The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet Book

Knowing that this book was hotly tipped to win the booker prize, I purchased it for holiday reading. The hard cover is a beautiful cloth bound image of Japanese artisty, and without a slip cover, I dared not take it to the beach, lest I spoil it.

I have to admit that I am struggling with this book. I desperately want to reach that point where I understand why there is such a hype about this novel, but I am about a third of the way in, and keep finding other books that I would rather re-read instead.

The first chapter is thoroughly engaging. The year is 1799, and a Japanese concubine, Miss Kawasema, endures a horrific labour. Her attendants presume the child is dead, and discuss the brutal ways they may remove the dead foetus to prevent the death of the mother.

This initial scene reads as vividly as a film script, and is a fascinating insight into the cultural inhibitions of the time, where the male Dr has been refused permission to attend the birth by the magistrate, and passes messages to the midwife from behind a screen .The relationships are a bit confusing but I assumed this to be my unfamiliarity with both Dutch and Japanese names. However, this was my first observation of an obvious error where clearly the use of a thesaurus has let down the author as he interchanges the terminology of foetus with embryo, which to any A level biology student is an obvious inaccuracy, and illuminates an overly pretentious method of writing.

However, because the characters are so interesting, I was drawn into the story, only to be disappointed to discover that these characters have totally disappeared and some 150 pages later, have failed to return. Now I feel like I am on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean, but without any of the fun, and a mixture of confusing dialects and languages, with very little, other than De Zoets fear of being caught owning a Psalter, to keep me engaged.

As I know I am a long way from the plot, I will try to keep going but I expect it to take me beyond the announcement of the booker prize winner to reach a conclusion. Perhaps it is more suited to a male audience; or is targeted towards a film producer? I suggest you read some of the reviews on Amazon before making your final decision to buy this book, as it may just fail to tickle my personal taste buds.

I promise to update if I do reach the end....watch this space but dont hold your breath!

The exhilarating new novel by 'one of the most brilliantly inventive writers of this, or any country' - Boyd Tonkin, Independent. THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER David Mitchell's novels have captivated critics and readers alike, as his Man Booker...