We find some stories lagging slightly behind others, some overtaking their counterparts, and this minor discord reflects the chemistry among the musicians themselves, whose tastes and talents often conflict with each other but are sustained enough to keep the group together. Although Mitchell is known for narrative playfulness and post-modern pyrotechnics, his tale of these four wayward musicians runs fairly straight. Elf’s struggle to escape her family as an independent musician is backgrounded by the women’s liberation movement of the 60s, while Jasper’s is a careful portrait of mental health disorders, an issue mostly neglected in his time. Thus, hopping from song to song, we parse the lives of the bandmates. Griff, a childishly energetic drummer and a character of little nuance, has only a few chapters to himself - possibly a subtle joke on the status of drummers in bands.Įach chapter, named after songs written by different band members, is told from the point of view of that songwriter. Jasper, a silent and sullen Dutch prodigy, lends an abstract, existential sensibility to the band as the songwriter-in-chief. Elf, a talented woman with a foothold in the folk music industry, brings a touch of Joni Mitchell to the band, whereas Dean, a clichéd cockney man, becomes the stock rowdy guy. As a band, Utopia Avenue seems a chimera of different music ensembles of the 60s - it carries the underground status of The Kinks, the diversity of supergroups like Cream, and the psychedelic aura of early Pink Floyd. Elf Holloway (lead singer), Dean Moss (bassist), Jasper de Zoet (rhythm guitar), and Griff (drummer), head the chapters as the novel charts the the meteoric rise and fall of their rock group. The title refers to the band formed by the book’s protagonists. And inevitably so, for the novel is set smack-bang in late 60s’ London, when it resounded with classic rock ’n’ roll tracks.

Utopia Avenue, his latest novel, music is stitched into the very fabric of the story. Number9dream - the title refers to an obscure John Lennon song - the story is often guided by guitarists and pianists. InĬloud Atlas, his magnum opus, the structure of the novel is mirrored in a sextet composed by a character who imagines six instruments joining one after the other, fusing, only to fade and retreat in reverse order, akin to the six narratives that make up the novel. Music tends to form the inner lining of David Mitchell’s novels, running the length of his stories.

David mitchell utopia avenue review