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keaku's review against another edition
2.0
This was a hard read and I almost put it down several times. The beginning was slow, the middle was better and the end was ok.
chrissych's review against another edition
5.0
I really, deeply enjoyed this book, and I've spent a few days now thinking about why. It's not an exciting read-- indeed, I thought I would give up on it after the first 50 pages took me weeks to get through-- but I found it to be a surprisingly satisfying one. It took me nearly 3 months to read, but I think the slow pace helped me digest and appreciate it. It is a quiet novel, a slow burn that builds steadily with subtle layers of complexity folding in with every shift in perspective. Despite having a titular protagonist, the novel actually moves between the third-person perspectives of about 15 different focal characters and each transition adds its own universe, its own tone, its own point of view to the accumulated understanding of the plot and the actors within it.
On its surface the novel is about the bridging between two worlds; east and west, tradition and innovation, christianity and shintoism (itself conceived of as a bridge between past and present), feudalism and capitalism. These themes are explored extensively through trade and interpersonal relationships between the Japanese and the Dutch, all accommodated by translators and then further translated into English for the reader. Whereas the exploration of these overt themes was thought-provoking, I think my deeper enjoyment of the novel came from the subtext or the corollaries that fall out of the overt themes.
Others have commented that this novel has more of a traditional plot structure than any of Mitchell's other works. Although I generally agree that is structurally more traditional, I would argue that it fills that structure in a very non-traditional way. There are several protagonists and several antagonists, all colliding against one another in a loosely organized chaos. Each focal character gets his or her own climax, and what some might call the ultimate climax of the novel involves the introduction of an 11th hour antagonist and is largely anticlimactic (though not unsatisfying in the slightest). The denouement meanders across the many protagonists, jumps forward in time more than once, and leaves a myriad of loose ends hanging. It shouldn't work as well as it does, from the perspective of traditional storytelling.
Expanding on the explicit themes, what I took from the novel's subtext is this: the bridge between any two minds, any two perspectives, any two lived experiences, are as vast and difficult to navigate as the bridge between two worlds. Loosely organized chaos is the way of the natural world and thus of human experience. Characters make plans and take actions, but the plans and actions of the people around them bump against them and nobody ends up quite where they expect to. Things happen, people act, their actions affect you, and you might never know why because that bridge between your mind and theirs is ultimately impassable. Language serves to translate between two minds, but it is necessarily limited by the different meanings our individual histories have imparted upon the very same words. Everyone is connected but everyone is alone. I will be thinking about this novel for a long time to come.
On its surface the novel is about the bridging between two worlds; east and west, tradition and innovation, christianity and shintoism (itself conceived of as a bridge between past and present), feudalism and capitalism. These themes are explored extensively through trade and interpersonal relationships between the Japanese and the Dutch, all accommodated by translators and then further translated into English for the reader. Whereas the exploration of these overt themes was thought-provoking, I think my deeper enjoyment of the novel came from the subtext or the corollaries that fall out of the overt themes.
Others have commented that this novel has more of a traditional plot structure than any of Mitchell's other works. Although I generally agree that is structurally more traditional, I would argue that it fills that structure in a very non-traditional way. There are several protagonists and several antagonists, all colliding against one another in a loosely organized chaos. Each focal character gets his or her own climax, and what some might call the ultimate climax of the novel involves the introduction of an 11th hour antagonist and is largely anticlimactic (though not unsatisfying in the slightest). The denouement meanders across the many protagonists, jumps forward in time more than once, and leaves a myriad of loose ends hanging. It shouldn't work as well as it does, from the perspective of traditional storytelling.
