It's a story of small goings-on in a Worcestershire village in 1982, told through the eyes of a 13 year old boy not unlike DM's youthful self. That doesn't sound too inviting does it? It bounces along though, it engages you, and it's very well written. It reminded me in a way of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' because the protagonist is innocent and awkward, and we see complex events through his naive eyes (though this lad is sensitive and literate rather than autistic). It's also a little bit like Cider with Rosie.
The story is compassionate and warm, and presents some explicit recommendations for living, which you may or may not agree with. I did agree on the whole, though it made me ask myself some hard questions about how deeply I suppress anything I really believe or feel when I'm at work, rather in the way children do at school.
I've now started The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (kindly leant to me by
I am very early in the book, but I think like Black Swan Green it is about true language, truth telling and courage.