David Mitchell's fifth novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010), has frequently been referred to and read as a historical novel. This rather simplistic categorisation does not capture the complexity and scope of the work. The novel invites its readers to walk along the threshold between fact and fiction, to witness how intercultural encounters may fail and bear fruit, how science, faith and the supernatural are interconnected, how isolation affects the human mind and globalisation the entire world, and how the pursuit of profit and the dynamics of power on the one hand and the longing for affection and spiritual bonds on the other hand shape the relationship between the East and the West. As the setting and focal point of the narrative, Mitchell chose the small, human-made island Dejima at the tip of Nagasaki harbour at the dawn of the nineteenth century, an ideal canvas on which to draw a picture of two cultures living side by side. Dejima is a unique place as it served as Japan's only window and gateway to the world during the period of seclusion (sakoku) from 1640 to 1853, hosting the trading post of the Dutch East Indies Company (originally De Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, known by its acronym, VOC). Hence, the novel is anchored deep in history – albeit a part of history that many readers will not be acquainted with too well. The novel's blurb invites them to enter another world:

The blurb's alluring prose brims with the power of storytelling, of tempting readers to dive into a version of the past; yet subliminally, it also suggests that fact and fiction may not always be easily distinguishable.