Hello Gentle Reader
One at times looses a sense of time. Just today for instant, I thought it was Thursday and later learned it was Friday, and now as I write this blog a day late, I look at the time (for it is 11:45pm) I am going to soon be late another day. Sad really. For that my sincerest apologies for being late. But I suppose this time of year gets the better of us all. Running around, trying to finish Christmas shopping. Hanging Christmas lights for the sheer enjoyment of lighting up those dark, early dusks and nights that befall people on winter; and of course the general good will and cheer that people feel for each other. Yet precautions should always be taken no matter what. Especially this holiday season -- among all holiday seasons. There is something about Christmas, that people, just feel the need to drink and drive. Not the greatest idea on the slippery roads. If people of this world had any common sense -- which the general population doesn't I can see that; they would not drink and drive.
But enough about that. Even though this type of season gets us all busy and running around -- will this pink sweater please my daughter? Will this shirt make my son smile? Will my husband love this new watch? Will my wife adore these diamond earrings? And all that other selfless thinking of getting gifts for others, I was able to maintain a reading schedule. I was able to finish David Mitchell's Booker Prize 2010 long listed, novel "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet."
Once again the amazing ventriloquist author David Mitchell (each time I put that name down I keep almost changing it to 'Jacob de Zoet,') gives his talents, of creating unique voices to his characters. His imaganation makes the historical novel, a interesting read, and his research for this novel, gives the entire land of Japan a well thought out image, but also leaves the magical land in some form of obscurity, letting the unknowing of our main character "Jacob de Zoet," and this mysterious land of Japan be felt all the way through.
With this novel David Mitchell takes us away from the stylistic showmanship of his well-known novel "Cloud Atlas," and takes "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet," into a different route. The novel is written in the third-person perspective. The novel would appear rather straightforward, and linear and easy to understand compared to "Cloud Atlas," there is no jumping of time and space -- no nothing of that sort. But "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet," captures the periods feelings, and politics, and the desire of the period -- and often its ever so familiar idea's and themes that can be seen in today’s world -- so perfectly.
Of course sometimes the conversations appear a bit to formal or out of place in today’s society, but at the same time there is a certain understanding that this is probably the way that some of those people talked. But speech is one of David Mitchell's strong points. Sometimes to a fault though. The Japanese accent when the Japanese interpreters talk in Dutch -- as they almost sound like children because they forget certain words, but there is enough there to understand just what they are saying. There is of course, then the sometimes crash and rude talk of the less educated or well-off people, who speak in very vulgar terms, and ways. Or what would probably vulgar at the time. Yet even though their grotesque language there is a certain honourable trait about them, that one soon learns to admire in later points of the novel. Well others, truly are cowards that we have all encountered in our day to day lives.
That is something that David Mitchell, much like Charles Dickens is able to do. He is able to create certain situations -- no matter how absurd in today’s world (if such a thing exists!); and makes it relatable through characters or common universal experiences that one can have a form of sympathy with the characters. Betrayal and political jingoism are two of the keys that allowed me personally to relate to some of the characters.
There is one thing that I will point in this novel -- as it feels in David Mitchell's last novel "Cloud Atlas," is the characters on some level or another are connected to each other. Each one is bridged to the others, through a common interest or love. Look at the character Doctor Marinus. He is connected to his students -- One of which is Orito Aibagawa; is connected his students via his love learning, teaching, knowledge, medical practice, and his love of botany.
Of course one would argue that we all argue on some level or another, that the novel would not be able to progress without some form of character like connections even on a minor degree. Perhaps, and perhaps not. I wont argue how a novel should progress or how a novel should not progress.
"The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet," even though set in the past, has many reminiscent(s) of the present. The cheating, that two people do to each other. Each time one tries to cheat the other in some deal or another. The amount of what makes a human better then another human. Look at the treatment of what people in this novel call "Slaves," what makes them less human then those that consider them less human? This is a question that to this day is being asked. Cruelty to each other is a universal theme, and the idea of "slavery," is something that David Mitchell seems to use to ask the question: what makes one person better then another?
As someone else pointed out to me however, with the characters there are good characters and bad characters. The protagonists and the antagonists. Yet in some way or another David Mitchell makes the good from the bad quite clear. Jacob de Zoet, Doctor Marnius, and Orito Aibagawa all have certain aspects in common. They are all have this "moral superiority," that others do not have. They have this humbling air about them. They all search for knowledge -- two are in the medical field one is a book keeper exposing lies and truths. They all have a sense of right and wrong. Then there are the antagonists. Enomoto, Fischer, John Penhaligon. Though I must say quickly John Penhaligon is not really a bad man he just see the worst of him for the most part. These characters are all selfish. They would kill, betray and throw their own mother and grandmother underneath a train to move ahead in the world. They all have a certain aspect that speaks of themselves to look out for themselves, and move themselves faster and higher in their own world.
So the idea of antagonist and protagonist is quite clearly seen. There is good and there is bad. there is no real neutral in this idea and form. You are either good or you are either bad, in some ways.
There are a few other problems that I had also noticed.
The Novels ending though quite good, was upsetting in some ways. It felt exhausted and tired out. Surely I can understand however that David Mitchell after four years of doing research and writing this novel would have gotten tired of this novel. It must have been very stressful upon him, and I am a sympathetic person and I understand, but still the ending appeared toe end in a fashion that felt neat and tidy. Even though it did betray my first thoughts on how it would end. On how everyone lived happily ever after. However it still did not satisfy me. I wanted to know more about Orito Aibagawa's time in her imprisonment in the shrine. I wanted to know about how Dejima in the in-between time after the attack on it, and before the ending. There was so much that I wanted to know, and yet if I got my way the novel would blow up to a huge unreadable melodramatic extreme. So I can say that in some way or another I am happy that the novel ended -- to a degree(!); the way it did.
I can see why this novel was not placed as one of the shortlisted books for the "Booker Prize." Even though it was a great novel, I can see why it was not placed there. However David Mitchell's talent can still be seen. His novels (for I have only read two) are not of the same calibre, and are certainly different from each other, which will hopefully never make David Mitchell a boring author to read.
Take Care Gentle Reader
Thank-you for Reading Gentle Reader
And As Always
Stay Well Read
M.Mary
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