“Over the balcony of the Room of Last Chrysanthemum, where a puddle from last night’s rain is evaporating; a puddle in which Magistrate Shiroyama observes the blurred reflections of gulls wheeling through spokes of sunlight. This world, he thinks, contains just one masterpiece, and that is itself.”This is not at all what I expected. Which isn't to say that I didn't love it, because I did. In fact, I drew out the process of finishing it so that I could savor that feeling of being waist deep inside of the narrative - that space where you are thinking about the characters as you're walking to the bus, wondering if they are going to get themselves out of a situation, or hoping that certain threads remain central and others fade away. When I finally finished it I felt sad for a minute, holding the book gently, as if gripping it too hard would somehow harm its integrity.
Most surprising was how narratively straightforward this novel was. Mitchell's status as a literary darling is very tied into the wildly experimental, lyrical work of Cloud Atlas. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet follows the eponymous Jacob, a Dutch accountant with the Dutch East India Company on the fictional island of Dejima off of the coast of Nagasaki in the year of 1799. Japan had just opened its borders in a limited way to trade, skeptical of both the cultural and financial motivations of the Dutch population. Jacob is both the narrative and moral center of the novel, incorruptible in the face of so much trade related corruption. On the island Jacob falls in love with Orito Aiwagaba a midwife and an apprentice studying under the brash and hilarious Dr. Marinus.
The novel is divided broadly into three sections, organized around both lunar and Gregorian calendars. The first introduces the reader to the intricacies of the imperial relationship between the Dutch traders and the Japanese, establishing the bureaucratic protocol and delicate etiquette expectations between the two societal forces. The second section focuses on Orito, after she is abducted due to her father's debt and housed in a holy temple with a horrifying secret rite that both terrifies and disgusts her. This is one of the more obviously compelling moments in the novel, a band of evil monks ruled by one of the most powerful men in the country are secretly using kidnapped, deformed women as breeders for their rites, rites in which they sacrifice and then eat children. Somehow in Mitchell's hand this section does not come off as over the top, even though with some distance it seems ridiculous, his attention to detail and highly referential, literary linguistics create a calm and measured tone that deals with absurdity well. The third section is a bit jarring, as it introduces an entirely new character at a late moment in the novel, but his thoughts and moral dilemmas end up connecting all disparate points of the story, forcing an epic conclusion that matches the scope of the story.
Beginning from historical facts and exploding them into larger than life mythical dimensions, Mitchell has constructed a book that feels like its existed for centuries. The contemporary sensibilities are so subtly woven into the narrative, the use of drawings and diagrams, the experimental use of voice, so seamlessly fit into the narrative. Mitchell does engage with your expectations, withholding information at certain points or shifting realities just when you get involved. We switch right from Orito's perspective in the middle of a daring escape attempt and never return to find out the conclusion directly, it is infuriating but draws attention to our narrative needs and desires. Mitchell balances these desires well, to fulfill the expectation of plot while challenging us in style; to give us what we want and leave us satisfyingly hanging at times. More than this, he inverted the reading public's expectations of him as a writer - known for shifting realities and time periods, literary experimentation of the highest order, instead he gives us a historical novel generally focused on a love triangle. The marriage of these two ideas, the avant garde novelist and the classic story combines for both absorbing and impactful storytelling.
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