S.J. Parris
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Adam Haslett
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Black Swan Green: Summary and book reviews of Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, plus links to an excerpt from Black Swan Green and a biography of David Mitchell.
Black Swan Green
by
David Mitchell
Hardcover: Apr 2006,
304 pages.
Paperback: Feb 2007,
304 pages.
From
award-winning writer David Mitchell comes a sinewy, meditative novel of boyhood
on the cusp of adulthood and the old on the cusp of the new.
Black Swan tracks a single year in what is, for thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor,
the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England,
1982. But the thirteen chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an
exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of
Kissingeresque realpolitikenacted in boys' games on a frozen lake; of
"nightcreeping" through the summer backyards of strangers; of the tabloid-fueled
thrills of the Falklands War and its human toll; of the cruel, luscious Dawn
Madden and her power-hungry boyfriend, Ross Wilcox; of a certain Madame Eva van
Outryve de Crommelynck, an elderly bohemian emigré who is both more and less
than she appears; of Jason's search to replace his dead grandfather's
irreplaceable smashed watch before the crime is discovered; of first cigarettes,
first kisses, first Duran Duran Lps, and first deaths; of Margaret Thatcher's
recession; of Gypsies camping in the woods and the hysteria they inspire; and,
even closer to home, of a slow-motion divorce in four seasons.
Pointed, funny, profound, left-field, elegiac, and painted with the stuff of
life, Black Swan Greenis David Mitchell's subtlest and most effective
achievement to date.
Book Reviews
BookBrowse
Poor old Jason, he's 13-years old, stuck in the most boring family, in the most boring village, in the most boring country on earth - to add insult to injury he stammers and has to submit his poetry to the local newspaper under an assumed name or he'd be teased unmercifully, and probably get beaten up. Mitchell captures the essence of 1982 Britain, from the high unemployment, Cold-War politics, and the Falklands war, down to the tiniest breakfast cereal detail, but he doesn't just capture an era, he also portrays that moment in time when a child becomes a teenager. Full Review (members only, 674 words).
Publisher's Weekly
He...captures the sheer pleasure of being a boy and brings to mind adventures shared by Huck and Tom.
The Washington Post
There's plenty of sadness.....but humor, too, and he spins them together subtly in this touching novel
Kirkus Reviews
Another triumph for one of the present age's most interesting and accomplished novelists
Library Journal
British slang and cultural idioms color the prose of brilliant stylist Mitchell, who conveys an emotional rapport with his characters
The Globe and Mail
Warmly personal, funny and as matter-of-fact and grounded as [Mitchell's] other books are enigmatic and lofty, Black Swan Green has a strong autobiographical flavour. . . . An easy and enjoyable read, Black Swan Green is at its most compelling when the dialogue is fraught with tension. . . . [I]t offers more in the way of intimacy [than Mitchell's other work]: It offers a friendship with its precocious and well-meaning young narrator that persists well beyond the last word.
Toronto Star
Mitchell's rendering of time and place in this new book has a warm and lived-in feel. . . . [W]hat Mitchell has set out to do here – to capture the flux of youth, and to dazzle the reader with everyday, awkward human interaction rather than clever narrative conceits – is risky and rewarding. . . . Mitchell's obvious efforts to please the reader work wonderfully, and the novel is never less than tremendously engaging. . . .
When his daughter, Amy, died suddenly of a heart condition, Roger Rosenblatt and his wife moved in with their son-in-law and their three young grandchildren. His story tells how a family makes the possible out of the impossible.
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family.
The Postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.
Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
I read this book in two days and found it so refreshing. Although you will learn a great deal about barn owls by reading it, the book is not just ...
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I enjoyed reading this book, however, feel that this is not completely her own ideas. This books remembers me of a cross between 'ghost','Sixth ...
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Lisa See has written a great book! This story is satisfying on many levels, some scenes horrifying, but seemingly truthful, and her handling of the ...
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Amazon 'buy button' rumors abound(Mar 18 2010) Rumors swirled today that Amazon could revoke the buy buttons for books by Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin, or Hachette if the major publishers can't...
Full Story
Amazon's e-pricing threats(Mar 18 2010) With Apple's iPad launch just weeks away, Amazon raised the stakes again when it threatened to stop directly selling the books of some publishers online...
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Black Swan Green
(members only, 674 words).
Kirkus Reviews
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