DAISY JONES & THE SIX
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I’m going to come clean and admit that I did not know this book was fiction until two days into reading it. I decided I should listen to the music of the band I was reading about, but all I could find was a Spotify playlist made by Random House with music of other artists that they thought were similar to Daisy Jones & The Six. In my defense, I was not alive in the 70’s, the time period in which this book is set. Nor am I a particularly well-educated music consumer. But the book conforms so well to the tell-all interview format that I seriously thought it was real.
Aside from the style, the story is really fun: full of sex, drugs and music, as you might expect. Daisy Jones is a gorgeous dilettante who discovers a love of songwriting to match her effortless vocal skills. The Six are a rock band with moderate success and a lead singer with a drug problem. When these two begin to collaborate, the music world and eventually the whole world take notice and the group skyrockets to fame.
In addition to the masterful structure, my favorite part of this book is how well Reid uses the excitement of something almost happening or not quite coming together. The things that go right for the characters are often secondary to the small but painful moments where they don’t achieve their goals. This is a very fun read with the perfect mix of escapist fame and rock and roll angst. (Lily)
