BLACK SWAN GREEN

Fans of David Mitchell's challenging, globe-spanning novels, Ghostwritten and CLOUD ATLAS, will find less to puzzle over in this straightforward coming-of-age novel set in Thatcher's England. But Mitchell's focus on voice and character is extended in this story of a boy with a stammer trying to hold his own in a rigid adolescent society. Jason's stammer, named "Hangman," is both a character and an inflection, and Kirby Heyborne's fluid narration captures the constant trepidation and resourcefulness of his quick-thinking protagonist, who must outwit this adversary at every turn. Heyborne captures perfectly the pitch, the rootedness in place and era, and the triumph of character over affliction that are the soul of this fine novel. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]