What a book! If you have read David Mitchell before, you know you are in for some masterful writing. His most noticed book was "Cloud Atlas" which is very different from "Autumns of JDZ." Mitchell is not an easy or effortless read. There is a lot to think about in his work, and in this novel in particular, you will have to pay attention to the dialogue so as not to miss its richness and meaning.
The book is set in the self-isolated country of Japan in 1799-1800. Most of the action takes place on the man-made island of Dejima, and in Nagasaki which is largely closed to foreigners. The Dutch East India Company has the sole trading rights here, and they operate like a small independent nation, being cut off themselves from the rest of the world and more or less imprisoned on Dejima. Our hero is a De Zoet a clerk who is serving time with the company while waiting to be granted the hand in marriage of his Dutch love. Jacob's history is immensely interesting and his adventures at this outpost are one thread of the story. In the part of the book taking place on Dejima, I was plunged into a Bruegel painting full of color, humanity, perfidy, vulgarity and injustice.
The second thread of the story centers on Miss Aibagawa a highly educated Japanese woman who has shown such promise in midwifery, that she has been allowed to enter Dejima to study medicine under the Dutch physician stationed there. When the reader steps onto the mainland, he or she enters into the world of Samurais and line and brush drawings.
The book's climax is precipitated by the arrival of a British warship, intent on opening up Japan to its own imperial ambitions. Here the reader is placed on board in a setting familiar to those who are fans of Patrick O'Brian's sea sagas.
Mitchell skillfully weaves the stories of Miss Aibaganwa and Jacob de Zoet together in a tale of unrequited love and adventure.
I loved this book and highly recommend it to any who are willing to invest their time to following its winding path.
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