REVIEW: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid @tjenkinsreid @randomhouse
Daisy Jones & The Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Huge thank you to Ballantine Books, Random House and Astoria Bookshop for this copy.
My second Reid book and now my favorite.
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publish Date: March 5, 2019
Hardcover
368 Pages
Standalone
Genre: Historical Fiction
Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.
Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.
Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.
Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.
The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.
My Review:
WHERE DO I EVEN START?!?!
I'll admit that when I read the "author's note" at the very beginning, I thought I was reading a legit non-fiction documentary type novel about a band that really existed. Did I pay attention to the genre this is placed in, historical FICTION? Nope. You know why? Because it's written so brilliantly that you don't even notice. You are pulled into this world where we learn of the ups and downs and while Billy Dunne and Daisy are the leaders, you are rooting and feeling for EVERY.SINGLE.CHARACTER.
While this is only my second Reid book, I'm flabbergasted and completely impressed with her ability to write such different types of stories - even creating the song lyrics AND it's being optioned for the screen. WHO IS TAYLOR JENKINS REID?!
I actually did wonder just how much I would like this as I'm not big on "documentaries" in general. Written like an interview of sorts with each character giving their perspectives, it never once got confusing and the voices of each character was very clear. I love how each was flawed and yet so strong in the person that they were - even as they struggled. I really did not come across a single character I didn't like.
Reid also has this genius ability to give you a reveal towards the end of the book that is as impactful as it is subtle. I have a feeling that many people will say if you loved Almost Famous that you'll love this book and while that is true, this book holds it's own without any comparison or if you like this you'll love that kind of thought.
Just read this book. Please.
(also, how cool is it that Reese Witherspoon will be producing the adaptation?!)
★★★★★
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