I loved “Utopia Avenue” by David Mitchell and couldn’t wait to read it each night. I highly recommend it if you want to take an imaginary trip down memory lane to the music scene in the 60’s and understand the life of struggling musicians who manage to make it to the big time.

The story follows the formation of a rock/folk band where each of the musicians was personally selected by their band manager for their individual talents. Elf Holloway, folk singer and pianist, Dean Moss, blues bassist, Griff Griffin, jazz drummer and Jasper de Zoet, guitar virtuoso -- all come together with a unique sound and voice to their own surprise and that of their fans. Understanding the different ways each of the three song writers discover their words was enlightening.

The lives of each member of the group is explored in depth and the author alternated chapters to write from the perspective of each of the main characters. I loved each character and the way their life stories unfolded and intersected. The most unusual of the four is Jasper, a young man struggling with serious mental health issues. You join his world of aural hallucinations and interesting characters that take up residence in his mind.

Cameo appearances are made by all the big musical stars of the time which is a fun and light part of the book.

Somehow David Mitchell manages to pull this all together in an engaging story written brilliantly.
Thanks to Netgalley for an early release of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Think Daisy Jones and the Six, but in the Mitchellverse! I am a huge David Mitchell fan and I absolutely love his expanded universe, but he's been pretty quite since Slade House in 2015 - with good reason, apparently. This is a mammoth book, following multiple characters through the 60s. There's an element of pop culture fanfic going on with the lead characters interacting with lots of musical icons but I found that part of the fun (though I could see how it would be grating). The Mitchellverse section is small - I suppose it would be confusing if you haven't read The Bone Clocks (especially) and the Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, but it's only a small part of the book and infinitely rewarding if you have. I found myself thinking about all of the people that are going to discover David Mitchell through this book and how lucky they are to consume his books for the very first time.

3.5 stars

For about 80% of the novel, "Utopia Avenue" seems to be about one thing, and then, briefly, it becomes about something else. This flight of fantasy seems to exist because David Mitchell's readers would expect but it's not totally out of place. "Utopia Avenue" is set in the 60s, right?

This is the story of an unusual band. "Utopia Avenue" is a combo of folk, jazz, rock, and other worldly inspiration. The four band members, Elf, the singer and keyboardist, drummer Griff, and guitarists Jasper and Dean create something special under the creative hand of manager Levon. There's a lot of name dropping and parties--too much--but where the book comes to life is when the band just sits down to play. They like each other, support each other, and make beautiful music together.

I was never transported by this book, but I did enjoy it. There are a lot of qualifiers in this review and that sums up the reading experience pretty well. I could have stopped at any time, but didn't.

Nonetheless, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for approval to read & review!

~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader

This is my first time reading something by David Mitchell, and from the sound of it, Utopia Avenue is a bit of a departure for him. By and large, this is a realistic, historical fiction novel about the 60s band Utopia Avenue. It features cameos from contemporaries like Leonard Cohen and Jimi Hendrix and is a vivid portrait of the British rock scene at that time.

What I loved most about this book were the characters. Even when I wasn't reading the book, I found myself thinking of them, most often Jasper de Zoet and Elf Holloway. These characters are drawn with empathy and understanding, and even the more minor characters have stuck with me. They all felt whole, like their lives expanded far beyond the pages of the book.

I was, however, thrown by the shift from standard social realism to, eventually, a psychological trip through one character's brain, not triggered by LSD. I think if I were more familiar with Mitchell's work, this wouldn't have struck me so much, since it seems like the majority of his books feature an element of the fantastic or magical realist. For me, though, this section added to the overall slightly-bloated feeling of the novel. There is absolutely no reason for this book to be almost 600 pages! I fully believe 100 pages or more could be cut and the novel would be better for it.

Despite these (somewhat minor) criticisms, however, I ultimately really enjoyed the experience of reading Utopia Avenue. It was what I had hoped Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones and the Six would be. I would absolutely recommend it to others, especially those who enjoy fictional celebrity memoirs as much as I do. Thank you to Netgalley, Random House, and David Mitchell for the e-ARC.

I am entirely sold on the David Mitchell "Über-book," and loved how this entry directly connect to The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet while retaining its unique style and charm.

The narrative centers on three main characters, all songwriters in the late-'60s British band Utopia Avenue. Of the three, I found Jasper de Zoet's story most compelling, as it related most closely to the central conflict of Mitchell's expanded universe. I did wonder whether de Zoet's "emotional dyslexia--" including difficulty reading facial expressions and a tendency to speak and interpret others' speech literally-- was meant to suggest autism, and would be interested to know how neurodiverse readers feel about his characterization. To me, the author seemed to have written Jasper with great affection, and the result is a highly likable character.

