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Utopia Avenue
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 25 hrs and 10 mins
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Utopia Avenue
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Publisher's Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The hotly anticipated new novel from the internationally bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas.
Utopia Avenue may be the most extraordinary British band you've never heard of. Emerging from London's psychedelic scene in 1967 and fronted by folksinger 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 draughty ballrooms to Top of the Pops and the Top 10; to Amsterdam, Rome and a fateful American fortnight in the autumn of 1968. David Mitchell's new novel is the story of Utopia Avenue and its age; of riots in the street and revolutions in the head; of drugs and thugs, schizophrenia, love, sex, grief, art; of the families we choose and the ones we don't; of fame's Faustian pact and stardom's wobbly ladder. Do we change the world or does the world change us? Utopia means 'nowhere' but might it be somewhere, if only we knew how to look?
What the critics say
2022, DUBLIN Literary Award, Long-listed
“Mitchell’s rich imaginative stews bubble with history and drama, and this time the flavour is a blend of Carnaby Street and Chateau Marmont.” (The Washington Post)
“Mitchell superbly conveys the energy and spirit of the age. . . . [Utopia Avenue] is a supremely readable novel . . . The book is most alive and most compelling when Mitchell slips the surly bonds of the realist premise and lands in his own extraordinary imagined worlds.” (The Guardian)
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What listeners say about Utopia Avenue
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- DrHex
- 2020-09-12
Stereotypes and gimmicks but enjoyable
The characters at first were stereotypes and the actions gimmicky which was disappointing and even frustrating, giving what we know Mitchell can do. Although this did not entirely go away over the 25 hours, the roles of the band members were enriched by the relationships they built and the eminent musicians of the era that they met. In my mind, I replaced UA with early Fleetwood Mac which made sense with Peter Green’s magnificent guitar work but mental instability and Christine McVie’s keyboards and haunting folk style. As far as narration goes it would have been smart for the narrator to practice a Canadian accent because Levon sounded like from the Bronx. I also disliked the goofy sound filter they used for microphone dialogue. Make the words harder to hear rather than clearer. (Note to sound engineer, an easy fix.)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jim Douros
- 2021-11-11
Bloody Brilliant!
What a trip! Nourishment for the musical soul on a psychedelic journey. Only thing missing was the soundtrack.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cynthia Brown
- 2020-09-06
Great entertainment.
loved it, another David Mitchell home run. good narrator too. really captured the sixties period.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tanner
- 2020-07-30
thanks David
As I said, thank David, that was a beautiful ride through a turbulent time in the characters lives. I'll miss them all.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Knpaul
- 2022-09-30
A long story
Set in an interesting time with interesting characters. There was a lot of time spent about mental illness and that seemed to drag the story. I was disappointed that the betrayal that Elf experienced was not fleshed out more. I wish she would have got some revenge! The end was disappointing.
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