Utopia Avenue

Utopia Avenue is a 2020 novel by David Mitchell. It is his eighth published novel, and his first since Slade House (2015). It was published by Sceptre on July 14, 2020.[1] The novel tells the story of the fictional 1960s British rock band Utopia Avenue.[2]

Utopia Avenue
First edition cover (UK)
AuthorDavid Mitchell
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical fiction
PublisherSceptre
Publication date
14 July 2020
Media typePrint (hardcover), e-book, audiobook
Pages576
ISBN978-1-4447-9942-2 (hardcover)

Synopsis

The novel follows the fictional rock band Utopia Avenue, formed in Soho, London in 1967. They were assembled by their Canadian manager Levon Frankland as a "psychedelic-folk-rock" supergroup. Each chapter name is the title of a song and focuses on one of the members of the band. It features cameos from David Bowie, Jerry Garcia, Leonard Cohen, Syd Barrett, Jackson Browne, John Lennon, Allen Ginsberg, Francis Bacon, Joni Mitchell, Steve Winwood, Keith Moon, Sandy Denny and Marc Bolan. As well as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Jim Morrison, and Brian Jones; the latter five, coincidentally, all members of the illustrious 27 Club.

Main characters
Utopia Avenue
  • Elf Holloway, keyboardist and lead singer. Previously in a folk group with her ex Bruce.
  • Jasper de Zoet, lead guitarist. Originally from the Netherlands.
  • Dean Moss, bassist from Gravesend.
  • Peter "Griff" Griffin, jazz drummer from Yorkshire.

Allusions/references to other works

Utopia Avenue contains references to characters from other works by Mitchell, following precedents set in his earlier novels. As Mitchell's oeuvre grows, the connections between his works become more numerous, ranging from the explicit that link the novel to what might be called his overarching über-book[3], to subtle recurrences of characters, places, and events. Some of the more apparent connections are:

  • Jasper de Zoet listens to a recording of The Cloud Atlas Sextet composed by Robert Frobisher, a character and work described in Cloud Atlas.
  • Jasper is a descendant of Jacob de Zoet, the protagonist from The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.
  • The band's first single "Darkroom" is played on the radio by Bat Segundo, a DJ who appears in Ghostwritten.
  • The band play at the pub in Gravesend owned by the Sykes family who appear in The Bone Clocks.
  • Elf Holloway has a relationship with Luisa Rey, who appears in Cloud Atlas.
  • At a party in London the band meet Crispin Hershey, the author from The Bone Clocks, as a child.
  • Jasper is delivered from a poltergeist, who turns out to be the malign spirit of the abbot Enomoto from The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by Horologists Esther Little (The Bone Clocks) and Marinus. The character of Marinus (in various reincarnations) and the group known as Horologists are present in several of Mitchell's novels.

Reception

At the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, the novel received a cumulative "Positive" rating based on 25 reviews: 10 "Rave" reviews, 9 "Positive" reviews, 4 "Mixed" reviews, and 2 "Pan" reviews.[4]

Writing for The Guardian, Sarah Perry praised Mitchell's "consciously easeful and frictionless" prose.[5]

In its starred review, Kirkus Reviews praised Utopia Avenue for its detail and realism, calling it Mitchell's most "realistic" novel since Black Swan Green (2006)."[6]

Publishers Weekly gave the novel a rave review, calling it "Mitchell at his best."[7]

Writing for The New Yorker, Jonathan Dee felt the novel's "authenticity" was diminished by Mitchell's musical descriptions and undermined by unrealistic dialogue from the cameo characters.[8]

gollark: When my next one grows I'll fill its slot with an egg (3h) and then two will grow up in 4h.
gollark: I'm sure someone else wants hatchlings.
gollark: Sorry, my slots are entirely filled.
gollark: I'm currently on bronze.
gollark: Of course, our xenowyrm overlords are better.

References
  1. "Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell". Hodder & Stoughton. Hachette UK. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  2. Simon, Scott (11 July 2020). "'Utopia Avenue,' The Greatest Sixties Band That Never Was". Weekend Edition Saturday. NPR. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  3. "Interview with David Mitchell". Goodreads. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. "Book Marks reviews of Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell". Book Marks. Literary Hub. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  5. Perry, Sarah (10 July 2020). "Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell review – a musical journey". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. "Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell". Kirkus Reviews. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  7. "Fiction Book Review: Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell". Publishers Weekly. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  8. Dee, Jonathan (29 June 2020). "What Happens When David Mitchell Writes a Rock Novel?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
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