Pages – 355
Publisher – Penguin Random House
“Daisy: That’s how it was back then. I was just supposed to be the inspiration for some man’s great idea. Well, fuck that. That’s why I started writing my own stuff.” page 16.
The first time I heard about Taylor Jenkins Reid was when her last book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo blew up! It was everywhere. Bloggers on YouTube and other social media were raving about it, everyone was throwing five stars at it. Seeing all the hype got me intrigued but I found myself more drawn towards her new book which was being released in March.
Once again I was blown away by the cover. The UK edition is more colourful but the US edition features a photograph portrait of a sultry woman with big sexy hair and she’s staring at the viewer like she knows your going to pick the book up. So now that I’ve hyped the cover let’s talk about the book!
Daisy Jones & The Six is a historical fiction novel set in the 1970’s and is about their rise and the sudden fall at the height of their career. Everyone knows Daisy and the frontman of The Six, Billy Dunne. Girls want to be Daisy, and they want to be with Billy. The book is written in an interview format and you get each band members side of the story and statements from others in the music industry at the time from photographers, reporters, music producers, etc. But they all remember the truth a little differently. Everyone wants to know about their early days, the wild nights and the reason why they split and now they can. They were family, friends, lovers and rivals. It was all going so right but when you create music it’s hard to tell where the sound stops and the feelings begin.
The book starts with a comment from the biographer of ‘Daisy Jones: Wild Flower’ which gives you a nice little introduction to Daisy’s character then you are immediately thrust into the interview. You hear from Daisy and her best friend, Simone, an upcoming musician and how the musical roots where planted in both of them. The second introduction is to Billy and Graham Dunne, the founders of The Six where you find out a small portion of their family life and how also how the band came together.
There are a huge cast of characters in this novel and Reid makes them feel so real that you want to research them and find their music. I found myself going back and forth with certain characters. One moment I’d love them then the next I’d detest them only to fall back in love with them a few pages later.
At first it may just appear like a simple interview but it does get complex as truths are revealed. The book focuses very heavily on addiction to drugs and alcohol and the damage it creates but also the recovery too. The relationships between characters are romantic, complicated, destructive and passionate, which made me want to just keep going and going.
There wasn’t a whole lot I disliked about this book. I would say that the interview format at one point felt like it was slowing things down but I found that it picked up again quickly. The twist nearer the end wasn’t as hard knocking as I would have liked but didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the book. Also, if the interview format isn’t doing it for you, the audiobook has a full cast of narrators and I’d recommend that!
Daisy Jones & the Six is a book that you could discuss forever and one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given out. There is so much more I could talk about in depth but I suggest listening to podcasts and videos about the book, it’s highly entertaining and interesting listening to other opinions on this book. I also recommend the playlist for this novel on Spotify that the author picked herself! Make sure to grab a copy of the book by heading on over to Amazon.
First Published on: https://offtherecordblog.org/
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