From highly acclaimed two-time Man Booker finalist David Mitchell comes a glorious, sinewy, meditative novel of boyhood on the cusp of adulthood and the old on the cusp of the new. In his previous novels, David Mitchell dazzled us with his narrative scope and his virtuosic command of multiple voices and stories. "The New York Times Book Review" said, "Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across ...
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From highly acclaimed two-time Man Booker finalist David Mitchell comes a glorious, sinewy, meditative novel of boyhood on the cusp of adulthood and the old on the cusp of the new. In his previous novels, David Mitchell dazzled us with his narrative scope and his virtuosic command of multiple voices and stories. "The New York Times Book Review" said, "Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across [Cloud Atlas's] every page." Black Swan Green inverts the telescopic vision of Cloud Atlas to track a single year in what is, for 13-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the 13 chapters create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. Pointed, funny, profound, left field, elegiac, and painted with the stuff of life, Black Swan Green is David Mitchell's subtlest yet most accessible achievement to date. Excerpt from Black Swan Green: "Picked-on kids act invisible to reduce the chances of being noticed and picked on. Stammerers act invisible to reduce the chances of being made to say something we can't. Kids whose parents argue act invisible in case we trigger another skirmish. The Triple Invisible Boy, that's Jason Taylor. Even I don't see the real Jason Taylor much these days, 'cept for when we're writing a poem, or occasionally in a mirror, or just before sleep. But he comes out in woods. Ankley branches, knuckly roots, paths that only might be, earthworks by badgers or Romans, a pond that'll ice over come January, a wooden cigar box nailed behind the ear of a secret sycamore where we once planned a treehouse, birdstuffedtwigsnapped silence, toothy bracken, and places you can't find if you're not alone. Time in woods's older than time in clocks, and truer."
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Add this copy of Black Swan Green to cart. $6.91, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of Black Swan Green to cart. $12.99, very good condition, Sold by A Good Read rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Toronto, ON, CANADA, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Very Good dust jacket. 0676974961. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY-customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. Circular glue mark on front d/j where sticker was removed.; 6.3 X 1.1 X 9.6 inches; 304 pages.
Add this copy of Black Swan Green to cart. $12.99, good condition, Sold by A Good Read rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Toronto, ON, CANADA, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good in Good dust jacket. 0676974961. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY-customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. Faint moisture mark along upper edge of front d/j. Minor bumping to tips.; 6.3 X 1.1 X 9.6 inches; 304 pages.
Add this copy of Black Swan Green to cart. $22.99, good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
Add this copy of Black Swan Green to cart. $23.00, like new condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
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As New in As New jacket. Book First edition, first printing as evidenced by a complete number line from 1 to 10; a solid, clean, unread copy in collectable condition.
Add this copy of Black Swan Green to cart. $25.99, very good condition, Sold by The Book Scouts rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hamilton, ON, CANADA, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Size: 9x6x1; We're happy to combine shipping to save you some money. We're also always buying collectible book collections. Contact us for details. We're happy to provide pictures of any and all books for you, please just ask! Canadian first edition, first printing. Contains number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Virtually no wear to jacket. Jacket is NOT price clipped. Covers are clean and bright. Edges are sharp. No tears or creases. The book itself is in Near Fine condition. The binding is straight and tight. NO remainder mark.
Add this copy of Black Swan Green to cart. $36.43, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
Superbly written, wonderfully understood, Black Swan Green opens for an international audience the trials and tribulations of a boy between his 13th and 14th year. He, along with his family members, straddles this year, each of them changed by their having lived through it.
Druid
Apr 3, 2007
Pensive, brooding, hopeful
Broodingly and sympathetically written without losing its sense of humour. Throughout the book you could not help but wait for Jason to realise his own, and when he does, you fight the urge to shout 'Huzzah' . Should become required reading in all classrooms. It gives a good, long look at oneself. Not only a coming of age for boys but certainly for any gender, at any age.
voyager
Apr 3, 2007
An indulgence a very English eighties
This is strictly for an English audience or someone wishing to know about and english childhood in the eighties. Mitchell takes us back to simpler times of Rubiks cubes and street fights (possibly based on his own life) and takes us through the traumas of a stuttering child. Everyone can associate with the alienation Mitchell describes very well. It is, however , a purely indulgent book rather like reading someones personal diary.
