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
- Jason has ongoing internal dialogues with “Maggot” and “Unborn Twin.” What roles do Maggot and Unborn Twin play in Jason’s life?
- In what ways is the stammer a limitation and in what ways an advantage?
- Mitchell often ends a scene in the middle of the action. Why do you think he chose to do this?
- 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?
- Many of the male characters in the book have reprehensible traits. Are the female characters portrayed with fewer faults?
- What role does violence play in the story?
- 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?
- How important is humour in the novel and how would you describe that humour?
- 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?
- Do you think that all of the situation Jason describes actually occur in reality?
Individual Ratings
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