A review by leilapulaski
Utopia by Heidi Sopinka

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Quite a niche genre, but the novel entrenched in the art world centering a complicated female protagonist just WORKS for me. The other book that immediately comes to mind is Indelicacy by Amina Cain. Both of those two were total surprise pickups, and I LOVE them both. There were so many moments in this book that I really felt I had no choice but to highlight because the writing was so strong. Really great and striking writing and one of the most completely immersive examples of setting I can remember having read-- really puts you in the fucking desert in the 1970s (lol). Would recommend to anyone who follows the female rage/ambivalent female narrator/flighty female protagonist category of book! Only thing that keeps me from making it a full 5 star rating is that some of the commentary on men/feminism/womanhood felt a bit obvious and out of place among an otherwise really strong work. Altogether though, an incredibly strong and compelling novel that feels very unique while simultaneously being able to fit into this female rage genre that is incredibly popular right now.