Reviews

So, I clearly wasn't ready for this book to take an almost fantasy/ sci fi turn close to the end but I was here for it. I really liked the book but I like everything that has to do with music and the 60s so it wasn't complicated.
I think this book could've been a five stars if my slump wasn't slumping (not this book's fault i promise) and yet, here we are.

onceyougoack's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

seanstarb's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a weird one in many ways. Long but sometimes feeling insubstantial. Expect realism at your peril. Often cliched, with the cameos from some of the real people taking me out of the story and occasionally completely jarring, especially the Joni Mitchell reference. Ultimately I kept reading and actively craved going back, realised I cared more about the characters than I expected, and wasn't keen for the book to end.

crimsoncor's review against another edition

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4.0

As someone who grew up (years after the fact) listening to the music of the 60's, I loved this romp through the era with his imaginary band. Mitchell does a really good job of capturing the frisson and friction of being in a band. An argument can be made that everything resolves a little too easily for all the characters and I think that is likely a reason why the novel won't hold up to a re-read as well as some of his other novels. On a first read, you don't know how those paths are going to unfold, so there is always the haunting possibilities hanging over the characters. I thought the immediate Cloud Atlas name-drop in the first stanza of the book and of course the name de Zoet were maybe just a sly hat-tip, but then

Spoiler

there is the dramatic turn in the final third of the book where the entire Mitchell multi-verse comes rushing in. It definitely changes the entire complexion of the book and I'm not sure how necessary it was. It didn't necessarily detract from the novel for me-though I think that if this was the first Mitchell novel you had read, you would be left quite confused as to what the hell just happened in this novel. And that really is disappointing because his other novels can also stand firmly on their own.

. But I adored all the members of the band and found the constant drop-in by musical luminaries of the 60's and 70's to be the sort of good nostalgia that Ernie Cline wishes he could write.

keoc333's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

tomgenue's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

j_ellie's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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