The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: A Novel

by David Mitchell

June 2010

Random House

This book starts out very slowly as it introduces a plethora of characters. It is set in Nagasaki at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Jacob de Zoet is a young Dutchman, working for the Dutch East India Company in Japan. He has left the Netherlands in hopes of making a fortune in the East so he can marry the girl he is leaving behind. Jacob comes to Deijima, a manmade island that the Japanese have set up as the sole location for trade with the West. Jacob is traveling with the new chief, Unico Vostenbosch, who is tasked with rooting out company corruption. Jacob is a likeable, honest, even eager acolyte in serving the company, a position which gives rise to conflicts with the existing corrupt staff. The non-Japanese (Dutch, Irish, English, Ceylonese and American) are physically confined to this island as the Japanese attempt to keep Japan closed to western influences. Jacob meets and quickly falls in love with Orito Aibagawa, a Japanese mid-wife. This relationship is not possible in this setting, so Jacob uses some subterfuge to convey to her his feelings. This section of the book is slow going and somewhat frustrating as the interactions between the Europeans and the Japanese plod along. No doubt intentional on the author’s part to allow us to feel the stifling atmosphere experienced here.

In the middle section of the book, Orito is literally “engifted” to a nunnery to pay off her late father’s debts. The shrine where she is sent is overseen by an evil lord, Enomoto, who with his monks is impregnating the women and then murdering their children. Orito has been brought there to serve as the midwife for the nunnery. She is deeply unhappy and contemplates escape. Unbeknownst to Jacob, his interpreter, Ogawa Uzaemon also is in love with Orito. When a scroll outlining the terrible acts committed at the nunnery comes into Uzaemon’s possession he decides to act to free Orito. Before going off Uzaemon gives the scroll to Jacob. Uzaemon is not successful in freeing Orito and is killed by Enomoto.

In the last section of the book a British frigate arrives and the actions that follow set the stage for all of the plot lines to be pulled together. I won’t give away the ending but I found it deeply satisfying.

The historical aspects of this novel are well researched and ring true. The setting for this story is exotic, rich and gripping. The author’s ability to write dialogue for characters from different ethnic backgrounds and account for their language and style is exceptional and adds to the realism of this story. His ability to place these characters within the world events of the time period also adds to the richness of this story. The love story while somewhat understated I found to be very powerful and even haunting. The author is able to describe Japan and Japanese society in a way that shows it to be corrupt but also alluring and complex.

This book requires more attention than your standard summer read but in my opinion is an epic saga full of adventure and memorable characters - well worth the time.

Room

Room: A Novel

By Emma Donoghue

September 2010

Little, Brown and Company

I found this to be a somewhat amazing book. This review will contain lots of spoilers so if you have not read it, stop right now and run out to get your copy. It is the story of five year old Jack and his mother. They are living in a single room and have done so for the entire five years of Jack’s life. Initially you are not told why they are confined to this room, but as the story proceeds you learn the horrific truth – that Jack’s mother has been kidnapped, held and continually raped by his father. The story is told in Jack’s voice from his perspective as a precocious child. What an imaginative story it is! His persona is unfailing positive in the face of the threatening situation in which they live. I was blown away by the creativity and ability of this author to present the story in such a clever way. Jack’s mother works to provide a safe environment for him all the while teaching, training and generally entertaining him within the confines of the room. Jack is totally unaware of the outside world but is happy and contented within the room – “...I have thousands of things to do each day”.

While Jack is carefree and fun loving, the reader comes to realize the situation and the terrible fate that faces Jack and his mother. His mother is also aware of the threat to them, but successfully keeps Jack feeling safe. After a very threatening time – power is cut, food supply dwindling - Jack’s mother organizes an escape plan for them that relies on the five year old to perform some heroic feats. The suspense builds as the escape plan is hatched. This section of this book is as thrilling as any suspense novel I’ve read.

The last half of the book deals with Jack’s introduction to the outside world. While it is also well written and very entertaining it is not as riveting as the first half of the novel. His mother must deal with news media, changed family relationships and emotions that roller coaster up and down. Jack separates from the close relationship he has had with his mother and starts to develop as an independent person seeing himself as others see him. Jack’s experiences in learning about the outside world are funny and poignant. In the end mother and son seem to triumph over adversity. I thought the ending where they return to the room of their captivity (a shed in the kidnapper’s back yard) and decide they can go forward with their lives was a good one.

I really liked this book. I thought the author, Emma Donoghue, took a ripped from the headlines story (see Josef Fritzl) and ingeniously turned it into something special. Might be the best book I’ve read this year.  This book was short listed for the Mann-Booker prize last week  but alas did not win.

Lamb

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

by Christopher Moore
Harper Paperbacks
February 2003

This is a book I’d never pick on my own but it came with a strong recommendation from a friend. It’s tough to categorize this story, certainly it is humorous but there is more to it than that.
The story features Biff (aka Levi) a young Jewish boy who is Joshua’s (aka Jesus H. Christ) best friend. It covers the years of Joshua’s life from birth to the age 30 and since there is little in the gospels about these years the author has free reign to tell a story. It’s a pretty good story! Biff and Joshua meet and fall in love with Mary Magdalene (aka Maggie), travel extensively in Asia and the Indian sub continent, and after an absence of 17 years arrive back in Israel to begin Joshua’s work as the Messiah. While the pretext of the story might sound offensive to some, it really isn’t. Moore handles the formative years of Joshua in an irreverent but ultimately reverential way. The story moves quickly and is in many places laugh out loud funny – no really it is! Some of the humor is witty, some really witty and some sophomoric but still witty. But under all of the humor the author has taken care to show through the travels of Biff and Joshua the connections between Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Christianity. He also puts a really human face on Joshua in describing him as a young Hebrew boy coming to terms with his destiny as the Messiah. While the humor is constantly there the messages about friendship, love and duty are also strong. Because the humor can be nonstop I think this book is best read and savored in small segments.
The first three quarters of the book are imaginative and original but the story weakens when Joshua returns to Israel and the gospel story rules the narrative.  This book is great humor in the best traditions of Catch 22 and all of the P. G. Wodehouse stories. I’d strongly recommend it, I found it to be a nice change of pace from my usual read.

