Kyle's Reviews > Utopia Avenue

People of Goodreads, this one was worth the wait! David Mitchell is a gift to the literary world, and his groovy new novel, Utopia Avenue, TOPS THE CHARTS! This may very well be my favorite of the year (and it’s only February!).

First things first: I LIIIIIIIVED for the music, pop culture, film, and history references in this book. David Mitchell chose his decade and setting well for this outing. The 60’s London music scene was (and is!) I-CO-NIC, but it was also a decade of momentous change, conflict, and advancement. The Swingin’ Sixties was counter-culture and civil rights, Vietnam, hippies, beatniks, psychedelia and LSD, revolution, riots, and sex, drugs, & rock ‘n’ roll. All of that, you’ll find here. There is so much to pull from, and Mr. Mitchell wastes not a single important moment.

This novel is really a who’s-who of the 60’s, and—to just get it out of the way—is mostly why I took off half a star. Why, you may ask? We meet so many (in)famous characters from the era, which is all super exciting, but it throws the narrative off after the first dozen-or-so, and kind of becomes this whole ‘who can I toss into the plot now that was around in 1967?’ just for the hell of it. In keeping with the music vibe: It’s a bit of a scratch in an otherwise groovy record.

Anywho, the review plows onwards..

The interconnected-ness of David Mitchell’s novels makes me giddy, so if you’ve read his previous works, you’ll be treated to some fun Easter Eggs from his sprawling multiverse.
(I may or may not have cried at some of the familiar names and places. You’ll never know, and I’ll never fully admit it). Each chapter header is a song, driven by the narratives of a character’s arc, which I thought a cool addition. It works to the story’s benefit.

The way Mr. Mitchell crafts his characters from the get-go (and with such finesse!) was what hooked me. I was immediately invested in each of them—Dean, Elf, Jasper, Levon, Griff—they all came alive. It’s really a testament to the writing that barely 10% into the book, all the characters were already so fully realized. Each of their respective chapters—as the POV shifts between Dean (the bassist), Elf (the keyboardist), Jasper (the guitarist), and once each for Griff (the drummer) and Levon (their manager)—all have a distinctive voice and mood/emotion running through them.

Dean’s chapters were tragi-comic, in a sense. Scraping by, down-on-his-luck. His felt at times like incertitude, desperation, excess, bumbling hopefulness. (A character comes in halfway through, and describes each band member through their music)... “Life is a battle, is hard, but you is not alone.”

Elf’s were mostly personal drama. A talented woman trying to make waves in a man’s world, all the while grappling with her own confusions. Her chapters were insecurity, questioning, repression, finding an escape, and tightly-wound stresses. ”Life is sad, is joy, is emotions.”

Jasper’s chapters were... well, let’s just say his POV introduction was ‘manic thoughts on a runaway train’. To be honest, and even though I loved them all, his chapters were the ones I looked forward to the most. I found them totally absorbing. David Mitchell has created such a complex character in Jasper. It’s all very ‘tortured artist’ on the surface, but it goes much deeper than that. Jasper’s struggles with (and I use this term loosely knowing the full context of the story) “mental illness” really hit me hard. Reading his racing thoughts was like reading my own—perfectly capturing the mania. Knock-knock. His chapters made me think: melancholia, tension, genius, artist... deeply removed, but holding on. He was constantly having to “act” the part of a “Normal” human being, and fighting to keep sane. (view spoiler)[When Jasper was walking into the sea... ”You can’t undo that ending.” I teared up quite a bit at that part. (hide spoiler)] ”Life is strange, is wonderland, a dream.”

As the novel progresses, the subtle shifts and changes to each character became more pronounced as their careers blossomed. The way they metamorphosed (or degraded) was written brilliantly and realistically, I’d say, for the industry. Each character has their chance to shine in Utopia Avenue, and brightly they do.

One thing that I am still a bit torn on is the treatment of “mental illness” in this book. At times, I found the discussions profound, and others... well, not so much. Jasper’s (I wouldn’t dare guess at a formal diagnosis) “emotional dyslexia” was handled well; Trying to understand and articulate what he felt inside, but an inability to decode and express it. Constantly trying to parse and understand the emotions, facial expressions, intonations of everyone and everything— A sort of social dysfunction. It was heartbreaking, but also beautifully done, his broadening detachments from reality. **I don’t want to say anything more on the subject for fear of entering spoiler territory, but in terms of the rest of his psychosis... I kind of wish it had gone a different route..** (view spoiler)[I think if I had read ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet’ things might’ve been clearer, but at least having read ‘The Bone Clocks’ and ‘Slade House’ offered some answers. (hide spoiler)]

Nearing the end, the plot (momentarily) shifts dramatically. It fits right into David Mitchell’s wheelhouse, though, and honestly makes for quite a surprise. But after those few chapters, the narrative sort of lost a bit of steam, until it meanders to its conclusion. I think it threw off the pace and dimmed a bit of the magic. I’ll say this, too: If you haven’t read Mr. Mitchell’s previous novels (two in particular), you will be confused regarding moments in the final 1/4th of this book (and if you’d like to know which two, I’ve mentioned them in a “spoiler” tag in the comments). It’s not exactly a major issue, but it’s certainly a sizable, confusing hole in the narrative without having prior context. I can’t decide if that’s for better or worse, because this book managed to whisk me mind, body, and soul straight out of my reading slump. The trio of nit-picky complaints I have don’t change the fact that I found Utopia Avenue an epic, engrossing, and wild f*cking ride from start to finish.


Actual rating: 4.5 (rounded up)
(A thousand thanks to Random House and NetGalley for providing me this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!)

*There is another popular review on here that pretty much stole a lot of the language I use in this review. To that person: shame on you! If you can’t come up with one on your own, don’t steal from other’s reviews because you weren’t clever enough to begin with. Better yet: don’t write a review at all!*