The narratives of the other two main characters, Elf Holloway and Dean Moss, are firmly entrenched in the '60s music world. Elf's story of growing to accept her sexual orientation and navigating a male-dominated industry as a woman was highly relatable. I was least interested in Dean's story, though it was presented exactly as a documentary about an almost-famous '60s musician might be. After Jasper's arc ended, the last few chapters, all of which centered on Dean, were a bit of a slog.

Overall, a fun and different chapter in the "Über-book," with plenty (maybe too many) connections to the characters and events in Mitchell's other books. A welcome distraction under the stay at home order.

So, this is what it feels like to read a David Mitchell book?

I'm hollowed out, uplifted, cosmically one with everything ... and grieving. It's been a while since I've had a book hangover and Utopia Avenue was far better than I was expecting.

There's so much to say, I don't know where to start. The Kinks "Sunny Afternoon" is playing in the background so I'll take that as a sign I should start with the music. The references, famous musician cameos, and songs playing on the radio in the background of scenes added depth and realism. I went so far as to create a Spotify playlist of all the songs listed to listen to while finishing up the last 25% of the book. This book is a crash course in 1966 - 1968 rock music. I have a much better understanding and appreciation for The Animals and The Kinks now.

This book is two books in one. Both would be spectacular on their own but combined they become this otherworldly thing. There's the story of a band who was kinda famous in the '60s. It could be compared to Daisy Jones & The Six. But then there's the David Mitchell connection to another world. There's something more going on here. Life is more than the life we see. What we experience is only one dimension. The parallels between the psychedelic 60's rock n' roll and what people expect from a Mitchell book sounds a little too on the nose, but it works! Boy oh boy, does it work.

This book is long, but it's not boring. The story comes together like peeling an onion in reverse - more and more is added until you have more than the whole. You'll get to know the characters so intimately that you'll want to warn them about mistakes they're about to make. For too many pages I wanted to take Elf aside and tell her to break up with Bruce. Elf started out as my favorite character to follow, but then Dean started having this amazing arc that makes it hard to focus on anything else. Last, but not least, Jasper. Who is Jasper? I both know how to answer that question and don't.

I big thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy for an honest review.

Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 6 stars (I know these people now. I loved them)
Writing/Prose: 5 stars

Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

I was really excited to be approved for this book. The description sounded fantastic. Following the rise of an obscure band in the last 60s to 70s. Unfortunately, I could not really get into the book. I normally don't mind if a book is disjointed, but I found this really hard to follow. I liked Elf but not really anyone else. If it had just been about Elf, I probably would have enjoyed it much more. Still, I'm sure there will be plenty of people who enjoy the story.

With lots reviews from readers smarter than I, I'll just recommend this to mystery fans, plus the author is pretty dang talented and knocks out a lot of good books.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

I am generally skeptical about rock novels, but if there wasn't a great one before, there is now. This is a beautiful narrative sprinkled with characters from the Mitchell-verse and 1960s rock. I engulfed the book in four days and wished it could have been much longer. One of Mitchell's best.

I have loved all of Mitchell's books but unfortunately didn't love this one in the same way. He's a master storyteller in his prose, his character and world-building and his dialogue. In that regard this book hits all the right points and that's the 4 stars for this book. But it's set in the late 60s, about the rise of a fictional band and I found the story so strangely mundane in comparison to the fantastical tales he generally weaves. The name-dropping didn't feel natural (and I'm familiar with all of those musicians and the music), the flip-flopping of characters made me scan certain points to read more on the characters I enjoyed, and in general, I felt a sort of boredom I haven't felt before with his books. What it boils down to is that this book just wasn't for me. But it might be for you.

A magical book, deep and wise. The story of Utopia Avenue, a rock band whose meteoric rise lasted not quite 2 years on the psychedelic 60’s. The cast of characters is brilliant as is the writing, just a brilliant book.

Fantastic read, a great ensemble cast. Characters, plot points, and concepts from previous Mitchell books are woven throughout.

Abandoned book at the 20% mark (end of part 1)
I was hoping that this would be an engaging story with Mitchell's great writing that just happened to take place in this setting, but I found that being interested in this setting is almost required to enjoy the book. Every time the book would settle in to a section about the music, or the awkwardly-placed cameo of a famous musician, I would just grow incredibly bored. Someone who is into this stuff would probably absolutely adore the book, but it just isn't my bag.

I would prefer to not read any rating (not reviewing on Goodreads), but selecting 3 stars here just to allow me to submit.

