The NYT practically worshiped at the feet of David Mitchell last week. I'm looking for a new book (well, after this one) and I'm wondering if the hype is true.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
- Thread starter TerzaRima
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I haven't, but I'm going to, definitely. The NYC review was surprising to say the least, because the whole plot seems more like a parody, and the examples cited as "meticulous research" are uh, wrong.
Have you read the linked excerpt? The style and approach sound awfully like Clavell's Shogun.
Have you read the linked excerpt? The style and approach sound awfully like Clavell's Shogun.
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Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
So, I've been trying to plough through the last 70 pages of so of Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, and I'm really curious what people's thoughts were on it.
David Mitchell has long been an admired author of mine. Usually, when I recommend his books, one of the things I talk about really consistently liking is his characters. It took me awhile to pick up this book, and I feel really strange about it.
He claims he spent over 4 years studying for the backstory and he also lived in Japan. I've read about some of the mistakes he has made, but overall, the level of historical reference and language is impressive. The book has taken me forever to finish though. I really could not get into it at all. I'm almost done so I'm going to finish it, but the only character arc I liked throughout the whole book was Orito's. Once I got to her narration, those parts were interesting to me but the rest was just painful.
Does anyone else feel similarly? Or if you liked it, why did you like it? curious to see what people think. also I'm curious if anyone thinks he succeeded with implementing the historical backdrop as part of this novel, because, even though it was interesting, I often felt overwhelmed and confused by what he was introducing.
So, I've been trying to plough through the last 70 pages of so of Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, and I'm really curious what people's thoughts were on it.
David Mitchell has long been an admired author of mine. Usually, when I recommend his books, one of the things I talk about really consistently liking is his characters. It took me awhile to pick up this book, and I feel really strange about it.
He claims he spent over 4 years studying for the backstory and he also lived in Japan. I've read about some of the mistakes he has made, but overall, the level of historical reference and language is impressive. The book has taken me forever to finish though. I really could not get into it at all. I'm almost done so I'm going to finish it, but the only character arc I liked throughout the whole book was Orito's. Once I got to her narration, those parts were interesting to me but the rest was just painful.
Does anyone else feel similarly? Or if you liked it, why did you like it? curious to see what people think. also I'm curious if anyone thinks he succeeded with implementing the historical backdrop as part of this novel, because, even though it was interesting, I often felt overwhelmed and confused by what he was introducing.
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Yeah, from what I can tell, critics literally think this is his greatest book ever written, and I just don't see it. At all.
Terza, I would definitely pick up a different book of his if you were wanting to read it. I would say Black Swan Green or number9dream. I also liked Cloud Atlas a lot more than I thought I would. But I wouldn't recommend this one at all.
Terza, I would definitely pick up a different book of his if you were wanting to read it. I would say Black Swan Green or number9dream. I also liked Cloud Atlas a lot more than I thought I would. But I wouldn't recommend this one at all.