Expanding on the explicit themes, what I took from the novel's subtext is this: the bridge between any two minds, any two perspectives, any two lived experiences, are as vast and difficult to navigate as the bridge between two worlds. Loosely organized chaos is the way of the natural world and thus of human experience. Characters make plans and take actions, but the plans and actions of the people around them bump against them and nobody ends up quite where they expect to. Things happen, people act, their actions affect you, and you might never know why because that bridge between your mind and theirs is ultimately impassable. Language serves to translate between two minds, but it is necessarily limited by the different meanings our individual histories have imparted upon the very same words. Everyone is connected but everyone is alone. I will be thinking about this novel for a long time to come.
monkeelino's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second book I've read by Mitchell and his characters seem to charm me almost from the first page. Set in Japan at the turn of the 19th century, our main character (humble Dutch accountant, Jacob de Zoet) works for the Dutch trading company and finds himself quickly ensnared in corporate corruption, diplomatic complexities, and a love affair made all but impossible by cultural dictates. Hoping to find his fortune and return home wealthy to marry his fiancée in but a year's time, Jacob finds that fate knocks him completely off course. What follows is a fascinating tale made rich by a great many well-researched social, historical, and cultural details. Mitchell manages to drop just enough of a peak around the next corner to make you want to keep chasing his narration. For a decent-sized book, it has a wonderful pace and certainly transported this reader entirely (I was reading two other very good books at the time and set both aside to concentrated almost exclusively on this one). Personally, the dialogue and the characters won me over almost instantly.
hardcoverhearts's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
abeerhoque's review against another edition
5.0
I heart David Mitchell. I want to have his babies. But since this is not possible (he lives in Ireland with his wife and children), I content myself with his words. 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet' is his fifth novel, about a Dutch clerk, a burned midwife, a Japanese translator, an English captain - their lives intersecting in a port of Nagasaki, Japan in the early 1800's, and his writing is more startlingly poetic than ever.
Mr. Mitchell's skill with dialect, so commanding in 'Cloud Atlas' is evident here as well. The cardshark Ari Grote's speech is hilarious, witty, and colourful, and the other sailors, slaves, and henchmen, hailing from Ireland, Batavia, England, Ceylon, and of course Japan, have each their own particular language and style.
The book switches between different perspectives, each one opening a world behind the character, filling out enormous spaces I often didn't even realise were there, rounding out even detestable characters, and showing the author's enormous abilities with psychology and dialogue.
The plot gets off to a slow start, but by the second third of the book, I was hooked (and not just because the point of view switched to that of a hot Japanese girl surgeon with a burn mark on her face).
I wish I had noted some of my favourite lines, which were often one line poems inserted throughout the book. But any one page will yield gorgeousness. Here are three random selections:
'The notes are spidery and starlit and spun from glass. The music provokes a sharp longing the music soothes.
'Melt what I am into you, she begs the darkness.'
'The fine black silk is crisp as snow and heavy as air.'
I highly recommend this book.
Mr. Mitchell's skill with dialect, so commanding in 'Cloud Atlas' is evident here as well. The cardshark Ari Grote's speech is hilarious, witty, and colourful, and the other sailors, slaves, and henchmen, hailing from Ireland, Batavia, England, Ceylon, and of course Japan, have each their own particular language and style.
The book switches between different perspectives, each one opening a world behind the character, filling out enormous spaces I often didn't even realise were there, rounding out even detestable characters, and showing the author's enormous abilities with psychology and dialogue.
The plot gets off to a slow start, but by the second third of the book, I was hooked (and not just because the point of view switched to that of a hot Japanese girl surgeon with a burn mark on her face).
I wish I had noted some of my favourite lines, which were often one line poems inserted throughout the book. But any one page will yield gorgeousness. Here are three random selections:
'The notes are spidery and starlit and spun from glass. The music provokes a sharp longing the music soothes.
'Melt what I am into you, she begs the darkness.'
'The fine black silk is crisp as snow and heavy as air.'
