3 Review(s)

When in Dejima, Jacob de Zoet ends up falling in love with Ojito before he knows it. However, as a Japanese midwife, and problems that Jacob will find extremely difficult to understand, their relationship does not go the way Jacob and Orito would have wished. Summary of the Book Jacob de Zoet has just landed on a tiny island of Dejima. It is the year 1977 and, at the time, Dejima was known as the trading post of the Dutch East India Company in Japan. Not many enter this remote area that is as good as invisible to the rest of the world. There have been corruption charges against the Chief Resident who was here previously and Jacob, a junior clerk, had been sent to get evidence of this. During his time here, he finds a friend in a local interpreter. Jacob also discovers his growing interest in a disfigured woman who turns out to be a midwife, Orito. This can be a very dangerous liaison for him and he soon gets a first-hand experience of the difficulties of such a relationship. About David Mitchell David Mitchell is best known for his novel Cloud Atlas, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He received his education from Hanley Castle High School and the University of Kent. His first novel was Ghostwritten and won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. He has been chosen by Granta for Best of Young British Novelists.