Reviews

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

Only show reviews with written explanations

elysiamann's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted reflective slow-paced

4.0

It was long and dragged a bit, but ended up worth it! Really cool music history included that was a fun layer

amyheap's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Four and a half stars for this trip to Soho in the late 60s. Utopia Avenue is a band, brought together by their manager, and this is a story of the time, of music, of the four, very different, band members, and their whirlwind journey to fame. I found it colourful, fascinating, and moving, and clever enough to work whether you are familiar with Mitchell’s “meta-novel” or not.

lilifane's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

David Mitchell is an auto buy/read author for me. So it is rather surprising that it took me so many years to actually read Utopia Avenue. But I feel that you need to be in the mood for this specific topic, and I just wasn't before.

Utopia Avenue is a fictional rock band from the 60s. The plot not only follows the history of the band but also the history and struggles of each band member: Dean (Bass), Jasper (Guitar), Griff (Drums) and Elf (Keyboard). Once again, the story is structured in a special way, it is divided into parts (the band's albums) and chapters (the songs on the respective album). I loved how the chapters were told from the standpoint of the concerned songwriter and explained how/why this specific song came to be. Not all POVs were equally interesting to me, though. I looooved Jaspar's parts the most. His story has the most connections to other Mitchell books (which I adore). I also really enjoyed Elf's POV, but Dean's was too much for me.
The atmosphere Mitchell creates is very vivid. Although I wasn't around in the 60s yet, not even close, I felt like being transformed in the music scene through the writing. But the name-dropping got a bit exhausting with time. Imagine an artist, musician, star from the 1960s, they are probably named in this novel. It was fun at first and created this intimate vibe... but it got so annoying in the second half. Especially since I didn't know 80% of those people and was not particularly interested in the other 20%.
Appreciated the queer and neurodiverse representation, though.

So, would I recommend Utopia Avenue? It depends.
1. If you are interested in the 1960s rock music and in following a fictional band with all its ups and downs? Sure.
2. If you have read all David Mitchell books and need to know all the connections? Definitely.
3. If you haven't read from Mitchell before and are not super interested in the topic, just read The Bone Clocks, Cloud Atlas and Ghostwritten first. I would even say you will enjoy Utopia Avenue the most if you have read those three books (and well, the Thousand Autums of Jacob de Zoet, but that is actually summarized pretty well on 2 pages here).

iuclowes1's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

4.5

elizanderson1066's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Man this was exactly what I needed for a holiday read. I was literally hooked from the first page and the storytelling did not let up for a whole 500 pages.

It was engaging without being over the top, heart-warming without being unnecessarily saccharine and had just enough of Mitchell's trademark weirdness to set it apart from other books about bands becoming famous.

I loved the characters. I loved the period and setting. I loved the format. I loved the narrative. Just ace.

chestel's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Great fun and occasionally very moving and interesting. Some clunky dialogue when shoe-horning in encounters with late 60's scenesters but such an enjoyable fun read that who could begrudge that? A joyous addition to David Mitchell universe fitting with the satisfying click of a puzzle piece.