DAISY JONES and the SIX by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Last month I reviewed Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid which I then followed up by reading Daisy Jones and the Six. Written as a “faux oral history,” Jenkins Reid portrays her characters with great depth and emotion easily drawing the reader in. If you know anything about the music scene of the 60’s and 70’s, this work of historical fiction hit’s it’s mark making the fictional band, The Six, feel entirely genuine.
For an author, I’d imagine that finding an impetus, imaginative or real, to ignite the creative process is likened to the perfect muse for an artist. The catalyst, or ‘spark’ for this story comes from 13-year-old Taylor watching MTV and coming across Stevie Nicks singing Landslide, accompanied by Lindsey Buckingham. At a moment of intimate eye contact between the two, she surmised that they loved each other; this moment stuck with young Taylor.
Now she tells the story of when she decided to write a book about rock ‘n’ roll, “I kept coming back to that moment when Lindsey watched Stevie sing Landslide. How it looked so much like two people in love. And yet, we’ll never truly know what lived between them. I wanted to write a story about that, about how the lines between real life and performance can get blurred, about how singing about old wounds might keep them fresh.” This is just a snippet of the story, for the full version, see her website- https://reesesbookclub.com/how-fleetwood-mac-influenced-daisy-jones-the-six/
As with most documentaries, this work is told entirely through interview transcripts. Through the voices of each character’s recollection of events, the details smoothly unfold from the formation of the 70’s band, through their ultimate collaboration between Daisy Jones and lead singer Billy Dunne. Through her story, Jenkins Reid creatively depicts themes of the complexities of sudden fame including addiction, influences of personalities and other dynamics between band members, as well as creative and personal chemistry fueling the band’s success and ultimate break up.
Creating an ensemble narrative with distinct character voices, the reader-character connections are easily bonded. As the story evolves, the realistic narration and multiple perspective, allows for dramatic irony and a deeper, more complex portrayal of events. I listened to the audio of the book which has multiple narrators also lending to a clear depiction of the individual personalities. I highly recommend experiencing this work with the audio version.
Although it chronicles an entire band, the novel—like many of Reid’s works—revolves around a strong female lead. Exploring complex interpersonal dynamics between men and women in the music industry. We are effortlessly drawn into a chaotic, artistic world where musicians navigate not just fame, but their identities within the band and the industry I’ve enjoyed many works penned by Taylor Jenkins Reid. She has many successful books which have been chosen by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, GMA Book Club, Indie Next, Best of Amazon, and Book of the Month. For information about the author and her other work, go to https://taylorjenkinsreid.com/ . In addition, to the written and audio version of her novel, Daisy Jones and The Six, can be enjoyed as a miniseries streaming on Prime Video.