As I have said many times, I am suspicious of historical prose by contemporary authors. I am even more suspicious of historical prose by contemporary authors about a country that is not their homeland. Experience, the son of hard mistakes, suggests that a European cannot write a reliable book about China on behalf of a Chinese, for example, because of the difference in cultures and mentalities. As a result of such experiments, bears with balalaikas and other huckleberries appear on the pages of books.
Based on the above, you can guess with what caution I started reading the book by the British author David Mitchell about the Dutch factories of Dejima in Japan.
David Mitchell was born in Southport, Merseyside, in England, raised in Malvern, Worcestershire, and educated at the University of Kent, studying for a degree in English and American Literature followed by an M.A. in Comparative Literature. He lived for a year in Sicily, then moved to Hiroshima, Japan, where he taught English to technical students for eight years, before returning to England. After another stint in Japan, he currently lives in Ireland with his wife Keiko and their two children. In an essay for Random House, Mitchell wrote: "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. I would probably have become a writer wherever I lived, but would I have become the same writer if I'd spent the last 6 years in London, or Cape Town, or Moose Jaw, on an oil rig or in the circus? This is my answer to myself."
You could say that Mitchell found a good move by describing Japan not by “inhabiting” the Japanese, but through the eyes of the only Europeans allowed to interact with the self-isolated country - the Dutch. That said, I'm still not sure a Japanese person wouldn't have anything to pick on when they read this book. But since I'm not Japanese, and I know vanishingly little about Japan, I won't be picky.
The thing about Mitchell's book is that you are literally “sucked in” from the first pages. The book is written in such an easy language that it is a pleasure to read, it envelops you, and it is very cinematic in the best sense of the word. All the scenes stand before your eyes as if you were inside, together with the characters. That is, it takes absolutely no time at all to immerse yourself in the story, it takes you in from the first lines. No doubt, this is also the merit of the translator Maya Lahuti.
That said, by no means can the book be called lightweight. It has a huge number of references to scientific works of scientists of the described time and earlier times. Once again I was amazed at the encyclopedic knowledge and diversity of interests of scientists of the past. Not only mathematician, but also physicist, and astronomer, not only medic, but also biologist, and chemist. Science in the complex of knowledge, not fragmented into narrow specialties. Not only are the works mentioned, but there are conversations and debates around them, citing the latest discoveries and best practices. Medical operations are described, with commentary by physicians, the composition of drugs, and methods of treatment.
In addition, the political situation in the world is discussed in great detail, but in such a way as not to bore the reader. The author has done a tremendous amount of work in order to reliably describe the mood of the time, the political situation, and the relationships of different segments of the population both within the factoria, isolated from Japan, and within Japanese society. Through the personal stories of each of the inhabitants of Dejima, through the fates of its inhabitants, a cross-section of historical reality is given: the attitude to slaves, science, medicine, wars, clashes of interests of entire powers, as a result of which an ordinary person is carried like a chip in the ocean.
The story centers on the fate of a clerk for the Dutch East India Company who arrives in a remote trading outpost just before the company goes bankrupt. A young, ambitious man, went on a long and dangerous journey, with the goal of getting rich, serve a maximum of five years, and, returning home, to marry the girl whose father and arranged for him to this place, wishing that the future son-in-law was able to provide financially for his family. What he had to face on the island read for yourself. There will be betrayal, and love, and loss of friends, and corruption, and a terrible secret that makes the blood run cold in the veins, connected with one of the most powerful men in the province. A wounded pride and a challenge to honor. Confrontation with Europeans, constant suspicion and espionage of the Japanese. More than once the hero will face a difficult choice, on which will directly depend not only his fate, but also the fate of his comrades.
The author managed to recreate a complete picture of the world. The actions and decisions of the heroes never once broke out of the framework of the stated characters, conditions and circumstances of their lives. The most interesting information about the traditions and customs of Japan. The most interesting period of time - the isolation of Japan from the rest of the world, which provided the country 200 years without wars. To tell the truth, having looked what culture Europeans bring to “backward and shallow natives”, you come to the conclusion that the Japanese were right to organize this isolation. Although, of course, this phenomenon was caused by other tragic events.
A good book that allows you to immerse yourself in the world of the past - the time of exploration of new territories - and look at how everything happened from the inside. I can't help but recommend it. You can get it at Amazon.
This article was sponsored by Frank Avilla
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