The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is another masterpiece for David Mitchell. If you like historical fiction, and literate (but not too dense) writing, I highly recommend this novel. Read the jaw-dropping opening chapter (which works as a perfect short story in its own right) and if you're not immediately hooked, then you can turn away without too much investment. Otherwise, prepare for quite a journey... 
 1000 Autumns immediately tosses you into the world of 1799 Japan, where Dutch traders struggle stay in business with the isolated nation, despite rampant corruption. If you have no background in this setting, you'll probably struggle a little bit to absorb all the detail in the opening section. But don't worry, it was all completely new to me, and I was able to keep up. Just expect to read rather slowly during the first section, so you can appreciate everything that's going on. After this lengthy introduction, the novel kicks into high-gear with bizarre, almost fantastical intrigue. I won't go into any more detail here, for fear of spoiling the masterful plot. 
 At about 500 pages, the novel almost feels to short. The world Mitchell creates is so enveloping, that you don't want it to end. This is not escapist fiction, however, and Mitchell keeps his novel firmly grounded in strong, believable characters, and a rich and true setting. He deliberately undercuts romanticism and cliche whenever possible, and you're left with a concrete and beautiful experience of something strange, foreign, and timeless. 
 If you really enjoy this novel, I also highly recommend Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. That novel takes the level of historical detail found here and fractures it into six incredibly diverse tales with a central unified theme. Both novels are amazing in their own way.