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Black Swan Green: A Novel Hardcover – April 11, 2006

by David Mitchell (Author)

268 customer reviews

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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 realpolitik enacted 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 Green is David Mitchell’s subtlest and most effective achievement to date.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. For his fourth novel, two-time Booker Prize finalist Mitchell (Cloud Atlas, etc.) turns to material most writers plumb in their first: the semiautobiographical, first-person coming-of-age story. And after three books with notably complex narrative structure, far-flung settings, and multiple viewpoints, he has chosen one narrator, 13-year-old Jason Taylor, to tell the story of one year (1982) in one town, Worcestershire's Black Swan Green. Jason starts with the January day he accidentally smashes his late grandfather's irreplaceable Omega Seamaster DeVille watch and ends with Christmas, which, because of intervening events, becomes the last he spends in this sleepy Midlands hamlet. The gorgeously revealed cast includes Jason's brilliant older sister, sarcastic mother, blustering dad and a spectrum of bullies and mates. Jason's nemesis is an intermittent, fluctuating stammer: some days he must avoid words beginning with N; other days, S. Once he is exposed, the bullies taunt him mercilessly; there is no respite for the weak or disabled in Black Swan Green nor, as the realities of Thatcher's grim reign begin to take their toll, in England writ large. How Jason and his family navigate this year of change is the emotional core of this rich novel, but the virtuoso chapter is "The Bridle Path," wherein Jason, alone for one delicious day, searches for a tunnel fabled to have been dug by the Romans in order to rout the Vikings. What he finds along the way captures the sheer pleasure of being a boy and brings to mind adventures shared by Huck and Tom. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Thirteen chapters provide a monthly snapshot of Jason Taylor's life in small-town England from January 1982 to January 1983. Whether the 13-year-old narrator is battling his stammer or trying to navigate the social hierarchy of his schoolmates or watching the slow disintegration of his parents' marriage, he relates his story in a voice that is achingly true to life. Each chapter becomes a skillfully drawn creation that can stand on its own, but is subtly interwoven with the others. While readers may not see the connectedness in the first two thirds of the book, the final three sections skillfully bring the threads together. The author does not pull any punches when it comes to the casual cruelty that adolescent boys can inflict on one another, but it is this very brutality that underscores the sweetness of which they are also capable. With its British slang and complex twists and turns, this title is not a selection for reluctant readers, but teens who enjoy multifaceted coming-of-age stories will be richly rewarded. The chapter entitled Rocks, which centers around the British conflict in the Falkland Islands in May 1982, is especially compelling as Jason and his peers deal with the death of one of their own. Mitchell has been hailed as one of the great new authors of the 21st century; with Black Swan Green, he shows again how the best books challenge readers' complacency.–Kim Dare, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product details

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Random House (April 11, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400063795
ISBN-13: 978-1400063796
Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 268 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12496 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

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Finally, a coming of age novel that felt REAL

April 28, 2013

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I should probably start with a confession: I am in the minority of people who didn't particularly like Catcher in the Rye. I didn't necessarily dislike it, but it just never spoke to me in the way it spoke to so many others. I didn't fully understand why until I read Black Swan Green. For me (and I suspect many others), my youth was not one of prep schools, running away, prostitutes, or mental breakdowns. Most importantly, it was not full of dramatic ANGST, in the way that it is portrayed in Catcher in the Rye. Instead, like Jason Taylor in Black Swan Green, life was simply too busy for wallowing in angst ... "busy" in the sense of mundane adventures (that nevertheless feel more consequential than anything else in the world at the moment), family drama, and the interminable boredom punctuated by moments of terror known as school! As much as one would like to hit the pause button, the merry-go-round of life never stops, especially for a young adult. Mitchell does an outstanding job capturing the day to day excitement, fear, loneliness, and dilemmas actually faced by a 13 year old--many of which can be easily generalized to the world of adults, which is no less full of pecking orders, pressure to look cool/competent, jingoism, fear of failure, etc. than the world of children. In fact, this is part of what makes Mitchell's story so gripping: despite the incredible detail and the specific setting in 1980s England, this is a microcosm representative of the world at large. As a result, Black Swan Green is an extremely universal tale--I felt like I could relate incredibly well to the story, despite growing up neither in the 1980s nor in England!

