Black Swan Green a novel by David Mitchell published in April 2006 and May 2006 in the US and the UK respectively dwell on the life of 13 old Jason Taylor. The story is based on a one-year period, between January 1982 and January 1983. It is written through the eyes of a young teenager at a period where one is very naive. He was going through a rough patch in his life living in the English countryside. The cast includes an intelligent elder sister, a tough mother, and a father.
David Mitchell’s complex style and a fresh new approach to story writing set him in a class of his own his books have received great accolades for their complexities, sometimes giving the feeling of a jigsaw puzzle. Mitchell’s current book keeps one captivated to the very end while leaving lasting and impressions.
Each of the thirteen chapters gives its own story dwelling on different events. Jason Taylor struggles with a stammer an impediment that hangs around him like a noose. The stammer once discovered makes him becomes a victim of bullies, ridicule, and mockery the author vividly describes the brutality and cruelty displayed. Fights, tussles, and arguments were ripe for gossip in such a small town and became every bodies business though public memory fades fast until the next incident happens.
It is based at a time when Britain was at war in the Falkland Islands and after losing one of their peers it becomes an awakening period for them.
Novels aiming to view the world through the eyes of a child are normally written by older people whose touch with that time is vague and faded Mitchell has managed to recreate that time with lots of success in an emotionally packed book.
Children are consciously aware of the undercurrents between their parents and with the society at large these helps novelists use them to bring out certain things better than anyone else. They know what it is to receive lots of attention and how to survive, they know how adults place a lot of value on being popular and living a good life.
Jason thought he stammers dreams and struggles to become a poet at a time when his parents are on the verge of separation. The author riding on his stream of success comes across very strongly, trying to pitch art and ambition against the financial gain. A good novelist should be able to deliver a good story that doesn’t leave his readers unhappy and expressing their concerns.
Many would not fathom that the mental anguish Jason was undergoing was very significant for his self-actualization and view it as synonymous to one of his age. Unknown to him, his being open and talented an uncommon thing among his peers made him easy prey for his tormentors. However, his frail frame didn’t do justice to the inner person, a natural poet with great insights compassion, and potential. With a clear and determined mind, he tackles what life throws at him with tact and ease.
A great attribute of the book is in how the simple subject matter is depicted, the evolution from young child to a semi-adult from January 1982 to January 1983 he transforms from a cumbersome boy to a fine lad. He starts off unsure but emerges experienced, strong, and respected even by the opposite sex.
It is important to note that in Worcester county where the author spent his childhood hood there are no swans, by repeatedly mentioning this it leaves his readers wondering if they were was more to it on both the story and choice of a title.
Mitchell comes across as struggling, unhappy, and tormented despite his achievements which give the book a whole new look. With his parents falling apart and his sister away in college, Taylor resorts to writing poems under a pet name. His intellect is unquestionable, having his fair share of childhood fights and romances and emerging the wiser.
By using a teenager the author is able to blend wit and cunningness very well, being a young poet he is able to explore new insights and can afford to be sentimental. Despite being an adolescent Jason is able to see beyond being a child and was very much in touch with reality.
Mitchell wants us to view the book as if it was written by someone of Jason’s age who is not very sure of how to go about it groping in the dark for a way out a very daring and fresh move.
I have to admit Mitchell did a great job in this piece is surely one of his greatest works his book is beautifully written at times comical and saddening. Nostalgically he looks back at an age bracket filled with emotions and attempts a great feat in delving into a rocky past, best left that way by others.
The author has come up with memorable and real literature, touching on girls, his parents, their marriage on the rocks, initiations to adolescence, and the war, very tragically.