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Oct 13, 2015lukasevansherman rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
"History is not, after all, what really happened, but only what we believe happened."-David Mitchell There is no disputing English author David Mitchell's technical ability. His best-know novel, "Cloud Atlas," was a virtuoso performance, yet it failed to cohere as a narrative and its ambition was more often exhausting than inspiring. "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet," from 2010, is more conventionally structured than "Cloud Atlas" and a more satisfying read, yet it suffers from some of the same issues. Set in a Japanese harbor town in the late 1700s, Mitchell's novel evokes, in detail, the clash between societies and cultures, while channeling a wide range of voices, from the Dutch clerk of the title to an Irish criminal to a Japanese midwife. Again, it's impressive, but not particularly insightful or engaging, and I find it hard to view as a masterpiece or as "fiction's future." "I didn't set out to write a historical novel just for the heck of it--you'd have to be mad."-D.M.