Title character Jacob arrives as a clerk at the Dutch trading island of Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor in Japan as the eighteenth century comes to an end. Isolated and at the mercy of both the Dutch East India Company’s fortunes and isolationist Japan’s scheming; the follies and foibles of those who share in the island’s activities, Jacob chooses the high moral ground. It’s not without a price to pay. Mitchell’s characters are so appealing and so touching when good and so realistic of every schemer known to any nation or age when bad. The ups and downs of the story take the reader through a roller coaster of emotions. You hope so much that this good man will be rewarded. He deserves some kind of happiness. It’s a wonderful start to reading this year.

posted Dec 11, 2011 at 11:48AM

 Add a Comment