Black Swan Green

Black Swan Green

UK First edition cover
Author David Mitchell
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Semi-autobiographical, Bildungsroman novel
Publisher Random House
Publication date
 April 2006
Media type Print (Hardback)
Pages 294 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN ISBN 1-4000-6379-5 (first edition, paperback)
OCLC 61513194
823/.92 22
LC Class PR6063.I785 B58 2006
Preceded by Cloud Atlas
Followed by The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

Black Swan Green is a semi-autobiographical bildungsroman written by David Mitchell. It was published in April 2006 in the U.S. and May 2006 in the UK. The novel's thirteen chapters each represent one month—from January 1982 through January 1983—in the life of 13-year-old Worcestershire boy Jason Taylor. The novel is written from the perspective of Taylor and employs many teen colloquialisms and popular-culture references from early-1980s England.

Mitchell has the speech disorder of stammering,[1] "I’d probably still be avoiding the subject today had I not outed myself by writing a semi-autobiographical novel, Black Swan Green, narrated by a stammering 13 year old."[1]

Black Swan Green is currently being adapted for Ruby Films and Channel 4 by Tony Marchant.[2]

Plot summary

January man

Jason Taylor is a 13-year-old with a stammer in the small village of Black Swan Green in the West Midlands. The first chapter introduces Taylor's friend Dean "Moron" Moran, popular boy Gilbert Swinyard, Ross Wilcox and his cousin Gary Drake, golden boy student Neal Brose, tomboy Dawn Madden, Mervyn "Squelch" Hill, bully Grant Burch, local legend Tom Yew and "less shiny legend" Pluto Noak. Taylor secretly publishes his poems in the Black Swan Green Parish magazine under the alias "Eliot Bolivar". Taylor and his older sister, Julia, are not allowed to answer a phone in their father's office. Taylor breaks his grandfather's Omega Seamaster De Ville.

Hangman

Taylor goes into more detail about his struggles with stammering. He refers to this mental block as "hangman". He's scared to stand up and speak during the school's weekly rhetoric session, but is saved by a call from his South African speech therapist, Mrs. De Roos.

Relatives

Introduces Taylor's relatives who come for a visit, including cool, 15-year-old cousin Hugo, who convinces Taylor to try his first cigarette.

Bridle path

A fight between Burch and Wilcox ends with the former breaking his right wrist. Taylor encounters Madden, a girl he has a crush on. She treats him like a dog. Escaping up a tree, Taylor witnesses Tom Yew, on leave from the Navy, make love to Debby Crombie.

Rocks

This chapter explores Taylor's perspective on the growing British instability in the Falklands War and arguments between his mother and father. Tom Yew is killed when his ship, the HMS Coventry, is bombed by Skyhawks. Eventually, a ceasefire is declared.

Spooks

Taylor's mother takes up an interest in running an art gallery part-time. Taylor finds an invitation to join the Spooks, a local secret society made up of Noak, Burch, Swinyard, Peter Redmarley and John Tookey. Taylor and Moran are challenged with making it through six back gardens in 15 minutes. Taylor makes it with ten seconds to spare.

Solarium

Taylor receives an invitation from the publisher of his poems. The real benefactor is revealed to be Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck. She conducts sessions with him, offering constructive criticisms of his poems. Crommelynck is soon extradited as a result of her husband's financial scams in Germany.

Souvenirs

Taylor is taken to fish and chip's by Danny Lawlor, a man who works under his father at Greenland. He later meets his father's boss, Craig Salt. Taylor's mother takes over as manager of Yasmin Morton-Bagot's gallery, La Boite aux Mille Surprises. Taylor and his mother prevent a trio of girls stealing items from the store. His mother decides to take him to see Chariots of Fire, an act which gets noticed by people from his school.

Maggot

Wilcox and Drake make fun of Taylor for going to the cinema with his mother. Wilcox starts calling Taylor "maggot", a name which grows within the school. Taylor meets Holly Deblin, who tells him, "You're not a maggot. Don't let dickheads decide what you are."

Knife grinder

A gypsy knife grinder visits Taylor's house, offering his services. Taylor does not let him in. Taylor and his father attend a village meeting to decide what to do about a proposed gypsy encampment. After several speeches, a fire alarm is pulled, causing minor panic. Moran's father reveals to Taylor that his grandfather was a gypsy. Through a series of events Taylor finds himself in the gypsy camp.

Goose fair

Taylor finds Wilcox's lost wallet, containing six hundred pounds, at the fair. After some encounters in the fair ground he decides to give it back. Wilcox breaks up with Madden and find her sleeping with Burch. In shock, Wilcox steals Tom Yew's Suzuki and crashes it, losing part of his right leg.

Disco

It is learnt that Taylor's father lost his job. Taylor crushes Brose's calculator in a vice. After being taken to the Principal's office, Taylor reveals that Brose has been running an extortion scheme, intimidating other boys in his year for money. Brose is expelled. Taylor is kicked out of the Spooks. Miss Lippetts delivers a class about secrets and the ethics of revealing them. During the dance, Taylor kisses Deblin. He reveals to his father that he broke the watch and his father reveals that he's been having an affair and is divorcing.

January man

Taking place two weeks later, Taylor reminisces around the village one final time before leaving. The mystery phone calls were from Taylor's father's mistress, Cynthia. He has stopped writing poems for the parish magazine.

Critical reception

In 2007 the book received recognition as a Best Book for Young Adults (Alex Awards) from the American Library Association.[3] It was shortlisted for the 2006 Costa Book Awards, longlisted for the 2006 Booker Prize and was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. It was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Time Magazine's Best Books of the Year, American Library Association Notable Books for Adults. It was shortlisted for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award.

Allusions/references to other works

The book contains references and characters from other works by Mitchell, as is characteristic of his novels:

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Lost for words", David Mitchell, Prospect magazine, 23 February 2011, Issue #180
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ American Library Association (2007). "2007 Best Books for Young Adults". Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  4. ↑ Mitchell, David (2007-05-26). "Dénouement". The Guardian (London).
  5. ↑ "David Mitchell: The Massive Rat". The Guardian (London). 2009-08-01.
  6. ↑ "The Book of Other People". The New York Times. 2008-01-08.

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