The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

 The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

By David Mitchell

Set in the Dutch trading post of Djimi outside of Nagasaki, Japan, at the turn of the 19th century, this story

tells the tale of (as the title implies) a young clerk named Jacob de Zoet, who has signed on with the Dutch East India Company in a bid to win his fortune -- and the hand of a better-to-do Dutch woman he hopes to marry. He tries, and partially succeeds, but his rectitude proves an impediment to true wealth.

But what he finds instead might be more valuable. He falls in love with a young medical apprentice named Dr. Aibagawa, or Orito, and accidentally proposes. it is nearly accepted when fate, in the form of a near-demonic local lord, intervenes and banishes Orito to a strange mountain-top abbey.

The historical nature of this book is fascinating. I loved the way Mitchell recreated the Dutch-Japanese relationship of this period. It provides much dramatic tension in and of itself, particularly with the backstabbing politics of the DEIC and the arrival, toward the end of the book, of a British naval frigate (or some other navy-type boat). It raises lots of questions, such as: Was Japan better off as an isolated nation? What does it mean to be rich? Is it possible to be honest and successful? Can two people of such different backgrounds fall in love? What are the benefits and drawbacks of a strictly hierarchical society?

There is a supernatural element to this novel, though, that I found off-putting and, frankly, unnecessary. It involves a powerful Lord Abbot who is in charge of the Abbey to which Orito is banished. I'm not exactly sure why the author included this bit, ad it seemed to undermine the otherwise enthralling plot.