By the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas | Longlisted for the Man Booker PrizeIn 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 … 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 fiancée 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
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The question for the week relates to what book did you have to give 50 or more pages to before deciding whether or not you should continue. That was the exact caveat given to me when I started this book, and it was true. I plodded through the first 80 pages or so, and then it took off!
A difficult book, but worth the effort. This is excellent …
I learned about Dutch traders at Nagasaki at the turn of the 18the century. This book has specific information about sailing, Japanese culture, and politics during the late 1700s to early 1800s. Great for history buffs. Also this book has a mystery and a subtle love story. The main female character is strong and capable. Very enjoyable read!
I was surprised how much I liked this book! The plot was secondary, but the lore of early Japan life was most interesting !
This is my favorite book. It’s undefeated in my life.
I am in awe of this author and his world-building talents—in this case with seasoned yet naive Dutch sailors in 18th-century Japan. This was not always an easy read. Mitchell packed in so much detail and history that sometimes overwhelmed. However, each time I returned to the story I was subsumed. And haunted afterward. Unforgettable.
“Thousand Autumns” is Mitchell’s fifth book, published in 2010 and longlisted for Britain’s Man Booker Prize. This one is historical fiction, a departure from Mitchell’s usual genre. It takes place in Japan, with a bit of occasional backstory in Holland thrown in.
I thought “Thousand Autumns” would suffer from the comparison with James Clavell’s …
Have ready almost all his books–this is favorite for its complex story, well-researched historical detail and shocking detail.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is the first David Mitchell book I ever ready, and it introduced me to who I now consider to be my favorite author. It’s a beautiful setting, with a wonderful love story at the center of international politics and trade, told in a personal manner. Jacob is one of my favorite characters in literature.
I absolutely did not like this book! Didn’t finish it. It was confusing, too many characters too quickly thrown in the mix to ever figure out who was good guy and who was not. A disturbing mess to say the least.
It took me awhile to get into this book but once I did, I was hooked. Stay the course and it will be worth it.
The author takes us to the Dutch East India Company’s trading post in the isolated Kingdom of Japan at the turn of the 19th Century. Our central character, a truly good and honest man sent there to “audit the books” manages to keep his soul through many trials. Much wisdom comes from the mouths of the characters in their vernacular. And the …
I know this book is rather long and one reviewer complained of all the Dutch and Japanese names being cumbersome, but if you can get past those two things this book is quite a tale. It is very well written with lots of history and information woven seamlessly into the storytelling. It really brought the setting and the era alive. I enjoyed this …
Sort of timely. A good story about living on a border. What is a threat and what isn’t. How does one deal with the Other.
A well-written book about a time I’ve never read before.
I had a very hard time getting into this book at first. It was hard to follow the story at first with all the different characters, but it was interesting to read how Europeans lived in Japan. The middle of the book onward was easier to follow and it was interesting as you could see Jacob building relationships with some of the Japanese and …
I don’t know how describe a David Mitchell book any other way than to say, you have to read it! He’s a master at telling you the story you weren’t looking for and never thought of but now that you’re reading it, you can’t stop. Read it!
This was a beautiful and nuanced novel with well-developed and likable characters. The novel takes place during the period of isolation in Japan at the time of the failure of the Dutch East India Company. Conflict is provided by the myriad of laws that limit the interaction of Europeans and Japanese, by the failure of the company, and by the …
Exciting emotional novel about a period of history the Dutch were trading in Japan before the English were accepted there. Interesting and well developed characters who exemplify the differences between Japanese and American culture.
This is a wonderful novel with compelling, complex characters and a plot that has it all: cultural conflict, love, greed, corruption, horror, adventure, cruelty, compassion, treachery, loyalty, sacrifice, nobility, and a rare historical setting in Nagasaki, Japan, in the late 1700’s. If you are a fan of Shogun, you’ll find this book equally …
Hard to get into