Freewheeling Andy Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Well, somewhere else on this site I called David Mitchell as the person writing the greatest literature in Britain at the moment. I'm sure that in a few years time my tastes will move on, but I've not read anything from Britain recently that comes close to Cloud Atlas, except, perhaps, his latest novel Black Swan Green. It's not a book about the Japanese Yakuza, it's not an exotic babushka travelling through time from the 18th to 25th centuries. It's a departure, to a suppsedly gentler age and place, and a gentler narrative form comes with it. The only structural excitment comes in the form of 13 self contained story-chapters, each from one of 13 months in the life of a 13 year old boy (well, he's 13 for most of it, although clearly with 13 months he must age at least once). Rural Worcestershire in 1982 may be the setting, and the stories may be those of an adolescent, but the themes are more universal, and this is one of those aspects that makes it a great book. The stories of being bullies, of desperation for acceptance, of outsiderhood, may seem simple, but they tell tales of the kindness of those you don't expect kindness from; they tell of guilt, of redemption. It's almost a moral novel, in the way it takes up the theme of the importance of being true to yourself, but that would make it sound trite. It's not trite. It's wonderful. It's got a light, light touch in the writing, is beautifully easy to read, has humour lacing every page, even when darker subjects are around. Mitchell has, like he apparently always does, moved one or two characters from previous books into this one. Robert Frobisher and Vivian Ayrs return in passing from Cloud Atlas, for example. That adds a little to the fun of the book, but it doesn't need much adding. There's so much going on. I would struggle to recommend it high enough. Lovely, brilliant, magnificent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 This sounds rather interesting - I may add it to my own to-read list later on in the year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I absolutely loved this book. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I really like the sound of this. My friend read it earlier this year and said it was good. I'm waiting for the paperback though, which I think must be out soonish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 My copy is from the library and unfortunately I will have to go back soon. I might get it for myself when it comes out in paperback. I could read it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyRich Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I have asked for this from my hubby for Christmas. I really hope he gets it for me. If not I'm off to the library. I loved Cloud Atlas. I would say it was the best book I read this year. Hubby grew up in rural Worcestershire and would have been may be a year or two older than Jason. I think I would have been a bit younger and know the area having visited mother-in-law there. But I read an excerpt in a Saturday newspaper and it read brilliantly and I am sure I will enjoy it. Unfortunatly OH doesn't read novels or fiction so he won't appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 Ah. I'm really glad you enjoyed it, Rennie. Some people I know felt it was a bit flat because it wasn't the same as Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten, it wasn't so expansive and crazily ambitious. But they're wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I have not read Ghostwritten yet, but I think I liked Black Swan Green even better than Cloud Atlas. It certainly was very different from Cloud Atlas and I think this shows that David Mitchell can write well about many things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 I loved this book! Written from a 12 year old boy perspective it comes alive. Mitchell's descriptions are spot on. For example when he likens bus diesel fumes to a newly sharpened pencil smell it is exactly what a schoolboy would use as a referenc point. I particularly liked how the author dealt with Jason's stammering via the 'Hangman' squeezing his throat so that he could not get his words out. The bullying made me feel quite emotional too. Do read this if you can. Literature of the best kind. For me the references to the Falklands war, Maggie Thatcher and the music of the early 80s provided added value. Definitely the best I have read this year so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 Know what you mean HandD - I enjoyed the nostalgia element too. If you like that sort of thing you might enjoy The Rotter's Club - again teenage boy perspective, beautifully written, with 70's politics/news events thrown in - quite moving in places but also funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) As far as I can find, Kings Canyon Unified School District is in California. Their latest parental crusade is to ban Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas). I had never heard of this book before, but you better believe I will be reading it now. The local news describes Black Swan Green as a 2006 novel, the story of 13 months in the life of a 13-year-old boy in England in the early 1980s. In one passage of the 300-page book, the boy watches a couple have sex and describes what he sees. From Amazon: Black Swan Green 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. (told in thirteen chapters, each a short story in it's own right). A world of Kissingeresque realpolitik enacted in boys’ games on a frozen lake; 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 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. Some excerpts from local news: The school district’s position has been that ninth- graders would read only two excerpts, not the entire book, and that neither of the excerpts deals with sex.But, a parent has filed a complaint with the district about the book, which some say is pornographic in its depiction of the sex scene, blasphemous in several references to Jesus and profane because it contains the f-word and other vulgar language. "If we have to hear one more time, ‘We’re only using excerpts,’ we’ll all throw up,” [a parent] said. Excerpts could lead to students reading the whole book, [she] said: “An enthusiastic reader could very well get their hands on the worst language I have seen . . . and the most graphic scenes of lust and fornication.” Got t that right lady! If I was in 9th grade, I'd buy that book and read it in the quad on campus! And thanks for the recommendation. Might come in handy for a read a thon. If I don't like it, I'll be happy to just purchase it Edited September 27, 2014 by Anna Begins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 That's pretty interesting! Cloud Atlas (the British name) is on my wishlist. I've heard good things about it. I'm not sure that banning a book is a good idea to be honest, many children / teenagers actually want something more when it's forbidden. And there are plenty of pages where to pick up bad language or sexual terms, a book might be one of the safer places as opposed to TV or the internet. I haven't read the book though so I don't know how bad it is, but I think it'd be better if the parents educated their children about sex more rather than forbidding everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Anna, I've merged this with an old thread on the book, but Cloud Atlas is actually a different book. Here's a link to each: Black Swan Green -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Swan-Green-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822805/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1411806200&sr=8-1 Cloud Atlas -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cloud-Atlas-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411806263&sr=1-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Anna, I've merged this with an old thread on the book, but Cloud Atlas is actually a different book. Here's a link to each: Black Swan Green -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Swan-Green-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822805/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1411806200&sr=8-1 Cloud Atlas -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cloud-Atlas-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411806263&sr=1-1 Sorry, I didn't really look into it to see that they were two different books. Thanks for your swift response, Claire . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) Anna, I've merged this with an old thread on the book, but Cloud Atlas is actually a different book. Here's a link to each: Black Swan Green -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Swan-Green-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822805/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1411806200&sr=8-1 Cloud Atlas -> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cloud-Atlas-David-Mitchell/dp/0340822783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411806263&sr=1-1 Oops- sorry, I didn't see it was a topic already. Edited September 27, 2014 by Anna Begins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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