The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet Audiobook

" Set in the Dutch trading enclave and the environs of Nagasaki at the turn of the 19th century, this work can be seen as three intertwining novellas, held together by the central character of de Zoet. The pace is fast, there are a lot of interesting characters, and the atmosphere always feels genuine. The standard of writing is constantly high, and varies in tone frequently. Suspensful, entertaining, and thought-provoking. "

" Not naturally the most engaging subject matter but Mitchell turns it into an engrossing narrative with solid prose. "

" Perhaps the best I have read in 20 years or so. The final 30 pages are just beautiful. A wonderful book. "

" David Mitchell's books have so much in them that it's hard to ever give them a short review, and I don't have time for a long one, so I will just note that I loved The Thousand Autumns' idiosyncratic characters, unpredictable plot, unusual pacing, beautiful descriptions and tangible historical details, and the calm melancholy of its ending. Perfect. "

" This was recommended by a friend for my husband to read- but I took it first! It was a bit hard for me to get used to the language at first, but I am now IN IT, and I think this writer writes amazingly. I am halfway through, and it keeps getting better. "

" It's a big story, with lots of parts so it might seem confusing or hard to follow at first, but as the story builds you get to know the characters and eagerly read on to find out what happens to them. "

" Loved this too (after CA). Love historical fiction with a page turning plot. "

" Everything a book should be. "

" I really like Mitchell's writing and the intertwined and particularly the maritime subplots, but I thought this one kind of unwound in the last hundred pages or so. Still good, but not as mind-blowing as the last. "

" I read this on the heels of Cloud Atlas, by the same author. What I loved most was learning about a time and place that I previously had no idea existed. "

" People told me that cloud atlas was better, but I think this is just as excellent. It is a very different book and style, but a great, great story set in such an interesting time and place. "

" Complex with many characters but absorbing to read. Lots of Historical detail. "

" Fascinating. Recommend highly "

" Fantastic read. A real page turner At first I worried about the number of charters that kept cropping up I felt I'd never keep track however their all so vivid and their incredibly memorable. The setting is Japan I felt I lived there. Loved it! "

" A well written book, but I was not gripped by the major characters and found their narrative arcs (and the book's), to be predictable. Slightly disappointing. "

" I could have done without all the instances where "a ewe bleats" and "a monkey screeches" liberally interspliced the dialogues, but other than that, an highly enjoyable historical fiction that I found hard to put down. "

" this scratched my downton abbey itch . .. ! "

" If you like historical novels in the vein of the great Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, you should enjoy this. The story has a frisson of more "thriller" type elements to it than you would see in the aforementioned, but this makes for a good story-telling twist. "

" Took me a really long time to get into this book, which was strange because I usually love his stuff. Eventually I did enjoy it, but had to apply myself. "

" Brilliantly written. Great story. 18th century Japan from the point of view of Dutch traders. Makes me want to give up writing. "

" Definitely read this book at a leisurely pace. Some of the sentences that Mitchell writes are amazing--great turn of phrases. "