The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

In 1799, Jacob de Zoet arrives on Dejima, the man-made island in Nagasaki harbor that served as the sole point of contact between Japan and the West. A devout Dutch clerk sent to root out corruption in the trading post, Jacob falls for Orito Aibagawa, a disfigured midwife studying under the Dutch doctor. When Orito is taken to a remote mountain shrine run by a cult with a terrible secret, the book widens into intrigue, forbidden love, and a clash of empires. Mitchell weaves the novel into the larger universe shared by his other books.