A Book Review of ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ by Taylor Jenkins-Reid
A book I have no problem reading again and again is ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’, by Taylor Jenkins-Reid. If, like me, you’re a fan of bands from the 1970s like Fleetwood Mac, you’re sure to love this one! I picked the book up ahead of the series adaptation release last year and have re-read it several times since then.
The book moves back and forth between 2017 and the 1970s. It follows the band ‘The Six’, later known as ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’. The story is told in the style of interviews with each band member, forty years after the band’s split after their final performance in 1977. This book has everything; drama, romance, killer tunes, and of course, the all-important 70s vibe. What’s a good story without a love triangle?
The band consists of brothers Billy (lead singer) and Graham Dunne (lead guitar), Eddie Roundtree (bass guitar), Karen Sirko (keys), Warren Rhodes (Warren Rojas, in the tv series- drums). There’s also Billy’s girlfriend/eventual wife, Camilla as an honorary member, and of course, the one and only, Miss Daisy Jones, the band’s other lead singer. The subject matter can get quite heavy, due to the heavy presence of drug use on Daisy and Billy’s part, much like many real-life rockstars at the time.
The story opens in 2017 as, for the first time, each member, along with some others, (managers, producers, etc.) recounts their time with the band. Some details vary from person to person for various reasons; age, level of intoxication when the event happened, etc., allowing for some rather unreliable narrators. Through these accounts of the events, we get to experience each performance, each party, and each personal struggle from different perspectives.
The author allows us to see through the characters’ accounts of their struggles and how others supported them (or not). Billy described his struggles with addiction and subsequent relationship problems; “You have these lines you won’t cross. But then you cross them. And suddenly you possess the very dangerous information that you can break the rule, and the world won’t instantly come to an end… one day you look around and you think, “There was a line here once, I think”.
Neither Daisy nor Billy was perfect, and both made questionable decisions. However, the main characters don’t need to be one hundred percent perfect or even likeable; that’s what makes them complex and interesting. As for the other band members, their stories in the background add more depth to the novel.
One of my favourite elements of the book was the level of detail the author uses; it is an incredibly immersive novel. From the offset, the level of character description gives the reader a clear picture of the band members. An example is the description of Daisy Jones in the novel’s opening page; “She’s got copper-red hair that is thick and wavy and… takes up so much space. And then her cheekbones almost seem swollen, that’s how defined they are. And she’s got an incredible voice that she doesn’t cultivate and never takes a lesson. She’s born with all the money in the world, access to whatever she wants—artists, drugs, clubs—anything and everything at her disposal”. From this description alone of Daisy, it encourages the reader to buy it and continue reading.
When reading the book, it transports you right back to the 1970s. The reader feels like a groupie, akin to Penny Lane in the film ‘Almost Famous’, following the band and getting the inside story from the source. The energy of the band, and the crowds they play to radiates off the page, captivating the reader and giving them an insight into the reality of fame and its consequences. As Daisy Jones says; “Fame doesn’t fulfil you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary.”
I don’t have much criticism for the book itself overall, I think it is very well-written; the interview format is unique and entertaining along with the inclusion of song lyrics and emails, etc. Of course, some characters are meant to be difficult and even unlikeable but there are limits for a character’s decisions and Billy Dunne pushes these limits to the extreme. However, besides this, I think it is a very engaging book, the pacing is excellent, which helps you get through it quickly. I would give this book 4/5 stars.