Utopia Avenue
by David Mitchell · first published 2020
67% recommend33% neutral
The long-awaited new novel from the bestselling, prize-winning author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks. Utopia Avenue is the strangest British band you’ve never heard of. Emerging from London’s psychedelic scene in 1967 and fronted by folk singer Elf Holloway, guitar demigod Jasper de Zoet, and blues bassist Dean Moss, Utopia Avenue released only two LPs during its brief, blazing journey from the clubs of Soho and drafty ballrooms to Top of the Pops and the cusp of chart success, and on to glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome, and a fateful American fortnight in the autumn of 1968. D
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…what flourishing even looks like anymore. EDIT: One thing that did help me, for a time, was finding a REALLY good book, one that completely sucked me in—in this case it was David Mitchell's latest, 'Utopia Avenue'. It's been a long time since I found a really fantastic book, when you do, there's nothing better. And I realized that the next morning, when you wake up after a long evening of reading a good book,…
on “Why do you waste so much time on the internet?” ↗…setting of Edo period Japan on the artificial island of Deshima where the Dutch were allowed to operate a trading post), or the shorter Slade House. Of course Cloud Atlas is well-known and a good read. Utopia Avenue, his latest work about a fictional band in the 1960s, is a very pleasant and frankly fun read too, although different from the others. In typical Mitchell fashion, it does loosely connect to his other…
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗…works in their published order. They stand on their own, but there are myriad narrative threads and subtle literary puzzles throughout. I look forward to re-reading them in sequence -- after I devour "Utopia Avenue", which I just now learned to my delight was published 12 days ago! :)
on “50 authors, 50 science fiction stories shorter than novels” ↗