Black Swan Green - Gatti Ninja

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published Jan. 30, 2006 by Sceptre.

ISBN:: 978-0-340-82279-1
OCLC Number:: 63396950

(1 review)

A novel. From hardcover: "Black Swan Green 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 …

A novel. From hardcover: "Black Swan Green 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 most subtlest and effective achievement to date.

12 editions

Kadomi@buecher.pnpde.social reviewed Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

A tale of adolescence in the British 80s

4 stars

I wasn't initially sure about this novel but it quickly won me over, in this semi-autobiographical story of 13-year old Jason Taylor describing a year of his life in 1982, in 13 stories, one for each month of the year, plus an extra January. Each story is very different, and is teeming with the vibrant life of the 80s, picking up contemporary stuff like the Falkland war, Margaret Thatcher, and much much music.

Jason is a stammerer, which causes him much grief, so it's inevitably a story about school bullies for many chapters. Each story could stand alone and not lose much from it, but of course it's perfect that it weaves together. As usual with Mitchell, it alludes to previous books he wrotes, so there's Madame Crommelynck from Cloud Atlas, one of the more lyrical chapters of the book. It's really like listening to all of David Mitchell's doubts …

I wasn't initially sure about this novel but it quickly won me over, in this semi-autobiographical story of 13-year old Jason Taylor describing a year of his life in 1982, in 13 stories, one for each month of the year, plus an extra January. Each story is very different, and is teeming with the vibrant life of the 80s, picking up contemporary stuff like the Falkland war, Margaret Thatcher, and much much music.

Jason is a stammerer, which causes him much grief, so it's inevitably a story about school bullies for many chapters. Each story could stand alone and not lose much from it, but of course it's perfect that it weaves together. As usual with Mitchell, it alludes to previous books he wrotes, so there's Madame Crommelynck from Cloud Atlas, one of the more lyrical chapters of the book. It's really like listening to all of David Mitchell's doubts he must have had as a young writer.

I really enjoyed this book quite a lot.