Daisy Jones & The Six - Book Review

FictionReviews

10 Nov

Written By Lulu

daisy-jones-and-the-six-book-cover2-lulus-little-bookshelf.jpg — Genre: Fiction
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Year: 2019
Pages: 368
Content warning: Alcohol and drug abuse, and addiction

Daisy Jones & The Six is one of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s most talked about novels and it’s not hard to see why.

It’s hard to believe this book was published one year ago. I still remember making the trip to my local bookstore to buy a copy the day it was available. For me, it was highly anticipated – reading something new from one of my favourite authors. Even after countless rereads, Daisy Jones & The Six never fails to disappoint.

Daisy Jones & The Six was one of the most famous rock bands of the 70s. Everyone knew them; their songs were top of the charts, they sold out arenas. Then, on 12th July 1979, after performing live at the Chicago Stadium, their journey came to an abrupt end. Their departure from the music scene has always been illusive and mysterious, until now. Told through exclusive interviews of friends and family, of people inside the industry and of course, through the band members themselves, the story behind their claim to fame slowly begins to unfold.

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There’s so much to love about this story. It’s such an original concept and unlike anything Jenkins Reid has done before. I did find the style of writing quite jarring when I first read the book. The interview-style, first person perspective was not something I had seen in previous books I had read, and especially not in previous works of Jenkins Reid. But now that I have reread this story countless times, I’ve come to realise that this style of writing is what makes the book so great. Even with this writing technique, the plot flows smoothly and each character can be both complex and easily defined.

While Daisy Jones & The Six documents a band’s journey from beginning to end, it’s also a story of what lies beneath. Jenkins Reid cleverly captures the intricacies of various relationships whether strained, loving or familial. It’s another element that makes this book so compelling.

As I mentioned in my review of Jenkins Reid’s debut novel Forever, Interrupted, her writing gets better and better with every novel she creates. There’s even a little character cameo that keen-eye readers of Jenkins Reid’s work might be able to spot – the return of singer Mick Riva, one of Evelyn Hugo’s husbands from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

If you couldn’t tell by now, Daisy Jones & The Six is one of my favourite books. It has the perfect story to come back to time and time again.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★