The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

Fascinating and frustrating. Those are my initial reactions every time I travel to Japan, a nation of incredible beauty, subtlety, and intelligence, but also one with an almost impregnable culture for any outsider. Those were also the thoughts of Jacob de Zoet upon landing at Dejima, the sequestered Dutch trading colony located in Nagasaki harbor, more than two centuries ago. Arriving as a low-ranking clerk for the Dutch East India Company in the late 1790s, Jacob came for a few seasons to make the fortune necessary to secure his girlfriend’s hand in marriage. He soon learns, though, that Dejima is as much a prison as a commercial outpost and one that he will not leave for two decades. In the intervening years, he goes through the show more full gamut of emotions and experiences, including ambition, deceit, friendship, loneliness, spiritual growth, betrayal, loyalty, and, most remarkably, a forbidden and unrequited love.

As we learn toward the end of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, the Japanese sometimes refer to their country as a “land of a thousand autumns” and so the book’s title is at once descriptive and an apt metaphor for Jacob’s journey. Developed at a somewhat leisurely tempo that underscores the pace of progress in that cloistered society, I found this to be brilliant story-telling that combines elements of great historical fiction, compelling mystery and intrigue, a touching coming-of-age tale, and the sort of love story that could only have happened in such a distant land. David Mitchell’s meticulous research into the events and customs of the Sakoku era—he apparently spent over four years preparing the novel—are used to great effect on every page. The author’s prose is beautifully wrought and he does a wonderful job of setting the mood and transporting the reader back to that long-forgotten time and place.

Readers familiar with Mitchell’s fiction will find here just a few of the fantastical elements that define his other work (e.g., Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks), which might be a detraction for some. Certainly, the plotline in which Orito, the physically flawed young midwife who Jacob desires, is taken against her will to a secluded monastery that serves a cult of monks pursuing immortality does provide that signature touch. However, the real highlight for me was the very human story of Jacob’s painstaking attempt to integrate two disparate cultures, an effort that often left him on the outside of each. It was particularly interesting to see how differences in language served equally as a barrier and a bridge to accessing both worlds. If I had a complaint about the story’s structure it is the rather hasty way it concludes; most of the roughly 500 pages cover the dramatic events of a two-year span while the last several decades of Jacob’s life are summarized in two brief closing chapters. But this is a minor quibble. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet was a highly satisfying reading experience and a pleasure to recommend to anyone who has the time and inclination to savor its contents. show less

Set on a small island of Japan in the late 18th and early 19th century, this book is a sweeping epic that follows the interactions of a group of Dutch traders, other westerners, and Japanese inhabitants. It covers the difficulties they experience due to communications and cultural differences. I will not attempt to summarize the plot, as it is best read with little knowledge of what is going to happen – there are quite a few surprises!

The narrative is rich in legends and myths that provide a sense of the time period and what people believed back then. Even though it shifts focus among many characters, it is told in a chronological timeline, so it reads like a patchwork quilt that provides a larger picture once all the stories come show more together. My friends know that I do not generally like “twists and turns,” but Mitchell manages to incorporate them while still allowing the storyline to flow organically and without negating everything that came before. The writing is top rate. It is delightfully complex and provides many topics for discussion if reading it as a group. I love this book – it is marvelously creative and historically detailed. show less

I knew I was enjoying this book, but I didn't realise quite how much I was enjoying it until I curled up on the settee and read the last three hundred pages in one sitting.

The novel is roughly split into three acts. The first is a comedy-tragedy: "comedy" in the modern sense and "tragedy" in the classical sense. It introduces all the main players of the novel and paints an utterly believable portrait of late eighteenth century Japan. David Mitchell has not been reticent about the years of research that went into the novel, and that careful study shines through in every sentence.

While the first act concentrates on the eponymous Dutchman, the second act revolves around two of the Japanese characters. The story becomes noticeably darker at show more this stage, with the protagonists battling Japan's strict social customs as much as the antagonists.

The final act returns the focus to Jacob de Zoet and witnesses his final ascent to his full potential and various victories. It's a shame we don't hear from the Japanese heroine during this part of the novel, but it's not like there's not enough story going on without that. The ultimate defeat of the Big Bad Guy is surprisingly chilling for a historical novel. I found myself feeling almost nervous as the climax approached, the antagonist's boasts of immortality competing with my opinion that this is a historical novel, surely he can die.

