Black Swan Green

I find writing reviews of very popular books difficult. I know that there are creative reviews that are so good that I have to admit that I not just enjoy reading them but I find myself envious as well. This is my forth David Mitchell book. I have read them from his debut and in order and have had trouble putting forward my thoughts on them to be honest. Ghostwritten and Number9dream were for me very good. Cloud Atlas was verging on genius such was its impression on me. I thought that Black Swan Green would be a considerable let down. Was it hell!

What it proved to me is that David Mitchell is a superb author. He can tell great stories and write them with a magnificent seamlessness even when there are differing styles within the book. I am hooked and dread the day that I might be disappointed with a novel he writes.

I recall one goodreads friend telling me that I did not have to read his books in order but it did help to. I agree with that totally as his ability to weave previous characters from book to book is a joy to this reader. Considering that Black Swan Green is so radically different a novel in both style and substance than Cloud Atlas to me David Mitchell has shown a deft touch in bringing in one specific character from the past that makes for a remarkable chapter.

In the end though this coming of age story is one of the best I have read. Semi-autobiographical, I think, the full gamut of a 13 year olds emotions are to the fore and for anyone who recalls that horrible time in their life there is a lot to relate to. Schoolboy bullying, the opposite sex suddenly looming on the radar, parents have marital problems, all this and more loom large in this fine book. Some memories came flooding back that I had personally not thought of for years such was the power of this Bildungsroman.

Again though the star rating seems meaningless. This is not Cloud Atlas and David Mitchell was smart enough not to attempt another book of that density and delivery. Cloud Atlas should be remembered forever in my view. Coming of age novels are hardly new territory. Be that as it may this is one heck of a good book and recommended to anyone that likes this type of story.

3.5

A more subdued book than Cloud Atlas or The Bone Clocks. Very evocative, and full of delightful words (British school-kid slang and invented onomatopoeias). It reminded me maybe a bit too much of my own awkward adolescence. I also appreciated the references to Cloud Atlas (and, presumably, Number9Dream, though I haven't read that one yet – its title shows up). That being said, nothing about this book really got to the core of me the way Cloud Atlas did. David Mitchell wrote this story well, but it didn't feel to me like a story that only he could have written.

Not my favourite but another cracking read

In the words of Jason Taylor, thirteen year old hero of Black Swan Green, David Mitchell “is ace.” I would go so far as to say he is the most brilliant of all contemporary popular authors. Show me the writer who can write in six very different styles with six unique voices and hold it all together; now show me the author that can do it in one book as Mitchell did in Cloud Atlas.

Black Swan Green was Mitchell's follow-up to his renowned third novel. Because of this, I'm sure many readers had massive expectations. How could Mitchell follow such a ground-breaking epic with a story about a stammering thirteen year old? Yet Mitchell does it quite well, getting into the voice of another character much in the fashion of Cloud Atlas. David Mitchell was largely believable as Jason Taylor.

If you've never read Mitchell before, know that his novels aren't necessarily easy and often start with muddy direction and understanding. When I started Cloud Atlas I struggled with it; I wondered what I was getting into. I've heard many others express the same sentiment. But as it moved along it became better and clearer until the book was carrying my along. Though significantly smaller in scope, Black Swan Green carries much of the same experience. It starts slow and events at the beginning seem insignificant, it's hard to get invested in these characters, and come on, what's original about the adolescent coming of age story? Midway there's that change and by the end, well—Mitchell's brilliant.

My favorite thing about David Mitchell is how he ties his books and stories together regardless of how separate they are in time and scope—it's the premise of Cloud Atlas retold in Mitchell's own writing career. Amazing. Black Swan Green makes allusions to every Mitchell novel that preceded it, as well as to several published stories. It motivates me to read his entire collection straight through from the beginning. And that's what I'm going to do. Next time I pick up a Mitchell novel (which will not be long from now), I'm starting from the beginning with Ghostwritten. Hopefully I'll have read all of his works by the time his sixth novel is published.

A British coming of age story. The protagonist, a stammerer, is harassed by other kids at school because of his stammer. His well-kept secret is that he is a published poet, writing under a pseudonym. He meets many interesting people, while coping with the questionable ethics of the boys at school.

I am surprised that this book appealed to me, but the protagonist is likable, and his experiences are believable.

I don't like books, in general, with male protagonists. I just can't identify with what goes on in their lives. (Female brain/male brain differences provide a clear understanding of this) But this book had me from page one. I read it slowly, over about a month or more, and loved our main character, hated those other awful bullying boys. I know nothing about the growing up years of boys. My own two sons were reticent to talk about anything during their junior high and high school years. I can only hope my sons had help like Madame Eva and a teacher or two. The ending is wonderful.