Literate & Stylish: Mandy of Oh Dizzle

The premise of Literate & Stylish is simple, and the post is short but sweet- every Thursday I'll be showcasing a lovely lady and her favorite book. She'll share a few pretty photos showing off her personal style, along with her book of choice, and tell us why she loves it. 

from Mandy of Oh Dizzle

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

During college, I studied abroad for a year in the United Kingdom. The UK was the place where I learned how to drink, how to speak "British" semi-fluently, how to write a 12 page research paper, and how to really step out on my own for the first time.

During the spring, I decided take a week long trip to Ireland on my own. Traveling alone for the first time was terrifying but exhilarating. I didn't have any restrictions on where I could go or how long I could stay. I loved the freedom it gave me, but it also meant that there were a few long stretches of time to fill.

As I faced a long bus ride from Dublin to Kilkenny, I decided to pick up a new novel to keep me company. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell had been on the featured table in bookstores for months, and I figured I'd give it a shot, as I'd enjoyed Mitchell's other book Cloud Atlas. Three pages in, and I was hooked. Black Swan Green details the life of Jason, a thirteen year old in 1980's rural England. He gets in and out of scrapes, meets extremely interesting characters, and, as is common in these sorts of books, comes of age. I held on tight to that book through the rest of my trip, reading it on buses, in hostels, in cafes and even in the ruins of old Irish forts. I couldn't escape the hold it had on me, even when the green hills of Ireland beckoned. I finished it waiting in the airport for my flight back to England, and got teary as I turned the last page. It was like leaving one of the best travel companions I ever had.

A few years later, I was lucky enough to meet David Mitchell at a book signing. As he signed my book, I told him about how Black Swan Green entranced me on my trip through Ireland. He apologized for causing me to be too involved with the book to properly see Ireland. I assured him that it was an absolute pleasure.

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