I highly recommend this book.
helene_g's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely amazing. A rich, multi-layered story populated with an impressive array of characters, this book is the best I've come across in a very long time.
underdog30's review against another edition
5.0
Another spectacular effort from Mr. Mitchell. I can't laud him enough. A beautiful novel that makes the common sublime and contains so many breath-taking moments, so much fabulous prose, a reader might not know whether to laugh at his good fortune, or cry at the turning of another page.
teagan821's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book. I really did. I read Cloud Atlas when I was 16 and it felt life-changing. I was in awe of Mitchell's mastery of voice, language, setting, character, etc. And so while the synopsis of this novel didn't particularly intrigue me, I expected to set off into another incredibly crafted adventure.
To start, I had a hard time differentiating and remembering some of the characters. Especially when Uzaemon's point of view came into focus. Part of the issue was that it was difficult to feel these characters. Sure, there are lots of names and languages in play, but the tone and true personality of characters was vague and a bit unrealistic. I get that Jacob's whole schtick is being the straight and narrow, but nothing urged me to root for him. His entire existence was mechanical. There was nothing in his past or his psyche that fleshed him into a 3D human rather than a list of character traits. And that remained for almost all the characters. The only one who felt real to me was Marinus.
Another issue is that the subplot of Orito stuck at the monastery had the absolutely most unsatisfactory ending. That she almost gets rescued, then escapes, then turns back, then the novel turns its shoulder on her until the epilogue. On the one hand, I'm impressed by the unusual and daring choice to let Uzaemon get killed. On the other, how much more interesting would the novel have been had he lived? What was the point of having Orito turn back around right when she feels freedom? I would rather have seen her escape and then captured then simply turning around. It sucked the passion and urgency right out of the novel.
The last two main moves (poisoning Enomoto and surviving the English attack) felt the most satisfactory and meaningful of the whole novel. And yet, when I closed the last page, I wondered what it all added up to. Jacob was our main character, but didn't have much heart, realism, wants or needs. Our "love story" never once materialized. Our other main character, Uzaemon, had been dead for years without much of a second thought. And if the novel was supposed to be a larger commentary or broad strokes painting, it was too bogged down by well-researched details to move us in that direction. To agree with a previous review, the novel was technically well done, but lacked heart. The only thing that motivated me to turn the page was to log it on Goodreads.
To start, I had a hard time differentiating and remembering some of the characters. Especially when Uzaemon's point of view came into focus. Part of the issue was that it was difficult to feel these characters. Sure, there are lots of names and languages in play, but the tone and true personality of characters was vague and a bit unrealistic. I get that Jacob's whole schtick is being the straight and narrow, but nothing urged me to root for him. His entire existence was mechanical. There was nothing in his past or his psyche that fleshed him into a 3D human rather than a list of character traits. And that remained for almost all the characters. The only one who felt real to me was Marinus.
Another issue is that the subplot of Orito stuck at the monastery had the absolutely most unsatisfactory ending. That she almost gets rescued, then escapes, then turns back, then the novel turns its shoulder on her until the epilogue. On the one hand, I'm impressed by the unusual and daring choice to let Uzaemon get killed. On the other, how much more interesting would the novel have been had he lived? What was the point of having Orito turn back around right when she feels freedom? I would rather have seen her escape and then captured then simply turning around. It sucked the passion and urgency right out of the novel.
The last two main moves (poisoning Enomoto and surviving the English attack) felt the most satisfactory and meaningful of the whole novel. And yet, when I closed the last page, I wondered what it all added up to. Jacob was our main character, but didn't have much heart, realism, wants or needs. Our "love story" never once materialized. Our other main character, Uzaemon, had been dead for years without much of a second thought. And if the novel was supposed to be a larger commentary or broad strokes painting, it was too bogged down by well-researched details to move us in that direction. To agree with a previous review, the novel was technically well done, but lacked heart. The only thing that motivated me to turn the page was to log it on Goodreads.
paulhill53's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get into the book, but once it took off, it was very interesting. Lots of interesting cultural references to Japan before it was opened to the rest of the world.
danamgallagher's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book, and I did, some of the time. But I found it pretty heavy going, and actually couldn't finish it--unusual for me. Maybe I'll try again sometime...