away from that fateful birth and moves on to Jacob de Zoet, a Dutch clerk.
This character is so magnificent. Jacob is so honest that, when certain situations were put before him, I knew without a shadow of a doubt what his answer would be. And when he meets the burned Japanese woman apprenticed to Dr. Marinus, I knew what his intentions were toward her.
This is not a romance story in the typical sense. This is a story of heartbreak, love, fear, death, betrayal and life. It’s beautifully written and detailed to the finest point.
So I’d like to repeat what that reviewer said and encourage you, if you are tired of little bits of fluff, to pick up this book and chew on it.
