Black Swan Green

The choice for June 2011 is Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. 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.

Discussion Questions

  1. Jason has ongoing internal dialogues with “Maggot” and “Unborn Twin.” What roles do Maggot and Unborn Twin play in Jason’s life?
  2. In what ways is the stammer a limitation and in what ways an advantage?
  3. Mitchell often ends a scene in the middle of the action.  Why do you think he chose to do this?
  4. Did you notice the frequent appearances of the “moon-gray cat”? In what instances does the cat appear? Why did Mitchell choose to link these instances using the moon-gray cat?
  5. Many of the male characters in the book have reprehensible traits.  Are the female characters portrayed with fewer faults?
  6. What role does violence play in the story?
  7. How well do you feel Mitchell captures a thirteen-year-old boy’s voice?  Do you think it is very different from 13 year old girls?
  8. How important is humour in the novel and how would you describe that humour?
  9. If you have read Cloud Atlas you will already have encountered Madame Crommelynck and Robert Frobisher. Why do you think Mitchell chose to introduce these particular characters into Black Swan Green?
  10. Do you think that all of the situation Jason describes actually occur in reality?

Individual Ratings

DKB's Rating ★★★★☆ 

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