Black Swan Green
Encyclopedia
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, "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."
Black Swan Green is currently being adapted for Ruby Films and Channel 4
by Tony Marchant.
) from the American Library Association
. 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.
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, bildungsroman or coming-of-age story is a literary genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood , and in which character change is thus extremely important...
written by David Mitchell
David Mitchell (author)
David Stephen Mitchell is an English novelist. He has written five novels, two of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize.- Biography :...
. 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
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
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
Speech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
of stammering, "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."
Black Swan Green is currently being adapted for Ruby Films and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
by Tony Marchant.
Critical reception
In 2007 the book received recognition as a Best Book for Young Adults (Alex AwardsAlex Awards
The Alex Awards are also a separate award given for excellence in entertainment packaging.The Alex Awards is an annual event designed to commend and honor the ten books published for adults during the previous year, which have been also judged to have "special appeal" for young readers, primarily...
) from the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
. It was shortlisted for the 2006 Costa Book Awards
2006 Costa Book Awards
The Costa Book of the Year shortlist was announced on 10 January 2007 and the final results at a ceremony held on 7 February 2007.-Book of the Year:*Stef Penney, The Tenderness of Wolves-Children's Book:Winner:*Linda Newbery, Set in StoneShortlist:...
, longlisted for the 2006 Booker Prize and was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. It was a School Library Journal
School Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
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:- Neal Brose, a pupil at the same school as Taylor, appears as an adult in GhostwrittenGhostwrittenGhostwritten is the first novel published by the author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, Britain, the USA and Ireland...
. - Eva van Crommelynck, who tutors Taylor on poetry and life, also appears in Cloud Atlas, as do references to her father, Vyvyan Ayrs, her mother, and Robert Frobisher, composer of the rare and beautiful sextet that Jason listens to while visiting her.
- Gwendolyn Bendincks, the vicar's wife at the end of "Solarium," also appears in Cloud Atlas. She is one of two residents who head the Residents' Committee at Aurora House (the home to which Denholme Cavendish sends his brother Timothy).
- Mark Badbury, a pupil at the same school as Taylor, also appears as an adult in the short story 'Preface' published in the [UK] Daily Telegraph on 29.04.06.
- Another pupil, Clive Pike (as an adult) and school headmaster Mr. Nixon (both corporeally and disembodied) appear in the short story 'Acknowledgments' published in ProspectProspect (magazine)Prospect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics and current affairs. Frequent topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology...
, No. 115, Oct. 2005 - School headmaster Mr. Nixon (his first name is revealed as Graham) appears in the short story 'Denouement' published in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Review section, 26.05.07, in support of the author's appearance at the Hay FestivalHay FestivalThe Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales for ten days from May to June. Devised by Norman and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind"...
that day. - Nicholas Briar, a pupil at the same school as Taylor, also appears as an adult in the short story 'The Massive Rat' published in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
"Weekend" supplement on 01.08.09. - The Castles, next-door neighbors to the Taylors, also appear as the titular character's parents in the short story 'Judith Castle', published in The Book of Other PeopleThe Book of Other PeopleThe Book of Other People is a collection of short stories, published in 2008 by Penguin Books. Selected and edited by Zadie Smith, it contains 23 short stories by 23 different authors, among them Nick Hornby, David Mitchell, Colm Tóibín, Jonathan Safran Foer, Dave Eggers, as well as Smith herself...
on 01.02.08.
External links
- Black Swan Green, official book website
- Review of Black Swan Green: The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
(London) - Review of Black Swan Green: The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
- Review of Black Swan Green: The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Review of Black Swan Green: The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
- Review of Black Swan Green: Kirkus ReviewsKirkus ReviewsKirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...
- Review of Black Swan Green: www.thebookseller.com