The Ending Of Black Swan Green

Black Swan Green was a book that I wouldn’t have ever picked up had it not taken this class, and I honestly have to say that I loved it. I was sad to have finally completed it because it was remarkably interesting and compelling, but having finished it I have to say that I’m conflicted by the last chapter/ ending of the novel.

First of all, I have to say that loved the ending as a whole. David Mitchell tied everything up together very smoothly and left out very little in terms of loose ends. The first thing that comes to mind when I say this is the backstory of the old lady in the first chapter, his family dynamic, and even Ross Wilcox. Mitchell really demonstrating that Jason has reached an internal resolution towards the end of the novel and is ready for a new chapter in his life, no pun intended. Another aspect of the ending that I enjoyed was the spot in Jason’s life where the book ended. I think it was an ideal moment to stop the novel because it’s during a transitional moment in Jason’s life. He feels more confident with who he is as a person after having overcome his a lot of his insecurities that spanned a large part of the book, and he’s going to move and start a new life elsewhere. It seems the best, most logical place with which to stop without having to the emergence of any other underlying themes. Also, I think that the book’s closure leaves the reader with a sense that Jason is going to be okay emotionally and that he’s really now fully immersed in his coming of age. He’s a little broken up about his family’s situation, but his sister tells him that he needs to be strong and that that things’ll get better.

Going along with all of this (and contradicting myself slightly) I also have to say that I simultaneously felt like the ending was lacking. Mainly the issues I have with it are really just preferential, and are the same issues that I have with basically every book I read. One thing I wanted to nit pick on what that I would have liked to have had the book end a little while after he starts his new life outside of Black Swan Green. Although it seems logical to end at that moment in Jason’s life, like I mentioned, I’m also curious to see how that self-confidence in the book extends to his new life outside of his native town, the only place he’s really known. Will he reinvent himself? Will he get picked on? Jason is such a compelling character, and there’s a part of me that is always going to wonder how Jason’s life unfolds. We’ve been discussing in class really thoroughly how big of an impact this year has been with him in terms of the whole coming of age processes of finding and being more comfortable in his own skin, and I wanted to see where that takes him. It’s just kind of difficult to end there when you are very engaged in the story and you know there’s going to be so much more that’s going to happen.

So that’s my little rant about the final chapter of this book. Overall, I thought it was fantastic because the author does a great job of making Jason’s story seem authentic, and the little moments where I get “annoyed” with the novel are just due to me wishing the author would add  a bit more to the novel.