Black Swan Green was the third tale of Mitchell's that I've read (Cloud Atlas was the first; a character or two from that tale make a brief cameo in this book, in what felt like a slightly self-indulgent move by Mitchell, although it also was a bit clever as a meta-motif of the "everything-is-interconnected" lessons from that novel). Whereas Cloud Atlas is extremely "macro" in scope, Black Swan Green is much more "micro" in terms of geographic scope and time. Yet, it is equally gripping and has an equally important message. I fell in love with Mitchell's writing thanks to Cloud Atlas ... the infatuation only deepened thanks to Black Swan Green: this is an intelligent, gripping, and moving tale that easily belongs in the same conversation with some of literature's great works in the bildungsroman genre.

21 people found this helpful22 people found this helpful

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Elizabeth Mckenzie

Wonderful book about growing up male

May 8, 2017

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I developed a LOT more empathy for boys and men after reading Black Swan Green! I also thought it was a brilliant exposition on how all people grow from self-absorbed pre-teen/young teen into a more aware teen/young adult. Mitchell's writing is just astonishing, and totally absorbing. I completely identified with his young narrator, and was pulled along with his descriptions of his world. I think I like this book even better than Mitchell's other books such as Cloud Atlas. Less showy authorial tricks, yet really more depth, subtlety and character development. I prefer an author who builds some empathy for his character(s), as well as building a story and perhaps a surprise and a punchy message or theme. This is a great book. I bought it as a gift for my sister, and expect it to make the rounds after that!

5 people found this helpful6 people found this helpful

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Melanie D. Typaldos

Beautifully written

October 22, 2015

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This is the story of a British boy with the heart of a poet struggling with himself, his family, his stutter, his poetry, and the normal trials and tribulations of being 13. The story is set in 1982, the year of the Falklands war.

What I loved about this book was the beauty and truth that the boy, Jason, sees through his thoughtful and poetic eyes. At the same time, he struggles with bullies, friends, teachers, his sister, his parents--the whole nine yards of angst experienced by your typical 13-year-old. There are a lot of Britishisims, some of which confused me, but most have meanings discernible from the context.

Since the language and insight are what I liked the most, let me provide a few examples.

Eavesdropping's sort of thrilling 'cause you learn what people really think, but eavesdropping makes you miserable for exactly the same reason.

War may be an auction for countries. For soldiers it's a lottery.

...understands that not hurting people is ten bloody thousand times more bloody important than being right.

The clock on the mantelpiece shaved minutes into seconds.

4 people found this helpful5 people found this helpful

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K. Kressenberg

Clever, heartfelt, beautifully written tale of growing up in 80's Britain

June 16, 2015

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I bought this book because of Cloud Atlas - I just wanted to get grounded a little more in his work before attacking his most recent. I must say, for the first 25 pages or so I wasn't sure it was a good decision - early, odd work by developing young author??? But I am so glad I hung in there. First, some of the early difficulty comes from being put firmly and deeply inside the mind of an adolescent male. Secondly, the narrator thinks/speaks in a punk/young/British patois which takes some time to become fluent in. I suspect, in retrospect, that it may be a little autobiographical - how else could he have captured the mind of this young man so deeply, so well? For those of you looking for specifics, the subject is a young upper middle-class boy who stutters and so is the victim of bullying at school, and a failing marriage at home. And, BTW, for fellow Cloud Atlas fanatics there are a couple of clever references here that only you and your ilk will get. Anyway, buy it, read it, fall in love.

5 people found this helpful6 people found this helpful

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Robert Burns

A wonderful semi-autobiographical David Mitchell novel

September 7, 2015

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I really like all of his books and I don't really have a favorite, but if I had to choose I think I would choose this David Mitchell novel over the others. Not because it's the most traditional either, but because it's autobiographical to some degree. David grew up as a teenager in the 80s and also has a stammer (not a stutter - the book explains the difference). I got to know David a little bit in a sense while enjoying another one of his wonderful books. You don't get the autobiographical experience to this degree from any of his other books. But as I said, I love all of his books. His works transport the reader not just in a physical-location-of-the-story sense, but in an into-the-head-and-heart-of-the-protagonist sense like no other writer. Remarkable.

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