Arcadia by Lauren Goff is a mish mash of yearnings, a misstopia
ARCADIA is a mish mash of yeanings, a misstopia In the utopian community in Lauren Goff’s novel, Arcadia, life is a mish mash of yearnings--for food and love, beauty and a human community perfect as nature. I take my utopias seriously and have some knowledge of religious communities, such as the Shakers and the Amish, as well as ecstatic cults, like the one in Arcadia. Smartly, Goff gives them an Amish neighbor. This sober religious community helps their indulgent neighbors learn to farm so they don’t starve. And Arcadia returns the favor sending their midwives to aid the Amish, but the commonality is not just about mutual aid but love of the land and their people. Goff also shows in this story of a childhood on a commune, that sometimes there’s also a strong distaste of the same land and people.. The hero of Arcadia is Bit for Bit of a hippie, the miracle baby who survives, though born premature and weighing only three pounds. Through his eyes Arcadia is a physically b...