Veerle Koops, Grade 12
UWCEA Arusha Campus
Utopia Avenue - David Michell's, and a 2020 one - is an atypical bibliography of a fictional 'psychedelic-folk-rock' band. Mitchell has written seven previous novels, among which are Cloud Atlas and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'. Characters and references to previous novels can be found in Utopia Avenue as well, in which a main character is named 'Jasper de Zoet'. In 2018, two years before the publishing of Utopia Avenue, Mitchell was awarded the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence for his entire body of work. Now that Utopia Avenue has appeared after a silence from Mitchell of five years, the term literary excellence can be used once more.
Paradise Is the Road to Paradise, Stuff of Life and The Third Planet are the three parts into which the novel is divided. Only further along in reading, does one realise that the names of the chapters as well as these parts correspond to the names of the songs and albums that the band is creating during these times. They switch from the perspectives of the band members that songwrite: Jasper de Zoet, Dean Moss and Elf. David Mitchell allows the reader to get to know these characters through the experiences they happen to write about, while maintaining a fluidly developing storyline. Utopia Avenue is a beautiful novel that contrasts heavy topics with prose.
The band members are Jasper, Dean, Elf and Griff - who does not write his own songs and therefore chapters, but assuredly is a Yorkshireman. They are brought together at the start of the book by their manager Levon Frankland. The novel is set in 1960's England, and references albums and songs made during that time frame, such as the Sgt. Pepper. Utopia Avenue is a classic novel, writing about things such as girls, family and money problems, drugs, and sexuality.
Even though there are many books and histories about rock bands, David Mitchell sets his own apart. In an interview with the Los Angeles Review of Books he mentioned that Utopia Avenue is more "harmonious than dysfunctional", as well as that 'most of the characters' estrangements from 'normal life' and family occurred before the band's ascent, not during.'
Utopia Avenue is a novel for all ages, and especially for the people who are interested in or familiar with the time frame in which the story takes place. As it is constructed the same way as a collection of albums, it offers diversity in topics in themes, and a beautiful way of storytelling.
Paradise Is the Road to Paradise, Stuff of Life and The Third Planet are the three parts into which the novel is divided. Only further along in reading, does one realise that the names of the chapters as well as these parts correspond to the names of the songs and albums that the band is creating during these times. They switch from the perspectives of the band members that songwrite: Jasper de Zoet, Dean Moss and Elf. David Mitchell allows the reader to get to know these characters through the experiences they happen to write about, while maintaining a fluidly developing storyline. Utopia Avenue is a beautiful novel that contrasts heavy topics with prose.
The band members are Jasper, Dean, Elf and Griff - who does not write his own songs and therefore chapters, but assuredly is a Yorkshireman. They are brought together at the start of the book by their manager Levon Frankland. The novel is set in 1960's England, and references albums and songs made during that time frame, such as the Sgt. Pepper. Utopia Avenue is a classic novel, writing about things such as girls, family and money problems, drugs, and sexuality.
Even though there are many books and histories about rock bands, David Mitchell sets his own apart. In an interview with the Los Angeles Review of Books he mentioned that Utopia Avenue is more "harmonious than dysfunctional", as well as that 'most of the characters' estrangements from 'normal life' and family occurred before the band's ascent, not during.'
Utopia Avenue is a novel for all ages, and especially for the people who are interested in or familiar with the time frame in which the story takes place. As it is constructed the same way as a collection of albums, it offers diversity in topics in themes, and a beautiful way of storytelling.
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