10 Apr / Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell [in Booklist]
At 25-plus hours, we’re talking serious commitment – and enthusiastic accomplishment – for veteran narrator Ralph Lister, whose energetic performance never, ever lags. That said, clear distinctions between characters aren’t always reliable – the women, especially, sound too affectedly similar, the musical clips between sections are more distracting than enhancing, and a few production glitches annoy (later-inserted phrases and sentences), but overall, both novel and recording are undoubtedly epic.
It’s the late 1960s and a new band morphs from the Way Out into the titular Utopia Avenue: members Dean Moss (bass), Elf Holloway (keyboard/vocals), Jasper De Zoet (guitar) rotate “tracks” revealing their stories – as individuals, artists, and band members. Dean is a too-often penniless womanizer, Elf is repeatedly lovelorn, Jasper a haunted soul. Missing, interestingly, is the voice of the band’s drummer, Griff Griffin, but musical luminaries from Janis Joplin to Leonard Cohen get rollicking cameos.
For Mitchell groupies, this is a meta-delight, with references to previous titles. For newbies, Utopia proves surprisingly (comparatively) straightforward, providing an invitingly accessible entry.
Review: “Media,” Booklist Online, March 26, 2021
Readers: Adult
Published: 2020