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Book Review: Daisy Jones & the Six
Synopsis:
Daisy Jones and the Six is an historical fiction book about two rock stars during the 1970’s. The story is written as a transcript of various interviews with the band members, thus offering several different points of view on the same events.
The book begins with Daisy Jones. Daisy is a privileged but talented wild child living in Los Angeles. She is no stranger to the music and arts scene and always has a pocketful of drugs with her during nights of aimless partying. Daisy’s friend, Simone eventually convinces Daisy to give her music career a shot. Daisy soon signs a deal with a reputable record label called Runner Records.
Meanwhile, we meet a band called The Six, which is also signed by Runner Records. The lead singer, Billy lives the life of a rock star, but he tries to settle down with his new wife, Camila. Billy’s efforts are minimal. After a few rough spots, it ends up being his new baby girl who motivates Billy to clean up his act.
Their producer at Runner Records has the successful idea of teaming up Billy and Daisy on a duet. Due to the popularity of the duet, Daisy and The Six are sent out on tour together with Daisy as the opening act. Daisy’s hard partying ways rub Billy the wrong way. They continue to butt heads on their work as well as on a personal level. Fortunately and unfortunately, the success of their collaborations continues to force them to work together.
Review:
I started this book without knowing much of what it was about. The transcript style took some getting used to – it reads like a very long Rolling Stone’s interview. After the first 20 pages, however, I was hooked. Taylor Jenkins Reid once again created a novel that just keeps flowing. It is not easily put down.
The characters are well developed and the relationships that Reid created between them all are extremely believable. The chemistry between Daisy and Billy is palpable, even from their first meeting. It is a roller coaster on whether you want them to succeed together, or one over the other.
The only flaw I see in this book with the lyrics to the songs being at the end of the book. I did not realize this until I finished the book. Throughout the book, we read about Billy and Daisy creating their hit songs. We also see the aftermath of some of these songs’ lyrics. It would have been much stronger if the song lyrics were written out in the chapter in which they were discussed. Knowing the lyrics would have made for more emotion and a better understanding of the emotions that the lyrics sparked in the characters.
All in all, this is a fun read. Definitely worth checking out.