The Reversal

The Reversal (Harry Bosch)

by Michael Connelly

Little, Brown and Co.

October, 2010

The Reversal brings together Mickey Haller, erstwhile defense attorney (Brass Verdict, Lincoln Lawyer) with long time Connelly hero LAPD detective Harry Bosch. The men are half brothers but uncomfortable allies in this thriller. Haller, a fairly brash and arrogant character in earlier novels has matured and hence crosses over to the district attorney’s side to prosecute a child murderer who is being released from prison after 24 years. His release is based on a new DNA finding. Bosch is in a supporting role as his investigator though he is almost a co-lead in this story. Also playing a supporting role is Haller’s ex-wife Maggie McPherson as a prosecuting attorney assisting Haller in this case. One of the things I like so well about the Connelly novels is the way he develops and continually expands our knowledge of his characters; when he intermingles them in novels that only adds to the fun.

The story, replete with the expected twists and turns is a convincing police/legal procedural certainly up to the standard we have come to expect from Connelly. The action is fast paced and I think tempts the reader to stay up half the night finishing this story. There were two items that prevented me from giving this story five stars. One I struggled with the change in voice. When Haller spoke it was in the first person, when Bosch was the key character it was described in the third person. This might have worked if Bosch was not so frequently present in the story, but for me it was confusing and took some getting used to as the action moved along. The second problem for me was the ending, it was without drama. I won’t give away the ending but I bet you guess what happens fairly quickly. There was lots of psychological baggage and moral ambiguity picked up by both Haller and Bosch that I am sure will reappear in future novels. Definitely a solid effort from Connelly!

Fall of Giants

Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy)

by Ken Follett

Dutton Adult
Sept 2010

Fall of Giants is an epic work of historical fiction by Ken Follett. It is the first installment of a planned three part trilogy. This book is set in Europe from 1911-1925. Follett follows the lives of five families in England, Germany, Russia, and the US. The story primarily focuses on three topics – the rise of socialism/bolshevism, the First World War, and women’s suffrage – that are chronicled through the actions of these families. I am not even going to attempt to summarize the plot (see publishers weekly summary here) but suffice to say that the major historical events in this time period are included.

Historical figures (George V, Wilson, WWI generals, Wilhelm II) interact with the fictional characters in realistic ways. This is a time period with which I have some familiarity and I was impressed with the depth and accuracy of the historical research included in this story. Follett provides a full review of the Russian Revolution providing detail that I think many readers will find new. His depiction of the Russian nobility particularly as it contrasts with the English nobility points out why the revolution in Russia was more extreme that the rise of socialism in Britain. The story resonated with me when Follett spent some time in developing the background. I thought the section on the Welsh coal miners was excellent, giving the reader a realistic view of the terror that was coal mining in the early 1900s. Also the parts on trench warfare in France told through several of the characters experience were very well done and will remain with the reader.

It really is a great retelling of early 20th century events, very readable and epic in scale. So why did I not love it. This is usually just my kind of book. I think my problem was in the character development or lack thereof. With few exceptions - Billy Williams, the Welsh coal miner, his sister Ethel and Lady Maud Fitzherbert - I just didn’t really care about what happened to them. Most of the characters were flat and clichéd. All of the characters acted in predictable ways and even though they experienced tumultuous events no character growth is seen. Compared to Follett’s work on medieval England (Pillars of the Earth and World Without End) this first book of the trilogy  left me a little disappointed. So in summary I’d rate this 3.5 , great story not so great characters.

Side note I read an advance reader copy that was huge – 4.5 inches thick, I am rethinking a kindle purchase!

Deception

Deception: An Alex Delaware Novel 

by Jonathan Kellerman

March, 2010

Ballantine Books

Deception is the 25^th Alex Delaware novel.  It involves a suspicious death of a teacher, an exclusive prep school, a multitude of suspects and the requisite interfering political establishment.  Front and center in this book  (and the last several) is Milo Sturgis, the LAPD homicide investigator and friend of Alex Delaware, the child psychologist.  As a mystery this is an entertaining enough story if a bit formulaic.  The potential subjects are introduced slowly and the case is developed at a good pace.  Kellerman continues to provide a sense of place in his descriptive writing about southern California - people are always jumping into the car to drive somewhere.  The writing is a bit choppy with short chapters.  The characterizations seem to have become a little flat.  Milo's love of food has crossed over into a glutinous approach to the refrigerator every time he enters Delaware's house.  I also was disappointed in the ending for me it had an out of nowhere feel to it.

I think Kellerman has lost his touch with this series.  What used to distinguish his Alex Delaware novels was the psychological component.  Plots were complex and dark (When The Bough Breaks) and some times down right scary (Blood Test).  Villains came out of the work that Delaware did in his private practice treating damaged children.  Delaware would have the lead in crime solving and only occasionally bring in Milo Sturgis when police participation was needed.  All that has changed now and the series has turned into a pretty standard police procedural with Sturgis in the lead and Delaware along for the ride as a quasi police partner.  I am giving this a 3 out 5 rating because it is an acceptable but unexciting police procedural.