Explore the late-60s with David Mitchell and Utopia Avenue, a fictional British rock band trying to make it in the music industry. The chapters alter POV between the three singers/songwriters of Utopia Avenue, slowly giving us their back stories as the band tries to move forward in their career. I loved the dynamic between the four band members and their manager, finding the characters to be the strongest part of the book.

Unfortunately, Mitchell has the characters meet most of the big players from the late-60s music scene and the book gets side-tracked by conversations between the band and David Bowie, Brian Jones and many, many more. I really didn't feel like these real-life music legends provided any substance to the book, but rather seemed like a shiny distraction for the reader. But as I loved the fictional characters, I wanted more of them and not a fictional version of real people.

As to be expected, there are characters and references from Mitchell's other works in this one. I think it could be read as a stand-alone without knowing any of his other books, but people might be surprised at some of the paths the book takes. (That being said, I did predict some of the plot points, which I always find disappointing.)

Utopia Avenue is still a worthwhile read for Mitchell fans, but it's definitely a b-side to his hits.

I've read all of David Mitchell's books so I was very excited to receive an advance reader's copy of this one. His writing style is both lyrical and slightly off key at the same time. I enjoyed all the call backs to his previous novels and characters. The "Mitchell Multiverse" is part of the draw for me. Each novel is connected somehow and when you discover it, it's like solving a puzzle. In all honestly, I have no interest in the 1960s English music scene and although I recognized most of the famous names he threw out, it just felt ...odd. Like name dropping? The characters were well-written with endearing strengths and probably more endearing flaws. My favorite chapters involved Jacob de Zoet. The description of his mental illness was palpable. I found I did not really want to read a story about a coming of age band from the 60s, but I continued to read because of the beauty of the writing. I look forward to more time-slippage type of Sci-Fi but this was something different and I applaud him for trying something new. I believe this will resonate deeply with fans of "Daisy Jones & the Six".

Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I did not care for this book. Much of <i>Utopia Avenue</i> is a fairly unexciting, conventional story of a weird band's rise to moderate success -- it hits all the same notes as, for example, Queen's rise to fame in 2018's <i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i>, only that film has the benefit of being able to include Queen's music in it. This, on the other hand, gets bogged down with heavy passages of unsatisfying descriptions of (not real) songs. There are also lots of moments where Mitchell wedges in people like Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Janis Joplin, I guess for historical texture? But every time it happened, it was like when sitcoms bring in a guest star for one or two episodes, a really famous actor who feels out of place for how they disrupt the reality of the sitcom as we know it.

The most interesting parts of this book are the chunks that connect to the mysticism/philosophy that first became explicit in Mitchell's earlier novel <i>The Bone Clocks</i>, but even here I must hesitate. I question whether a book can be a book of its own merits if it—not belonging to a series—is dependent on the context of another book. Pre-<i>Bone Clocks</i>, I liked the interconnectivity of Mitchell's works because 1) they were fun and 2) I thought those connections offered some interesting metatextual commentary on the notion of the contemporary novel as a defined, complete narrative of a character. Now, however, I'm worried about how much his new projects are able to operate self-sufficiently.

Sadly, not the book for me. Better luck next time.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC,

Once again, David Mitchell reminds me why he’s my favorite living writer.

Utopia Avenue, a fictional band from the 1960’s UK, feel so real that I was actually imagining their tunes in my head while reading.

Where Mitchell has gone for more genre based affairs in his recent work, Utopia Avenue showcases a straightforward, character based narrative. The book is very much in the Mitchell-verse, with tie ins to Cloud Atlas, The Thousand Autumns, Ghostwritten, and The Bone Clocks (and probably others, but it’s been awhile).

The book is broken into ‘tracks’ as chapters. Each chapter tells of a pivotal moment in a characters story, thus leading to the creation of a new track.

If you haven’t read ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet’, I would highly recommend reading that prior to this. A portion of this book will spoil some major plot points of it.

Another masterpiece from David Mitchell. Loved every word. Even better than The Bone Clocks! I grew up in the 60s and love reading anything about that era. Story and characters perfectly portrayed!

This book was pretty good! I was not able to finish it, but I still enjoyed it! I would try another book by Mitchell since I do not know if this is the ideal example of his work, based on what I read from other reviewers. Again, I enjoyed it, but it was not quite the complete escapism that I needed during these crazy times!

(Spoiler alert)

I loved this! I was reading along for a good long time, enjoying being teleported back to the 60s music scene, when all of a sudden a name registered from long ago: Marinus of "The Bone Clocks"! This had some elements of prequel to TBC, but is very much its own novel. In fact, the fantasy element takes up only a small fraction of the book (but made me want to go back and read TBC again). Bravo!