'Its breathless confidence of voice and the cliffhangers of each chapter let it read like a book written for children. . . A study of English literary innocence, it explains itself gracefully, gently, as if to stupefied adults who know better. This novel, written for the children we were, hold its still-intact innocence up like a trophy.' Sunday Telegraph
'BLACK SWAN GREEN is constructed with compass-like precision. This is a luminously beautiful book. It celebrates the liberating power of language while reviewing without bitterness or resentment the role that inarticulacy, shyness, even bullying, might play in shaping the future career of a writer.' The Times
'BLACK SWAN GREEN's virtuosities of style complicate and enrich a series of vignettes. . . the result is impressive.' Guardian
'BLACK SWAN GREEN is a deceptively easy read, at times uproariously funny, and Jason's voice is engaging. . . It s-sss-ssscreams to be read.' Evening Standard
'I do hope to read a better British novel this year, but I can't honestly say that I expect to.' Scotsman
'A very fine and tightly structured novel. . . Mitchell pulls off a beautifully ironic piece of ventriloquism; the narrator's voice is pitched perfectly and entirely credibly; the dialogue never falters.' Irish Times
'Intricate and beautiful.' Time Out
‘Mitchell is just about the best writer operating in Britain today...a novel that, like each of its predecessors, sticks in the back of your head for weeks after you’ve finished it.’ Arena
‘A delight to read from beginning to end’ Sunday Express
‘Spry, disconcerting and moving. It is also extremely funny even - or especially - at the blackest of moments.' Observer Summer Reads
‘David Mitchell is dizzyingly, dazzlingly good … BLACK SWAN GREEN is just gorgeous.’ Daily Mail
‘Hugely touching and enjoyable' Observer Summer Reads