The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet, A Novel

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 Shortlisted For The Man Booker Prize. The New York Times Book Review Called Him Simply A Genius. Now David Mitchell Lends Fresh Credence To The Guardians 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 Highwalled, Fanshaped Artificial Island That Is The Japanese Empires Single Port And Sole Window Onto The World, Designed To Keep The West At Bay; The Farthest Outpost Of The Warravaged 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 Fiance Back In Holland.But Jacobs Original Intentions Are Eclipsed After A Chance Encounter With Orito Aibagawa, The Disfigured Daughter Of A Samurai Doctor And Midwife To The Citys 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 Jacobs Worst Imaginings. As One Cynical Colleague Asks, Who Aint 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 Zoeta Pageturner . . . [David] Mitchells Masterpiece; And Also, I Am Convinced, A Masterpiece Of Our Time.Richard Eder, The Boston Globean Achingly Romantic Story Of Forbidden Love . . . Mitchells 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 Reviewthe Novelist Whos Been Showing Us The Future Of Fiction Has Published A Classic, Oldfashioned Tale . . . An Epic Of Sacrificial Love, Clashing Civilizations And Enemies Who Wont Rest Until Whole Family Lines Have Been Snuffed Out.Ron Charles, The Washington Postby Any Standards, The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet Is A Formidable Marvel.James Wood, The New Yorkera Beautiful Novel, Full Of Life And Authenticity, Atmosphere And Characters That Breathe.Maureen Corrigan, Npr