Black Swan Green

By: David Mitchell

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

By the New York Times best-selling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize
Selected by Time as One of the Ten Best Books of the Year
A New York Times Notable Book
Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post Book World, The Christian Science Monitor, Rocky Mountain News, and Kirkus Reviews
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the ALA Alex Award
Finalist for the Costa Novel Award

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 Green tracks a single year in what is, for 13-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in dying Cold War England, 1982. But the 13 chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of Kissinger-esque 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.

Praise for Black Swan Green

“[David Mitchell has created] one of the most endearing, smart, and funny young narrators ever to rise up from the pages of a novel.... The always fresh and brilliant writing will carry readers back to their own childhoods.... This enchanting novel makes us remember exactly what it was like.” (The Boston Globe)

“[David Mitchell is a] prodigiously daring and imaginative young writer.... As in the works of Thomas Pynchon and Herman Melville, one feels the roof of the narrative lifted off and oneself in thrall.” (Time)

©2006 David Mitchell (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Great Britain's Catcher in the Rye, and another triumph for one of the present age's most interesting and accomplished novelists." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Gorgeous....Captures the sheer pleasure of being a boy and brings to mind adventures shared by Huck and Tom." ( Publishers Weekly)

"He reproduces Jason's inner life with such astonishing verisimilitude that readers will find themselves haunted by him long after turning the last page." ( Booklist)

Delightful

I was initially worried that this would end up being just another story of a precocious teenage boy by an author who is a little too in love with his own cleverness. Well, maybe it is that, but I found the language delightful. And the narrator is a great match for the text.

LOVED this book

I had just read this book six months earlier, but when I heard the audio sample wanted to buy it and listen to it anyway. They've chosen the ideal reader for this book: his accent is perfect, and his interpretation of the text and the characters is very sensitive. The book is a brilliant semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story by an author whose range is very impressive (from nightmarish futurism to historical fiction and plenty in between). This one is a realistic first-person narrative about a kid with a stammer and the usual tween anxieties. There's a full and convincing cast of secondary characters. The atmosphere is one of nostalgia for early 80s pop culture and sadness about the effects of an unhappy marriage; yet it is lightened by the humor and the fabulations of its bright 13 year old narrator. I'm sure that I'll listen to this again.

a peak inside the mind of a bright but bullied boy

Jason is brilliant but different. a dangerous combination at age 13 but he also stammers. How he deals with the resultant bullying and lifes many roadblocks hints at his future greatness.

One of my favorites

I loved this book. The narrator was top-notch, and the story was engrossing. I found myself worrying about Jason at odd times during the day and night, when I wasn't listening to the book. There were also some really memorable phrases, the kind you hear, stop the the player, and think, "I've got to remember that one."

Slow start but then very engrossing

I really liked this book - my first by David Mitchell. The narration was good in parts but the pronunciation of place names and even just ordinary words was off putting. A slight glitch in an otherwise good experience. I'm off to start my next DM book now....

right story right time

You feel you're Jason
is better then enders game
portrayal of kids

woohoo haiku me think

Survival Story

I again relished, laughed, cried, groaned through this masterpiece depiction of growing up as an “unpopular” kid. David Mitchell and this narrator enabled me to relive and escape the surreal and dangerous period of adolescence. A perfect story if this is what you are looking for right now. Enjoy!

It may no longer be cool to say this,

But this book was ...epic!

Fabulous narration as well. I just listened to this for the second time and enjoyed it even more than the first time.

A new "favorite" for me

I loved this book, a coming of age novel in rural England that deals in large part with the protagonist's experience with bullying, mostly related to his stutter/stammer. This book contains the magic of Mitchell's language, characterizations, and plot structure minus any paranormal activity, and refers to characters from Cloud Atlas. This one's going on my Favorite's list.

remembering the 80s

coming of age story sprinkled with the ongoing futuristic fantastic tale that Mitchell weaves through all his recent works. Lovely voice of the main character.