There's nothing like the experience of a great read to get all fired up about books and reading in general. I wonder if any language has a word for the the somewhat desperate desire to find and begin reading immediately another good book right after finishing a fabulous one?
I enjoyed that feeling and the book that brought it on was David Mitchell's latest, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. It's the turn of the 18th century and de Zoet has just arrived on Dejima, an isolated island enclave in Nagasaki harbor. Dejima is the only trading port in Japan, a country which restricts interaction with the West to this small community of traders. The young bookkeeper is tasked to sort out the ledgers of the Dutch trading company and sniff out the corruption. De Zoet discovers the intrigue within and without the walls of Dejima and while his story remains central, the stories of a lovely but scarred midwife and a Japanese interpreter are woven seamlessly through de Zoet's.
Mitchell is a master wordsmith and I wonder if this might be his opus. In my opinion it is so far, which is saying something, since his other titles are wonderful. Thousand Autumns easily falls into the category of "sweeping epic" but reads like a gripping adventure. A friend who was lured in by my description asked it she'd be hooked in the first 50 of the nearly 500 pages. I picked up the book, looked at the first chapter and responded, "I'll give you nine." I've read a lot of good books that start off with a breathtaking beginning that, unfortunately, plateaus off quickly never to return. Not only can Mitchell make his pages absolutely sing, make evident a tremendous body of research and take on some very big ideas -- he can map out a rising and falling plot to perfection.
I enjoyed that feeling and the book that brought it on was David Mitchell's latest, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. It's the turn of the 18th century and de Zoet has just arrived on Dejima, an isolated island enclave in Nagasaki harbor. Dejima is the only trading port in Japan, a country which restricts interaction with the West to this small community of traders. The young bookkeeper is tasked to sort out the ledgers of the Dutch trading company and sniff out the corruption. De Zoet discovers the intrigue within and without the walls of Dejima and while his story remains central, the stories of a lovely but scarred midwife and a Japanese interpreter are woven seamlessly through de Zoet's.
Mitchell is a master wordsmith and I wonder if this might be his opus. In my opinion it is so far, which is saying something, since his other titles are wonderful. Thousand Autumns easily falls into the category of "sweeping epic" but reads like a gripping adventure. A friend who was lured in by my description asked it she'd be hooked in the first 50 of the nearly 500 pages. I picked up the book, looked at the first chapter and responded, "I'll give you nine." I've read a lot of good books that start off with a breathtaking beginning that, unfortunately, plateaus off quickly never to return. Not only can Mitchell make his pages absolutely sing, make evident a tremendous body of research and take on some very big ideas -- he can map out a rising and falling plot to perfection.
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