Literary Fiction
A young Dutch clerk navigates love and danger in 1799 Nagasaki, where East meets West in a web of deceit and forbidden desire.
Owned
No reviews yet
Owned
A young Dutch clerk navigates love and danger in 1799 Nagasaki, where East meets West in a web of deceit and forbidden desire.
About
Details
The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the “high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island” that is the Japanese Empire’s single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged Dutch East Indies Company; and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, costly courtesans, earthquakes, and typhoons comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout and re...
What's Inside
will contain mild spoilers
Sexual content
AI
Moderate romantic tension; some implied sexual content with courtesans, not graphic.
Violence & gore
AI
Moderate violence; some intense scenes of conflict and physical harm.
Profanity
AI
Minor use of strong language; infrequent and contextually appropriate.
Substance use
AI
Minor references to alcohol use; not a central theme.
LGBTQ+ Rep.
AI
No evidence found in available sources.
Religious content
AI
Minor religious themes; protagonist's devout background mentioned briefly.
Magic & witchcraft
AI
No fantasy magic or witchcraft depicted.
Occult / demonology
AI
No real-world occult content depicted.
Political content
AI
Moderate cultural and colonial tensions; East-West power dynamics explored.
Self-harm / suicide
AI
No evidence found in available sources.
Abuse & suffering
AI
Major themes of systemic suffering, coercion, and exploitation in a confined setting.
Other
AI
No information found.