The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de ZoetThe Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
Score Modern
What it's about
In 1799, Japan is closed to the West except for Dejima, a tiny artificial island in Nagasaki harbor where Dutch traders are allowed to live. Jacob de Zoet, a pious young clerk, arrives to root out corruption and make his fortune so he can marry his fiancée back home. Then he falls for Orito, a scarred Japanese midwife, who is taken away to a sinister mountain shrine.
Why it's worth reading
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize. It's Mitchell's most straightforward novel, a sweeping historical adventure and love story.
You'll love it if you liked
Cloud Atlas
Shōgun
Memoirs of a GeishaGood to know
It's long and dense with historical detail. The shrine's secret is disturbing, involving forced pregnancies.
By the numbers
- Readers48 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics15 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller50 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
On our reserve shelf: it's well reviewed, but isn't currently a prize winner, a lifetime bestseller or a book everyone's talking about, so we don't rank it. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Epic, Moving
More by David Mitchell
If you like this, read next
The Underground Railroad
Sea of Poppies
Beloved
The Master and Margarita
All the Light We Cannot See
AmericanahExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet worth reading?
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Its Must-Read Score is 68.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet about?
In 1799, Japan is closed to the West except for Dejima, a tiny artificial island in Nagasaki harbor where Dutch traders are allowed to live. Jacob de Zoet, a pious young clerk, arrives to root out corruption and make his fortune so he can marry his fiancée back home. Then he falls for Orito, a scarred Japanese midwife, who is taken away to a sinister mountain shrine.
How long does it take to read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet?
About 13 hours (530 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet?
If you liked it, try Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Shōgun by James Clavell or Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.