First published 2020
Elf Holloway takes the stage with her bandmates in London's psychedelic underground scene in 1967. The folk singer joins forces with guitarist Jasper de Zoet and blues bassist Dean Moss to form Utopia Avenue, a band that climbs from Soho clubs to television appearances in just two years. The trio navigates the chaos of the late sixties as they record two albums and tour from Amsterdam to Rome to America. Elf watches her bandmates struggle with drugs and madness while the group chases fame and artistic success. The band faces riots, prison, and the pressures of stardom during their fateful American tour in autumn 1968. David Mitchell follows Elf and her chosen family through the turbulent world of rock music, where personal relationships fracture under the weight of ambition and the era's social upheaval.
Genres: fiction, drama, 20th-century, coming-of-age, contemporary, alternative-medicine
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, friends-to-lovers
Setting: Amsterdam, London, Rome, Soho
Period: 1967, 1968
574 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use, mental-illness