book review : daisy jones & the six

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Reading age: 16+

Rating: 8.5/10

You’ll like this if you’ve read: Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

I read this book shortly after watching the recent Elvis movie, which at the time didn’t feel very significant to me as I didn’t know what Daisy Jones & The Six was about, I just knew I wanted to read another Taylor Jenkins Reid book. And after reading this, I can truly say I have become mesmerised by the world of old school rock and roll.

Jenkins Reid has this amazing way of writing historical fictions that feel so real, you almost don’t want to believe the characters never existed. I didn’t know much about 70’s rock but I feel like Jenkins Reid did it justice, for how well rounded the story was. You get an insight into the world from all angles, those steering, those spectating and those escaping. The good, the bad and the ugly, or in rock and roll terms - love, sex and drugs, although I’d add ‘fame’ as an honorary fourth adjective.

The bulk of the book is set during an era of 60’s/70’s rock and roll culture, which seems so cool and glamorous from the outside but comes with a lot of complexity within. We predominantly follow the lives of the Dunne brothers and the people they connect with on their rise to fame. Although I’d say the book almost equally makes us follow the life of Daisy Jones and her rise to fame. I guess based on your perspective, you decide what narrative is more important - but we already know from the title of the book that both stories intercept. The separate narratives provide the perfect context for why the stories inevitably collide and everything that happens after.

The main lesson I took from the book was that the childhood trauma which followed the characters into adulthood, when left unresolved, manifested into serious avoidance issues, not only affecting themselves but also the people around them. Another theme prominent throughout the book was the unrequited love, where characters often chased people, substances and in some cases even careers which did more harm to them than good. The irony of this central theme is that the album curated by Daisy Jones and the Six is all about wanting what you can’t have or what’s not good for you, relating to most the characters in the book.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this book. At first I thought I was reading a prologue or authors note before I realised the whole book is written as a sort of transcript. Which doesn’t sound like it would particularly flow, but it works perfectly. Jenkins Reid plotted the perfect moments to flip between different characters perspectives and comments, and really allow us to visualise what was happening. It was almost like reading a play, except the characters were narrating the story and setting the scenes. It made the story feel very authentic. And it also made me really keen on the characters in the book, as I got to understand everyone’s individual emotions and personalities.

I particularly loved the portrayal of the women; the sisterhood, the varying feminist attitudes, and mostly the assertive way they showed they were in control of the trajectory of their lives and they had the right to choose their own path, regardless of what others think.

I really loved this book, I felt connected to the characters’ individual struggles and I understood their decisions, however wrong or crazy. I am a big fan of Jenkins Reid’s work, she really knows how to make a non existent famous person relatable and show us that all that glitters is not gold.

Buy it here: https://amzn.eu/d/fx0W3Kp