Joe Murphy on Black Swan Green
Hi Everyone-
Hope your Spring is going well. The weather has allowed me to sit in my back yard in the evenings and get some reading done, so I thought I'd mention a recent favorite: David Mitchell's new novel Black Swan Green. I had not previously read Mitchell's work, although both Ghostwritten and the Booker-nominated Cloud Atlas were staff favorites here at Olsson's. They were works of enticing postmodern fabulation, and this new novel is a bit of a departure. It covers a year in the life of thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, living in a small British village in the 1980's, and in short, it's a witty, charming, and deeply felt coming-of-age story worthy of the great picaresque novels. Its chapters form a series of perfect vignettes which give us a look at Jason's dawning intelligence, creative ability, and hard-won sense of morality. The novel is populated with deliciously crazy shut-ins, overly helpful teachers, well-meaning if dysfunctional parents, completely believable bullies, and one very peculiar, if captivating, German emigre. It is also, of course, a Buyer's Choice, featured at 20% off.
And don't forget: there's still a week left on our April of the Penguins promotion! To give you your weekly memory refresher: if you buy any two Penguin, Plume, or Riverhead paperbacks, you get the third (of equal or lesser value) FREE! 
I've already mentioned too many great Penguin titles to repeat here but here's one more: the terrific The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a literary mystery featuring a mysterious book of which only one copy exists. It's fun, literary and highly diverting -- think of it as The Name of the Rose without all the Latin (Did I actually just write that?).
Have a great week!
Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer
Hope your Spring is going well. The weather has allowed me to sit in my back yard in the evenings and get some reading done, so I thought I'd mention a recent favorite: David Mitchell's new novel Black Swan Green. I had not previously read Mitchell's work, although both Ghostwritten and the Booker-nominated Cloud Atlas were staff favorites here at Olsson's. They were works of enticing postmodern fabulation, and this new novel is a bit of a departure. It covers a year in the life of thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, living in a small British village in the 1980's, and in short, it's a witty, charming, and deeply felt coming-of-age story worthy of the great picaresque novels. Its chapters form a series of perfect vignettes which give us a look at Jason's dawning intelligence, creative ability, and hard-won sense of morality. The novel is populated with deliciously crazy shut-ins, overly helpful teachers, well-meaning if dysfunctional parents, completely believable bullies, and one very peculiar, if captivating, German emigre. It is also, of course, a Buyer's Choice, featured at 20% off.And don't forget: there's still a week left on our April of the Penguins promotion! To give you your weekly memory refresher: if you buy any two Penguin, Plume, or Riverhead paperbacks, you get the third (of equal or lesser value) FREE! I've already mentioned too many great Penguin titles to repeat here but here's one more: the terrific The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a literary mystery featuring a mysterious book of which only one copy exists. It's fun, literary and highly diverting -- think of it as The Name of the Rose without all the Latin (Did I actually just write that?).Have a great week!
Joe Murphy
Head Book Buyer
0 Comments:
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home