Book Review: David Mitchell: "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet"

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Having read "Ghostwritten" and "Cloud Atlas" I was expecting some jumps through time while reading this book, which never occurred. Being anchored to the lip of 19th century Japan was fantastic! The beginning was a loud and unfamiliar party of accents, dialects, terminologies, people meandering in and out, that sets the scene for the bulk of the book. Each page, each line, demands to be taken piece by piece, patiently and with full attention. Mitchell has written a trustworthy narration that recounts a few years on a Dutch trading post on an island off of Nagasaki with such sensation that I found myself wincing at times. This novel has grit, adventure, wit, and the sparks of clashing cultures. He incorporated near poetic tools to convey the bilocation most of his characters were experiencing with beautiful and frequently amusing prose. Thank you, David Mitchell, for a terrific and careful novel.



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Book Review: Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"She says they're precious because they're casual and meaningless." "'But they tell the whole story if you really look.'"

This book has two identities; (1) a novel (2) 13 short stories connected by a thread.

Thrown into the lives of people, mostly circling New York City, spanning a period of 50 years where change happens at an alarming rate. The dizzying cycle of "what happens next" and "what just happened". To quote John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

It's a fascinating journey, and a near metaphor, to be close and intimate with a character by knowing their sercrets (like Sasha's), their hidden potential (like Kitty Jackson's), their near-end-of-life challenges (like Bosco's), or their future (like Scotty); all the while catching glances of them in others' intimacies as side characters or focuses.

What does it mean to have morals or ideals? What does it mean to be true to yourself? What does it mean to participate in a society you're against, or you're a part of, or you're excommunicated from, or you've lost touch with?

Really, really loved this book and recommend it to anyone.



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