May 15

 

100 Words: When I was in Powell's in Portland, I wanted to find some books that would spark my reading again. I used to be a super avid reader, but as life has gotten busy, I sort of stopped entirely. So when I walk in a book store, I end up aimlessly walking around, oftentimes more frustrated than happy. I simply can't figure out what to read and have somehow lost the ability to get back into the flow of reading. I imagine it's like an athlete who can't play his sport the way he used to. It's depressing and makes an entirely enjoyable activity a frustrating one. Anyway, I decided to look up the best books of the 2000s and this book was high on the list I happened to check. The cover is interesting, the title equally so, so I added it to the pile of books I grabbed that day.

Summary: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet is set in feudal Japan around the turn of the 19th century. Jacob (of the title) is a clerk for the Dutch East India Company, trying to make his way up the chain of status and fortune so he can marry the woman he loves, back in the Netherlands. But that all becomes derailed when he meets a young Japanese woman who is a midwife. Orito is the daughter of a rich father, but rather than pursuing a more "normal" life, decided to study under a Dutch doctor. Jacob becomes infatuated with her, but things take a massive turn for the worst when her father dies and she is sent to a nunnery of sorts. Jacob's own path becomes rocky when he is double crossed by his patron, who turns out to be a massive piece of shit. That's where I'm at currently! 

Quote: "But dear Jesus in heaven, thinks Jacob, I am lonely in this place."