Utopia Avenue

Intro

“When was the last time your wrote an essay?”

“Why you asking?”

“Well there’s a new book and-“

“Hold up. I don’t write essays anymore. I’m retired from university. I gave up that lifestyle.

“But it’s about rock n roll.”

“What’s the catch?”

“It’s fictional.”

“Hmm interesting. Alright. One last book review.”

Review

Mitchell, David. Utopia Avenue. Vintage Canada, 2021.

Utopia Avenue is a book (and also a novel!) about the strangest band that came out of London in 1967. The book starts with their humble beginnings being a rag tag group of weirdos, and follows the band through their struggles and adventures towards stardom. The only caveat, it’s all made up from the mind of author David Mitchell.

That’s not to say the novel is fantasy. While the band, Utopia Avenue, may be fake, everything else is factual. The band weaves through history as they interact with historical figures and perform at famous concerts that have shaped musical culture. It creates an effective portrait of an era and immerses the reading into the life of rock n roll during the psychedelic 60s.

This particular blend of fiction and non-fiction is quite strange. The book causally introduces various historical people in the same manner it would introduce a fictional character. A person who doesn’t have much rock n roll knowledge would probably not be able to differentiate fact from fiction. However, anyone that is into rock n roll will get a kick at the new perspective of the archival characters and events. Whether the reader understands these historical references or not, Utopia Avenue will be an enjoyable read.

ALERT. Bias detected. Opinions not allowed in a critical book review.

Okay okay, geez. Let’s talk about critical analysis. What’s the thesis and is it effectively portrayed? What’s the point of the novel?

To be specific, what’s the point of anything? What’s the point of going to school, learning about rock n roll, reading books about other people whether real or not. When it comes down to it, there’s no point to anything really. No matter what you do, the destination is always that sweet inevitable mystery, death.

But let’s not be total downers. There’s more to life than death. There is a point to living through shitty governments, enduring bullshit school/work, and going through hellish exams and daily life tests. Experience. Life’s a journey of experiences.

And I suppose that’s what Utopia Avenue/Utopia Avenue is about. And like a good song, different people will interpret their own meaning from the book.

But a solid chunk of the book is about the experience of life. To say that life is about the journey, not the destination. After all, the band’s first LP is titled: Paradise is the Road to Paradise.

But who cares about a band that never existed. While non-fictional history and facts can enrich our knowledge and make good dinner party conversation, there’s only so much significance you can gain from a stranger’s life several decades ago. Reading about disco in the 80s can garner appreciation for the genre and nostalgia for an era, but that is more or less the extent that one can extrapolate.

Utopia Avenue, has the advantage of fiction on its side to immerse the reader into the world. You’re not viewing from a nosebleed seat in the audience, you’re on the stage right on the shoulder of the characters. No, you’re beyond the shoulder, you’re in their mind. You’ve scored VIP Ticket into their mind

Utopia Avenue is divided into chapters (wow Evan, this analysis is getting deep). Each of these chapters is a slice of the band’s adventure that leads to the inspiration behind the origin of each of their songs.

Example: Purple Flames is Dean’s song. But the chapter entitled Purple Flames is about the band driving to Dean’s home town to play a gig. Throughout the chapter Dean meets old friends that he hasn’t seen since his success, and he thinks about his father who he refuses to see. The chapter isn’t about Dean writing the song, or even performing it. Instead, the chapter shows the relevant moments of the band gaining their first popularity, and explores Dean’s background. Later in the book, when the band performs Purple Flames, you finally understand the context and weight of the song.

Utopia Avenue’s songs extract meaning out of their experiences, with each song neatly titled as a chapter of their life and a corresponding chapter of the book. Elf says it rather effectively:

The KINKS’ “WATERLOO Sunset” comes on the radio. Elf looks out at Denmark Street. Hundreds of people pass by. Reality erases itself as it records itself, Elf thinks. Time is the Great Forgetter. She gets her notebook from her handbag and writes, Memories are unreliable… Art is memory made public. Time wins in the long run. Books turn to dust, negatives decay, records get worn out, civilizations burn. But as long as the art endures, a song or a view or a thought or a feeling someone once thought worth keeping is saved and stays shareable. Others can say, “I feel that too.” (Mitchell 98)

Let’s not give the impression that Utopia Avenue is all Hunky Dory about love and life. The book also includes the mood of its setting and gives a taste or reminder of the 60s. You’ll get a different perspective as Utopia Avenue themselves listen and comment on the music and politics around them. So, bla bla bla, author David Mitchell effectively and accurately utilizes the setting of rock n roll to be used as a medium to convey his story. etc etc. Insert more bullshit academic sounding stuff.

Utopia Avenue is a journey, and while it does make sure to include important plot moments and success of the band, the accomplishments and destination is not what the book is about. It’s about the journey and the stuff of life (oh hey, Stuff of Life is their second LP).

So live life and all that shit. Is that all Mitchell’s writing has to offer?

Well, I suppose it’s about that stuff, but maybe that’s just a byproduct of a story taking place during the era of the 60s. Right before free love morphed into paying $6 for a sparkling fresh bottle of Coco-Cola in order to experience that so-called happiness. Creating art for art versus creating art for commerce. Somewhere in the book, this change slowly creeps into the story as the era introduces the world of capitalism/consumerism. Now we live this life where we say: Forget this stuff about enjoy the moment. Life and happiness is receiving the diploma, achieving a promotion, or getting enough money to buy a new car. It’s the destination that matters!

Sometimes we forget or don’t realize that we’re trapped in this cycle of trying to reach the destination. The roads are shit getting there, but even when we arrive at this long sought destination, then what? The moment is short-lived, shit resumes, and we think that maybe, just around the corner, that next destination will be the happiness that everyone on Instagram appears to have.

Utopia Avenue is a long book, but it’s not endless. And by the last page, a destination is reached. And just like life, a final destination is always a little unsatisfying. But how could it not be. Look at any other rock n roll band, they either die young, breakup, or ever slowly become has-been. Any destination is a little unsatisfying.

Life

Speaking of reaching destinations, I graduated from university recently. It’s strange. All those years of obsessing those numerical grades. The grades in grade school were important for high school, the grades for high school were important for uni, and the grades for uni were important for…

Well I didn’t go to grad school so the grades have literally vanished into meaninglessness. All I have now is a piece of paper (that I’ve already lost) and ptsd from several years of panicking about arbitrary tests and deadlines. But I guess maybe I’m also left with some memories. Memories that have little to do with the classes, or the material, or anything academically related. No, the memories that remain are the quirky little bits that are now a part of my personal story.

Utopia Avenue may be a fake story, but is a very real story of life with a bonus of rock n roll in the 60s. So while it may be fiction, what story of the past isn’t. Real stories and memories of the past are just translated interpretations of half forgotten events. Nothing is real. Only the impression left of experiences are.

So now that university is in the rear-view mirror, what’s the next destination? It’ll be a journey. Probably pondering whether Jerry Garcia was a fictional character in Utopia Avenue.