| August 2010 - The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell |
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This is the third time that a David Mitchell novel has appeared on a Man Booker Prize list. His previous novels Number9Dream and Cloud Atlas have both been included on the Man Booker Prize shortlist. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet is now long-listed for this year's Man Booker Prize and is his fifth novel. After two years of research and four rewrites it is also the novel that took the longest to write.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet Synopsis Imagine a nation banishing the outside world for two centuries, crushing all vestiges of Christianity, forbidding its subjects to leave its shores on pain of death, and harbouring a deep mistrust of European ideas. The narrow window onto this nation-fortress is a walled, artificial island attached to the mainland port and manned by a handful of traders. Locked as the land-gate may be, however, it cannot prevent the meeting of minds - or hearts. The nation was Japan, the port was Nagasaki and the island was Dejima, to where David Mitchell's panoramic novel transports us in the year 1799. For one young Dutch clerk, Jacob de Zoet, a strange adventure of duplicity, love, guilt, faith and murder is about to begin - and all the while, unbeknownst to the men confined on Dejima, the axis of global power is turning. About the author From SWF Director Chip Rolley: What the papers say: 'It's an inspired setting for an examination of shifting cultures and beliefs... This is a vastly entertaining historical novel, giving the reader a glimpse into a world we know so little of and charting a fascinating period of history.' Want to know more? 'I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was a kid, but until I came to Japan to live in 1994 I was too easily distracted to do much about it.' Many would-be and could-be writers will no doubt be able to relate to the above quote from David Mitchell, so it may be of interest to hear how and why he started focussing on his writing. Learn more about his motivation and inspiration in this interview with the New York Times from a little over a month ago. How does the new book link to his previous novels? David offers a few hints in this short video.
Time magazine included him in their 'list of the 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world'. So what's so special about David Mitchell? Find out here. David Mitchell a Trekkie? This and other surprising revelations in this short Q&A video.
Want more? Visit David Mitchell's website and read a short excerpt from his new book. What do you think of our prediction? Should David Mitchell be on the shortlist? How does this latest novel measure up against his previous works? What are your top picks for the shortlist? What other titles would you recommend for David Mitchell fans? Let us know what you think. ( 1 Vote ) |
'Earlier this year, I had the enormous privilege of reading David Mitchell's latest book in manuscript months before publication (one of the great perks of this job). Mitchell turns to historical fiction in The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet, and from the opening scene I was gripped – not by the page-turning drive you expect from the genre (though that is certainly there) but by that buzzy thrill you get when you see language and description used to such powerful effect. He's destined for the shortlist, and possibly the prize.'
