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The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

David Mitchell

Start date: January 15, 2011

Finish date: February 15, 2011

Discussion: Reading List

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What Members Thought

Dec 29, 2010 Katy rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

I had little interest in reading THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET and did not expect to like it, but it turned into a true ”life interrupter.” Not since I read Corelli’s Mandolin many years ago have I been so absorbed in a novel. It is rich and complex offering so much: an exotic locale, feudal Japan with its insular culture and its competing war lords; the Dutch East India Company with its wide open business culture; the rivalry of the nations of Europe as they fight for markets and tradin ...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Mary Ellen rated it really liked it

I loved this book! I'd rate it 4 1/2 stars, if it were possible here on GR. My only quibble is with some annoying verbal tics Mitchell uses. He has recreated several early 19th century worlds beautifully: the Dutch trading center of Dejima set in Nagasaki's harbor; the inner circle of the captain of a British ship of the line; the court of a Japanese magistrate. And he manages to jump from historical novel to fantastic adventure story and back, without straining my patience or losing my interest ...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Carol in Bothell rated it really liked it

Wow, I was really on a roll here. I loved "Freedom" and then I picked up "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" and it was really good, too. I was a bit wary, having put down "Cloud Atlas" at page 30 a few years ago. But this novel is well-written, well-structured and fascinating from beginning to end. Nagasaki in 1799 from a European's point of view? Something way out of my reckoning but it became very compelling to read and even just to ponder when I wasn't reading. Oh, and would-be novelists ...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Sheila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was my first Mitchell book. He has been high on my to be read list for some time now, and I have two of his other books with me here in India to read.

This one I listened to as audio book and to begin with I found the plethora of characters a bit overwhelming. I also found the first part of the book a bit slow. But then its pace seemed to quicken and at the same time my concern about the number of characters dissipated. I don’t know if these two things were interconnected or just coincidence This was my first Mitchell book. He has been high on my to be read list for some time now, and I have two of his other books with me here in India to read.

This one I listened to as audio book and to begin with I found the plethora of characters a bit overwhelming. I also found the first part of the book a bit slow. But then its pace seemed to quicken and at the same time my concern about the number of characters dissipated. I don’t know if these two things were interconnected or just coincidence but I began to just go with the flow and it worked, for me. In the end I side with Connie’s quilt analogy, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Navies of that era were a miss mash of nationailities, pressed and career seaman and Japanese society was and is full of hierarchies, so first, second and third ranked interpreters, the Irish, the Dutch, etc are all appropriate and all have their part to play

Listening to the audio I clearly didn’t see the speech tags, italics, short paragraphs and phonetics others have mentioned and for me the dialogues worked really well eg the stories over the card game, the escaped convict’s story, the slave’s story about owning his name and his thoughts (sorry it is very late here and I am forgetting specific names). I liked these stories within the story. Having said that however, I completely missed any references to Kubla Khan and Shangri- la, and wasn’t aware of the language being antiquated!

The middle part was for me the best. Yes it gave us good insights into Orito and I was not surprised by her decision to return, but I got lost in the detail of her escape route and just couldn’t map her path out of captivity at all, she seemed to be one place, then another, then another. Whilst I can understand her medical conscience reasoning her to return, I think the really strong and determined woman she was would have escaped and tried to spread the word about what was being done at the shrine.

The third part on board the English boat brought back memories of my time on a tall ship, thankfully not press ganged! The on board scenes seemed to ring true and I could once again hear the creeks and groans of wooden hulls, smell the bilge water, and even feel the bobbing and swaying of the boat on the waves. As others have indicated, I was surprised by the turn around of the English ship. The reasons already espoused in this thread for why Captain Penhaligon turned the ship around seem fair explanation but once again they reasoning escaped me at the time of reading.

I don’t know whether these missed parts are as a result of listening rather than reading, or whether they are just examples of the fault lines within the book.

I thought the very end very unsatisfactory. If the book had finished just as Jacob sailed from Japan leaving his son behind that would have been the ending for me. The dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s of taking Jacob back to The Netherlands, marrying him off, and finally letting him die in bed was just unnecessary..

Perhaps the best character for me was actually Japan itself. Its fear and isolation, its society and rituals, its completely different way of viewing and seeing the world and life. I liked the insight the novel gave us to the workings of interpreters, how one works around with known words to get to and to decipher the unknown words.

Many of you said Orito was your favourite character and I can see why – she is a strong woman, determined, courageous. But for me she comes second to a truly memorable Japanese woman character developed by Kamila Shasie in her novel Burnt Shadows which I recently read. Strange how the proximity of different reads can impact an colour ones impressions.

Whilst I loved and laughed through Dr Marinus’s baiting of Jacob with the medical students, the scene which is the stealer for me is the exquisitely staged suicide and murder of Enomoto by the Magistrate and his assistant. All the detail here really works, from the tenderness of the courtesans precise dressing the Magistrate, through to his elaborate stage management of his supposed preparation for hari kiri, and how he foils the Abbott into drinking the poison. A strategy most worthy of a grand master of Go. ...more

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Mar 26, 2017 William rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

A wonderful book. The vehicle of a historical novel is used to best advantage to explore themes of loyalty, heritage and principle. All set against the background an engaging love story.
For me it was a timely read because in it, the Japanese wish to engage the Dutch traders but not have their culture contaminated with western ideas. Does that resonate with modern western societies? How the worm has turned!
Not only are the Dutch separated physically but there is a language barrier manned by the ...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, japan

Definitely a departure from Mitchell's usual post-modern style, but shines a light on a very interesting era of Dutch and Japanese history. It very much has that historical-potboiler feel, but still an excellent and enjoyable work. ...more

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