Daisy Jones & The Six Review

Hello, all!

I'd been dying to read Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid since the second I heard about it, and I so glad to report I am obsessed. The story follows a band from the 1970s, detailing everything from their inception to their catapult to stardom to their mysterious demise in the middle of a tour.

Pub Date: 3-5-19
Adult - Fiction 
Daisy Jones is a teenage girl coming of age in the late '60s-early '70s. She starts sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, and she's quickly mystified by the sex, drugs and rock and roll scene, but her true dream is to be the one singing on stage in front of millions. By the time she's twenty, she's finally getting the recognition she deserves, not only for her voice and looks, but her hard partying ways as well.

Also getting noticed is the hard rock band, The Six, led by the broody Billy Dunne. Right before their first major tour, Billy's wife Camila finds out she's pregnant. Combined with the pressures of stardom and fame, Billy goes wild on the road and lands in rehab. Nervous for the future of the band, The Six's producer decides it would be a good idea to collaborate with Daisy Jones, the new talk of the town. What happens when they get together is explosive and quickly becomes the stuff of rock and roll legend.

I absolutely loved this book. I just couldn't put it down and flew through it. I just wanted more and more. It gave me such Fleetwood Mac/Behind the Music vibes. The narrative style is set up as an oral history with each band member, or person who worked with the band, basically telling their own story. I wasn't sure how I'd get on with that, but it turned out to be the best way for this story to be told. It really played out like a transcript from a music documentary. You get to see a perspective from each member, and it's super interesting to see how one moment can be construed differently for each person. Billy and Daisy get a lot of focus being the front people, and you see what toll that takes on the rest of the band. You really get the sense of the tension that was building throughout the group.

Reid does an amazing job at fleshing out this band and really makes you forget that it's fictional. I spent the entire time wishing I could hear these songs, or pull up a video of a performance on YouTube. I loved how she even included the lyrics to the album at the end of the book. The contrast between the characters was also intriguing. Here you have seven people, each with their own opinions and addictions, and Reid does such a fabulous job showcasing all the ups and downs and in-fighting that comes along with the pressures of fame.

The setting was also done amazingly well. You feel transported to the '70s music scene, almost as if you could smell the smoke and whiskey wafting about. I also felt a lot of the influences at that time weaved throughout. Especially with Daisy. I got such a Pamela Des Barres turned Janis Joplin vibe from her that was so intoxicating. I also really enjoyed the twist of who turned out to be the "author" of the bands story, it really made everything come full circle. All in all, I had such high hopes for this book and it more than delivered.

Rating: 5/5



Comments

  1. I have been going back and forth about reading this since Reece Witherspoon announced it as her book club pick last month but I wasn’t sure if I would like it since I don’t really like rock bands but I’ve heard a lot of good things so maybe I’ll give it a try!

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    1. Definitely give it a shot, you may like it!

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  2. I've had this recent obsession with rock and roll origin movies lately - The Dirt, Bohemian Rhapsody.. I'm also a massive fan of Rock of Ages, and this book is giving me all of those vibes! Definitely going to have to pick this up. Thanks for the recommendation!

    Emma | https://geekytourist.com

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    1. No problem! It has a bit of an Almost Famous vibe too. Hope you like it :]

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  3. I saw this at the local Barnes & Noble I was at, but ended up not purchasing it. Glad you liked it!

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