Daisy Jones & The Six
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Yallllll, I am eating my words! Taylor Jenkins Reid is that bitch! I’ve really been on the TJR roller-coaster; Malibu Rising pleasantly surprised me, One True Loves made my interest wane, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo shockingly disappointed me, especially given its hype, and then her most recent novel, Atmosphere, totally enamored me. Daisy Jones & The Six also goes into the enamored box. I seriously love this book.
Full disclosure: I watched the TV series first (and absolutely love it). But as far as adaptations go, the series is pretty true to form. It follows a band, The Six, whose rise coincides with that of a magnetic vocalist and lyricist, Daisy Jones. They make beautiful rock and roll babies, but not without the rest of the classic trio: sex and drugs.
There are major egos at play, and one might fear that the narrative would be lost with so many vibrant characters vying for attention. Not to worry with TJR at the helm! One of the most striking aspects of the book is its structure. The entire story is told through an interview format– it volleys between all of the different band members and those in their orbit. As such, I never, ever lost interest. I was in a constant state of wondering what was going to be said next and how one person’s perspective might differ from another’s. I’m a sucker for an unreliable narrator, and this was that on steroids. Their work was so subjective, and there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen.
The multitude of perspectives was, of course, entertaining, but it was also very effective for visualizing the dynamic. They each had their own distinct voice, which is obviously hard to execute due to the constant bouncing around, and even when they were on the same page about some particular event, they communicated it with different language, lending a 3D view to these experiences. Moreover, they all held the profundity of retrospect. They had all been through a shit ton in life, enduring the highest of highs and the lowest of lows on an international stage. With hindsight, they had clearly gained wisdom in weathering those storms. That was honestly just really beautiful to read. If anyone wants to interview me about my 20s, I’m sure I would have soooo much wisdom to impart and definitely would not try to pretend like I am still currently in my 20s :)
Okay, so clearly, I now see TJR in a whole different light. I specifically love the way she wrote the women in the book; each is uniquely complex. Camile is an almost untouchable moral light, but instead of being on a haughty high horse, she’s in the thick of it, a bedrock without losing lightheartedness. Daisy is simultaneously sure and unsure of herself, but she’s so utterly bold that you can never keep track of which is which; she “floated through the world, oblivious to the way it really worked.” Karen is an extraordinary talent, content with her position in a male-dominated field because she stays true to herself at every fork in the road. The men were written well, too, particularly Billy, but I love that TJR was able to give so many distinct female lenses in a landscape of Ozzy Osbournes (RIP) and Mick Jaggers. Those were the first people that came to mind because I love The Osbournes and Kesha references Mick lol clearly I am v rock n’ roll knowledgeable!
Last but not least, my respect for TJR is bolstered by the fact that she’s clearly a talented lyricist. So much about this book revolved around the songwriting process, but these were not real songs until TJR created them. They should be! Someone make these into songs! The songs are bangers, and the book is excellent, so it receives 5 out of 5 flames.
