Fans of David Mitchell’s books know all too well the anticipated pleasure of revisiting a past character or the reworking of a familiar theme from his previous works. It gives the reader a sense of being part of privileged group-one who is knowledgeable of the Mitchell family of characters. So it was when I began his latest novel, a history/love story set in a Dutch trading post off the coast of Nagasaki in the late 18th century. What I found to my surprise was the not the usual pyrotechnics of intersecting plots and the leaping forward and back in time. Instead Mitchell has given us a straightforward historically accurate narrative, told in the third person about a group of characters who are so realistically drawn the reader feels transported to that time and place. The place is Deshima, a man-made island that housed the Dutch traders as they were not allowed to mix with their Japanese counterparts. Jacob de Zoet, a bookkeeper for the Dutch East Indies Trading Company, is assigned the task of uncovering the rampant corruption that was occurring for years. During his stay he befriends the many Japanese/Dutch interpreters, the resident physician (an irreverent and brilliant character) and the hired hands. It is his forbidden attraction to Orito, a Japanese midwife, which leads him to discover a debauched practice at a monastery involving murder and sexual abuse. What impressed me most about this novel is the rich historical detail (it’s evidently well researched) and his aptitude for writing “real-sounding” dialogue with the obvious differences in dialect. Ultimately it’s Mitchell’s storytelling ability that shines in this novel, and is sure to impress his loyal followers and first-time readers alike. ~Carol Santoro
