From the Bookshelf of De Boekenwurm…

Utopia Avenue

David Mitchell

Start date: March 31, 2021

Finish date: July 1, 2021

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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What Members Thought

May 31, 2021 Jovana De rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Met heel veel plezier gelezen. Ik vond de karakters erg goed neergezet. Hoewel het verhaal ging over een fictieve jaren 60 band die naar succes aan het opstomen is, vond ik meer dat het het verhaal verteld werd door in te gaan op de belevenissen en de gevoelens en emoties van de individuele personen in de band en dat daardoor het verhaal van de band ook werd verteld. Ik vond dit mooi gedaan. Daarom lag de focus veel meer op de persoonlijke interactie dan het succes van de band. Ik vond dit een o ...more

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Aug 04, 2020 Elise Kleuskens rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

You know how people sometimes describe events or books like a rollercoaster ride? Well, this is one heck of a rollercoaster ride! Love, dreams, drugs, grief, madness....
Meet folksinger Elf Holloway, blues bassist Dean Moss, guitar virtuoso Jasper de Zoet - does that name ring a bell? - and jazz drummer Griff Griffin. These four musicians are carefully selected by Canadian band manager Levon Frankland to form Utopia Avenue, the most curious British band from the late 1960s.
In this book master st You know how people sometimes describe events or books like a rollercoaster ride? Well, this is one heck of a rollercoaster ride! Love, dreams, drugs, grief, madness....
Meet folksinger Elf Holloway, blues bassist Dean Moss, guitar virtuoso Jasper de Zoet - does that name ring a bell? - and jazz drummer Griff Griffin. These four musicians are carefully selected by Canadian band manager Levon Frankland to form Utopia Avenue, the most curious British band from the late 1960s.
In this book master storyteller David Mitchell tells the story of how the band came together, all the euphoric and dramatic events happening in their lives during their brief period together and ultimately the end of the glorious band Utopia Avenue. As I said before, this book takes you on a rollercoaster ride experiencing Griff's intense grief caused by the death of his brother after a car accident they were both in, or Elf's sorrow caused by the death of her little nephew who was only a couple of weeks old, and to top it all, the psychosis Jasper goes through. I never knew it was possible to feel like you're actually in someone's confused mind.

Perhaps for those who have read more of Mitchell's books the name De Zoet rings a bell. Wasn't there a Jacob de Zoet in one of his earlier novels? Well yes, there was! Jasper is one of the descendants of said Jacob, whom we got to know in The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. Though knowledge of The Thousand Autumns is not necessary to understand Utopia Avenue, I would like to advise everyone to read this book anyway. Haven't read that one yet? Please do!

Back to Utopia Avenue. As soon as I heard about this book being released, I wanted to read it. When I read the blurb, I was immediately reminded of a book I recently read: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A book I liked, especially because of its innovative style. In this book a fictional band is also its main subject. Of course, I wanted to see how they would compare. Where Jenkins Reid focusses on addiction and the effect addiction has on relationships, Mitchell takes the reader a lot further into the personal lives of each of the band members. Not surprisingly Mitchell's book is about twice as big. Comparing them is hard, as they both are so very different in style. I still recommend Daisy Jones because of its style, but prefer Utopia Avenue because of its depth.

One thing that made quite an impression on me is the fact that Mitchell describes in such detail the way the musicians play their instruments and how they perform that the reader can imagine what kind of music they play and what kind of atmosphere is created by this music. In one word: brilliant!

Even though there's mention of lots of tragedy in this book, it does not leave the reader feeling depressed. The last chapter, related by Elf, details what happens to all band members after splitting up and how a third album came about almost 50 years later, fills one with hope, warmth and happiness.

For those of you who have not yet heard of this author, David Mitchell is an English novelist, who has lived in Italy and Japan and is currently residing in Ireland. Mitchell published his first novel Ghostwritten in 1999, which was very well received. Eight more novels followed, among which Cloud Atlas in 2004 and recently Utopia Avenue. Besides writing novels, Mitchell is also a screenwriter. ...more

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May 16, 2021 Kris —— rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 ⭐️

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Mar 25, 2021 Bas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Grappig, ontroerend, inspirerend.
Een inkijkje in het bestaan van een band in de jaren ‘60. Was in het begin ietwat moeilijk om in te komen, maar toen het eenmaal op stoom kwam bleef ik lezen.
Een klein puntje: op het strand in Wassenaar liggen geen kiezels.

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Oct 27, 2020 Carola rated it it was ok

Heel jammer, maar dit boek viel me tegen. De schrijfstijl vond ik op twee punten niet prettig, de setting bleef wat eentonig waardoor ik na een tijdje hoopte op wat anders, en de mooie aspecten werden al snel weer wat naar de achtergrond verdrongen, naar mijn idee. Misschien waren mijn verwachtingen te hoog gespannen als Mitchell-fan.

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Mar 20, 2021 Jacqueline rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I can only say: read this book. Somehow I feel so much love within the characters. The way it’s written I think the writer loves them and loves the band. And the ending totally tears me up. If I could: 6 stars

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