Listen free for 30 days
-
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
- Narrated by: Jonathan Aris, Paula Wilcox
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
Buy Now for $50.93
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
A Booker finalist and Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winner, David Mitchell was called “prodigiously daring and imaginative” by Time and “a genius” by the New York Times Book Review.
The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the “high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island” that is the Japanese Empire’s single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged 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 fiancée back in Holland.
But Jacob’s original intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with Orito Aibagawa, the disfigured daughter of a samurai doctor and midwife to the city’s 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 Jacob’s worst imaginings. As one cynical colleague asks, “Who ain’t a gambler in the glorious Orient, with his very life?”
What the critics say
More from the same
Author:
Narrator:
What listeners say about The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bill Pollett
- 2020-08-16
Packed full of stories and lush poetic prose.
A rich, gorgeous book, filled with adventure, humour, tragedy, many moments of haunting beauty, and a deeply felt generosity of spirit. Not to mention the letter perfect performances. Pure pleasure all the way.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wesley Brookes
- 2020-09-08
Read it already... listened to it the second time.
Maybe I'm biased since David Mitchell is one of my favourite authors but this story is just a gem. Prepared to be transported to the late 19th century Japan through the eyes of a young clerk named Jacob De Zoet (pronouced Yakub de Zeut). I love the touch Marinus adds to the story... he/she's hilariously sassy this book. Jacob and Marinus' character arcs are really touching. They should have made this one into a movie instead of Cloud Atlas! Sheesh! Or Bone Clocks even!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Maria Dolores
- 2019-10-08
Long but rewarding story
An interesting slice of history, well told. However it might’ve been a better novel with a hundred fewer pages.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nels Anderson
- 2018-09-13
Mitchell's Best
Tangible and well-researched, Mitchell creates a striking picture of a fascinating period of world history. Grounded in its characters but evocative in its setting, this is maybe his most grounded work and likely his best. #Audible1
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Diana M
- 2022-11-14
Deeply engaging
Wow. This was a compelling story all the way through, but whereas the endings in, I would say, most novels range from satisfying down to deflated and obscure, the last few chapters of this nearly 19-hour work elevate it into art. Remarkable. The story of a young Dutchman come out to the East Indies to make his fortune and win his true love could have been predictable at several points, but Mitchell found subtler and more interesting paths at every juncture.
The narrators are both splendid. Aris, who did most of the narration, is simply remarkable in his ability to produce convincing individual voices in a myriad different accents.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Meghan Ricketts
- 2021-02-26
Should be taught in English classes
This is a new literary classic. Would do well to be studied in English classes.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- JohnS
- 2021-01-10
Great writing!
Stick with this book, and you will be rewarded. It’s an historical saga that requires attention and persistence to get all the nuggets embedded in it. Highly recommendable.
The narration by J. Aris and P. Wilcox is excellent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!