Black Swan GreenBlack Swan Green
Score Modern
What it's about
In 1982, Jason Taylor is thirteen and lives in a sleepy village in the English Midlands. He has a stammer he desperately hides, writes poems under a secret name, and is trying to survive school bullies, his parents' crumbling marriage, the Falklands War on TV and the strange adults around him. Each of thirteen chapters covers one month of his year.
Why it's worth reading
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize. It's David Mitchell's most personal and accessible novel, a funny, touching coming-of-age story.
You'll love it if you liked
The Catcher in the Rye
Cloud Atlas
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeGood to know
The chapters work almost as linked stories. Bullying is vividly described.
By the numbers
- Readers39 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics15 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller16 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
On our reserve shelf: it's well reviewed, but isn't currently a prize winner, a lifetime bestseller or a book everyone's talking about, so we don't rank it. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by David Mitchell
If you like this, read next
Sing, Unburied, Sing
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The City of Brass
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Book of Form and EmptinessExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Black Swan Green worth reading?
It was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Its Must-Read Score is 59.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Black Swan Green about?
In 1982, Jason Taylor is thirteen and lives in a sleepy village in the English Midlands. He has a stammer he desperately hides, writes poems under a secret name, and is trying to survive school bullies, his parents' crumbling marriage, the Falklands War on TV and the strange adults around him. Each of thirteen chapters covers one month of his year.
How long does it take to read Black Swan Green?
About 10 hours (400 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Black Swan Green?
If you liked it, try The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.