from barnesandnoble.com:
Black Swan tracks a single year in what is, for 13-yr-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the thirteen chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of Kissingeresque realpolitik enacted in boys’ games on a frozen lake; of “nightcreeping” through the summer backyards of strangers; of the tabloid-fueled thrills of the Falklands War & its human toll; of the cruel, luscious Dawn Madden & her power-hungry boyfriend, Ross Wilcox; of a certain Madame Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck, an elderly bohemian emigré who is both more & less than she appears; of Jason’s search to replace his dead grandfather’s irreplaceable smashed watch before the crime is discovered; of first cigarettes, first kisses, first Duran Duran Lps, & first deaths; of Margaret Thatcher’s recession; of Gypsies camping in the woods & the hysteria they inspire; &, even closer to home, of a slow-motion divorce in four seasons.
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I enjoyed this coming of age British book :)

Reserved for Chapter 7 of the Chapter 12 exchange - enjoy!

Thank you so much dancing-dog. This book sends me dancing!! I read Mitchell's Cloud Atlas and it's genius, so I am interested in reading his other books as well.

12/12/08:
I finished reading this book last week (but forgot to journal it before sending it to Vegan). I have to say I like Cloud Atlas a lot better for its originality, although this is not a bad novel by itself. A solidly good story about a boy coming to age.

Thanks azuki - this book sounds quite intriguing. I haven't got around to reading Cloud Atlas or any of this author's other books yet so I look forward to this one.

Loved this book. The story itself (coming of age) made me have low expectations but they were completely blown away. Still not an original story but the way it was written made up for that. One of the best books I've read lately. And now reserved for another Kiwi.

On its way to KiwiinEngland. I noticed it was on your wishlist so thought I'd include this - it's so nice to be able to pass books along without horrendous postage costs. :-)

Wow - thanks for this surprise RABCK! I look forward to reading this story, which others have enjoyed.

Lent to -Tui- to read before I take it back to Ireland when I fly over in March 2010

A really enjoyable story of growing up and being a brother (younger) and having adults who don't keep the rules. I could see lots of people I know in this

I enjoyed this book enormously, thanks for sending it to me Veganmedusa. It took a few chapters to get into, and the cutting about of the story left me confused sometimes (especially the old women and the ankle cream...I thought that might have been a dream sequence). As the book progressed I enjoyed it more and more.

I plan to turn this into a bookring
Please read and pass on within four weeks.
Participants List - open to more people
Kiwiinengland in Ireland
LovesOU in USA <--- read
akosikulot in Phillipines, prefer Asia shipping <--- Stolen on 4 April 2011 by akosikulot, along with a lot of other books :(
Sherlockfan in New Zealand, thanks for shipping international
starflash in Uk, prefer uk/eu postage
sing-on-a-star in Uk, prefer uk/eu postage, will post intl
Heaven-Ali in Uk, prefer uk/eu postage, will post intl

....
back to KiwiInEngland


Others can be added in future...

Note: Order is subject to change based on shipping preferences and others joining the bookray.

How the bookring works:
* Someone will PM you for your address, PM them back and provide your address
* When you receive the book, please make a journal entry letting everyone know that you received it
* Put the book at the top of your TBR pile (under other rings/rays that arrived first)
* Read the book (take your time and enjoy the book, don't feel rushed to finish it but try to get it out to next reader within four weeks)
* When the end is in sight, check the book's journal and PM the next person to get their address
* Finish the book, make another journal entry and let everyone know what you thought of the book
* Send the book to the next person on the list (please use the cheapest shipping method available)
* Make a controlled release using your location as the release place(you the sender)to make the book's travel map consistent. Don't use "posted as bookray" or similar as this will not add to the books map.

Please feel free to PM me at any time with questions

Posted to America to the first person in this bookring. It's taking the slow boat, but as the US postal service seems to have put oddles of delays on all mail entering the states to do additional security searches it didn't seem worthwhile paying for a speedy service.

4 days of no mail and on the 5th day.... Black Swan Green. Sign of a good weekend to come. Thanks, will finish and sent on its journey...

Second on the ring list! LovesOU has been pretty worried about it getting to me - it's safe and sound now, don't you worry no more, dear! :D

On its way to Sherlockfan in New Zealand - enjoy the book! :)

This book was one of many stolen by akosikulot. There is a forum post listing many of the books she has having claimed were posted but remained in her possession. There are many more books posted to her that she never journalled.

An update to the forum dated late 2012 includes a further lie claiming she will post books on (never happened) and outlines her plan to steal from the 1001 library.

A sad end to this bookring.