The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

By: David Mitchell

Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith, Paula Wilcox

Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

The electrifying new novel by 'one of the most brilliantly inventive writers of this, or any country.' (Boyd Tonkin, Independent)

Imagine a nation banishing the outside world for two centuries, crushing all vestiges of Christianity, forbidding its subjects to leave its shores on pain of death, and harbouring a deep mistrust of European ideas. The narrow window onto this nation-fortress is a walled, artificial island attached to the mainland port and manned by a handful of traders. Locked as the land-gate may be, however, it cannot prevent the meeting of minds – or hearts.

The nation was Japan, the port was Nagasaki, and the island was Dejima, to where David Mitchell's panoramic novel transports us in the year 1799. For one young Dutch clerk, Jacob de Zoet, a strage adventure of duplicity, love, guilt, faith and murder is about to begin – and all the while, unbeknownst to the men confined on Dejima, the axis of global power is turning....

©2010 David Mitchell (P)2010 Hodder & Stoughton

Great, but...

I love the book and this is a great performance, but it's an abridged version which loses some of the original's delicate beauty (and some elements of the story) in exchange for brevity. If I'd known, I'd have waited for the unabridged version

Terrifically irritating music

In order to help the listener along , geo - guidance utterly naff music was played . For example when the action shifted from Japan to onboard the British ship , the horn pipe was played . When it shifted back to Japan , twangy , cliched strings were plucked . Ugh . Tim Pigott Smith plating all parts was just too much . Had the potential to be gripping . It was not .