No matter how many times Google tells me that Daisy Jones and The Six are not a real band, I will go down with this ship believing they are real. Try to convince me otherwise. It boggles my mind that these incredibly flawed and talented characters are fictional. It just can’t be possible. Author Taylor Jenkins Reid does some kind of magic with her words because this is the second book I have read of hers that makes me turn to the internet to find proof of these characters existence in our world.

Daisy Jones and The Six was one hell of a ride. I did not know what to expect when I realized that this book was written entirely in an interview style narrative, but I was pleasantly surprised right off the bat. This book takes us into the glamorous and destructive world of a “fictional” 70’s rock and roll band (I swear I’m still in denial about this being a made up band). Read on for my spoiler free ramblings about this epic musical reading journey.

(picture from @khanlibrary)

Synopsis:

Daisy is a neglected and lonely girl sneaking into clubs, doing drugs and dreaming of becoming a singer/song writer. She has the look and the voice, so it is only a matter of time before she gets noticed by the right people and enters the music industry. The Six is a band lead by the talented and tortured Billy Dunne. The band is starting to make a name for themselves when Billy gets lost in the world of drugs and booze right after he finds out his wife is pregnant. History is made when Daisy and The Six come together and make an album that rocks the world. But nobody knows what happened behind the scenes of their success, until now.

This book is a chronicle of their time together in a band as each member and people close to them sit down for an interview revealing all the devastating and wonderful moments they shared under the spotlight.

I Really Love that Rock n’ Roll:

“Dancing Barefoot in the snow,
Cold can’t touch her, high or low
She’s blues dressed up like rock ‘n’ roll
Untouchable, she’ll never fold – Taylor Jenkins Reid. 

The way the characters described that rock and roll lifestyle felt so believable and real. I really enjoyed how each character was portrayed as being deeply passionate about their craft and how they described what the music meant to them. Everyone from the guitarist to the lead singer was connected to the music in a way that seemed so vulnerable. The act of writing a song based on past mistakes or hopes for a better future were really well described. There was also a lot of drama between the band members, as expected, but it was really well written and explored. You get to see the experiences through multiple perspectives and that is what makes for a great big picture.

“And, baby, when you think of me
I hope it ruins rock ‘n’ roll
Regret me, regretfully” – Taylor Jenkins Reid 

It blew my mind that the author actually wrote original songs for this book and how each song was like reading the personal diary of the characters. I’m convinced the author had to be some kind of rockstar before becoming a best-selling author. How else can you write such deeply moving songs? How? I have too many questions. There was so much emotion in the songs that I began wondering what it would actually sound like with the drums, guitar and keyboard. I also found myself wondering what Daisy and Billy would sound like together.

Major Themes and Characters:

“It’s very vulnerable, being an artist, telling the truth like that, like we’re doing now. When you’re living your life, you’re so inside your head, you’re swirling around in your own pain, that it’s hard to see how obvious it is to the people around you. These songs I was writing felt coded and secret, but I suspect they weren’t coded and secret at all” – Taylor Jenkin Reid.

You really get a sense of how high and low fame can take a person. Billy and Daisy’s struggle with addiction was a major theme of this book. While Billy goes wild and then works his way towards sobriety, Daisy falls deeper into the world of addiction. The interactions between Billy and Daisy were full of tension and I live for that kind of character relationship. Through that tension, these two come together to write and perform brilliant songs. They are both deeply flawed characters that make many mistakes, but I still found myself rooting for them to come to terms with their feelings and fears.

I also loved the relationships between the women in this book. Often times you come across female characters that compete and try to sabotage one another. I actually expected this in a book about musicians and fame. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised with female characters that support one another instead of tearing each other down. Besides Daisy, Karen and Camilla were two other female characters that shined in their own way. These three characters were strong, confident and unapologetic about the way they wanted to live their lives. The comradely between them was really refreshing.

My Thoughts:

I never imagined that a book written in interview style could make me feel all the emotions and keep me glued to the pages. I know readers like the whole “show instead of telling” type of narrative but in this case the telling really worked. I think its because I felt each character had a distinct voice in the transcript. When Daisy was interviewed, her answers were always heavy and filled with pain. When Billy was interviewed, there was something so apologetic in his answers. Like he just felt sorry for everything he was and did. I felt the same with the other band members. They all felt real to the point where I could almost picture them being interviewed. I cannot recommend this book enough and I really do hope that Daisy Jones and The Six reunite and put on a show (just let me continue believing they are real ok? Please let me have this).

I picked up this book while attending the Penguin Random House Ice Cream Social event at Bookcon earlier this summer and would like to send out a big thank you to them for bringing this book into my life. What an exciting ride!

Happy reading bookworms,

Shazia.