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Would you believe The Great Sixties Novel?



Talk about resolutely unfashionable. Imagine a writer born in 1969 setting out to produce a 571-page novel set almost exclusively in the Psychedelic Sixties, in the years immediately preceding  his birth. Britain's David Mitchell is the anti-fashionista in question. And the only thing that can be said in his defense is that Utopia Avenue is brilliant -- a wild and daring tour de force. Focusing on an obscure band that emerges from "the seedy clubs of Soho," as the dustjacket tells us, and ranging through Amsterdam, Rome, New York's Chelsea Hotel, Laurel Canyon and San Francisco, this character-driven work is more surging river than flashy waterfall. But it sweeps you along . . . wow! I won't attempt a review. This post is just a heads-up. If you've been waiting unconsciously for The Great Sixties Novel, or if you're seeking a master class in writerly craft, check it out. 
Ken McGoogan
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Before turning mainly to books about arctic exploration and Canadian history, Ken McGoogan worked for two decades as a journalist at major dailies in Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal. He teaches creative nonfiction writing through the University of Toronto and in the MFA program at King’s College in Halifax. Ken served as chair of the Public Lending Right Commission, has written recently for Canada’s History, Canadian Geographic, and Maclean’s, and sails with Adventure Canada as a resource historian. Based in Toronto, he has given talks and presentations across Canada, from Dawson City to Dartmouth, and in places as different as Edinburgh, Melbourne, and Hobart.