The three parts fit together perfectly, like Lego bricks of the same size fitting together perfectly. The characters are colourful, varied, yet believable, as is the story which gives a couple of very subtle hints of supernatural goings-on while, wisely, never explicitly confirming them. Not a sentence seems to be wasted, and David Mitchell picks the words for each sentence like the most skilled of artisans. In a word: this book was a wonderful, wonderful delight. show less

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet details the adventures of Dutch East Indies Company clerk de Zoet in Japan on the threshold of the nineteenth century. Another protagonist (introduced first) is the Japanese midwife Aibagawa Orito. Around the midpoint of the book, author David Mitchell has her think, "The belly craves food, ... the tongue craves water, the heart craves love, and the mind craves stories" (244). Despite a few such bits of poignant metatextuality, the structure and ductus of the novel are more restrained and conventional than other notable works by the author, such as Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks. It is perhaps most comparable to his more recent Utopia Avenue in occupying a discrete historical window with a fairly show more narrow central cast of characters all in a shared milieu.

This story sits with the other Mitchell books as part of a sprawling hyperwork with overlapping characters and significant supernatural and speculative elements. These latter are a little more subtle in The Thousand Autumns. Without the benefit of having read The Bone Clocks and Slade House, I'm not sure I would have so easily picked up on the complementary roles and agencies of Dr. Marinus and Abbot Enomoto despite the parallel resolutions afforded to them at the end of the book.

The focus on European imperialism in the Far East in that particular historical period reminded me of R. F. Kuang's Babel, which I read only a few months ago. While Kuang's book is probably more accessible, and it certainly made more obvious overtures to its socio-political concerns, I found almost all of those same concerns represented in Jacob de Zoet with a far higher degree of literary sophistication.

The Thousand Autumns offers a wealth of character development along with clever and imaginative plotting, all in a richly detailed historical setting. Mitchell is an excellent prose stylist with keen psychological insight. I have enjoyed every book of his that I've read, and this one was no exception. show less

David Mitchell's new novel confirms his reputation as a `ventriloquist', a writer who can vary his voice to fit his creation without the reader seeing his lips move. Mitchell breathes life into many areas of 18th Century Japan in association with the Dutch East India Trading Company's outpost near Nagasaki. Jacob De Zoet is a chief clerk and unofficial translator for the company who lives a life of contractual exile in the Orient. In his work, De Zoet has access to inside information about Dutch and Japanese interactions and uses it to benefit his company. Although James Clavell comes to mind in comparison, Mitchell's lyrical tale is so rich and immediate that it can be considered a detailed expansion of Shogun rather than an extension. show more

The story involves western characters of many races and countries of origin facing a common fate, adventure and separation from family roots and security. It includes eastern characters with a common fate of a strictly structured life based on a thousand autumns of cultural tradition. Mitchell's style is simple and direct with wonderful penetrations into the minds of the characters and descriptions of nature in Japan. A technique of alternation of dialog and insights with Tanka like descriptions of physical surroundings puts the reader in the `here and now' of the novel. High excitement, remarkable peace, painful hardship, permanent loss, and transcending love are emotions the reader feels on virtually every page. The reader also learns the history of Dutch/Japanese relations during a time when west and east are slowly merging cultures.

I highly recommend this novel to readers who enjoyed James Clavell's work and who want to learn about peace and war, persistence and death, productivity and setbacks of life in the land of the thousand autumns, the root of the sun. It is an insightful experience to read the novel because of the repeated immersion in the 'now' of intense emotion. show less

This was my first book by David Mitchell, so I did not come with any particular idea of what it might be like, though I knew that many think very highly of Cloud Atlas in particular.

For those who have not yet read it: this novel is set at the very end of the 18th century, in the trading post of Dejima, an island just offshore from Nagasaki. It's about the experience of one young Dutchman, an employee of the Dutch East India Company, who is sent out to Dejima as a clerk to assist in rooting out some corrupt practices and straightening out the company's affairs. Japan at this period is a closed country - the Dutch are the only foreign nation with whom they have agreed to trade, and contact between foreigners is strictly controlled and show more limited. Despite these restrictions, Jacob - who loves books and is an able linguist - makes a tentative friendship with the most able of the official translators who shares his enthusiasms. He also meets and becomes drawn to an unusual Japanese woman who is studying with the foreign doctor on Dejima. The novel explores the connections between these characters, against the bigger political backdrop of empires rising, crumbling, falling.

