THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET

This utterly original and wildly satisfying new novel gets such a dazzling performance here that you are torn between wanting to know how it ends and hoping it never does. On the cusp of the nineteenth century, Jacob de Zoet—hoping to earn enough to marry his sweetheart in Zeeland—arrives on the island off Nagasaki, where the shogun sequesters the trading partners of a closed and essentially medieval Japan. In the ensuing symphony of clashing cultures, Jonathan Aris plays all the instruments—from the comic/despicable Dutch and English adventurers to the smoothly confusing Japanese voices. His timbre and range are truly remarkable, his pacing irresistible. Paula Wilcox is equally good in the smaller women’s world of the fascinating midwife, Orito Aibagawa. An embarrassment of riches. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2011 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2010]