Considered as a historical novel, I found this very interesting. I already knew a reasonable bit about the Dutch Empire and East India Company, but hardly anything about Japan at this period, so was interested to find out more about the lengths the Japanese went to keep foreign influences out of their country. I wasn't quite so sure in this respect about the middle section of the book, which moved inland from Dejima to depict a religious order with very sinister undertones - not sure if that was based on anything historical, it seemed more like a fantasy novel at times. Aside from the plot and historical detail, what was most impressive about the book was the language. Mitchell clearly enjoys making words do interesting things - there were many many passages and sentences that were striking and poetic. I guess for some people his writing may draw attention to itself rather too much, but I think that a heightened use of language is appropriate in a novel which seems to be all about communication and translation (how do individuals and empires express themselves across the gulf which divides them from their neighbour, and how much do them allow themselves to be changed in that process of communication?).

I read this shortly after reading Sea of Poppies, another novel with a historical setting and an interesting approach to language. In that book, language is a melting pot. In Jacob de Zoet (which literally, by the way, means Jacob the Sweet) language is strictly controlled, and the nuances, complexities and sometimes deliberately produced misunderstandings and mis-translations between Dutch and Japanese are all beautifully conveyed in an English which none of the main characters actually speak.

To sum up, I found this fascinating, funny sometimes, moving at others, beautifully written, and I'd have given it 5 stars if I wasn't just a bit unsure about what he was up to in that middle section. And I want to go on to read his other books, in particular Cloud Atlas, as soon as I can. show less

A book club pick :)

I wasn’t too keen on picking up another David Mitchell novel after Cloud Atlas. I did enjoy it, but it felt too much like an “I’m writing a bestseller and don’t I know it” exercise. Then I happened to read about The Thousand Autumns in a couple of blogs I trust, that basically said “don’t read Cloud Atlas, read his other books”. And then I suggested it for my book club, and I am glad I did (well, I am writing this review before the book club meeting, anyway… ;) ).

The very first chapter will floor you. Orito is an awesome character (more on this below) and I wanted to see so much more of her.

So I felt the joy that comes upon you when you dive into a good story told well. The history of Dejima is show more intriguing and I hadn’t explored it much, despite my fascination with Japan (because there is a lot to explore, you know). The author has done a lot of research, and it shows. I loved all the details and the melting pot of Dejima from the very beginning – smart-ass sailors, merchants, slaves, interpreters, courtiers, smugglers etc. Even the minor characters shine!

Jacob de Zoet steps into this medley. Corruption and thievery abound, so he walks on shaky ground and in a web of intrigues.

I always like to read about different cultures meeting:

“ ‘Ask, Vorstenbosch orders, ‘how His Honour enjoyed the coffee I presented’. The question, Jacob notes, provokes arch glances among the courtiers. The Magistrate considers his reply. ‘Magistrate says’, translates Okagawa, ‘Coffee tastes of no other.’ “

The academia meetings were very interesting to read about, with Dutch and Japanese scholars trying to make sense of western science together, as things got lost in translation. Historical figures, such as Sugita Genpaku, make an appearance. Nice!

The writing hooked me and sang to me. Here is Jacob (who has been doing his homework, as one should), catching a Japanese interpreter at a lie:

“Ramifications hatch from the appalling hush.”

And here is the impossible romance:

“I wish, he thinks, spoken words could be captured and kept in a locket.”

And here is autumn:

“Birds are notched on the low sky. Autumn is aging.”

Besides being a very well written piece of historical fiction, this is a novel about choices and their consequences. Jacob makes a noble choice, and then he makes a horrific one, and the difference between doing something noble that is detrimental to you alone and truly taking responsibility for another human being, hits the reader hard. When it comes to responsibility, Orito makes a different choice. I love Orito’s strength, resilience, and agency – while her would-be lovers are busy with angst for months, she plans. I enjoyed her POV much more than Jacob’s (who sometimes comes off as a bit of an everyman), she is a lot more interesting.

The end chapters transformed this book from a four into a five star read. Perfectly done.

P.S. I suspect David Mitchell has seen a lot of samurai movies. The scenes, dialogues, turns of fortune in the samurai/ronin adventure part of the book were exactly right. show less