Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Daisy Jones & The Six is a really well written story with clever narrative style moving between all the members of the band, not to mention their managers, significant others, etc. That said, while I would give it four stars, I didn't actually enjoy reading it. Personally I struggle so much with the life stories of people who live riotously - partying endlessly, doing drugs, drinking away their days - and then expect us to feel sympathy for the hard situations they find themselves in....so with that in mind, you can see why I tired of the details of Daisy's escapades or the band members talking through their drug use. I just have no interest in it.

What I do have an interest in is the creative process and how great art - music included - gets made. Years ago I had a powerful discussion with a book group about whether great art can be created without maker of the art being messed up in some way. We were reading a fictional story involving Hemingway and never settled on an answer. The list of my very favorite writers and creators is replete with men and women who suffered tragedy, battled addiction, lived during extreme strife, and so on, and then used those issues to create masterful works. I don't have a set answer on whether it's necessary, but Daisy Jones & The Six is an interesting addition to that conversation.

Taylor Jenkins Reid can write very captivating characters, and I appreciated the nuance she gave to each relationship, especially Billy and his wife Camilla. The focus on her was refreshing. So, with all that said, this is a book that I think would be great for some readers and totally off the mark for others. The audio version is excellent with a full cast of characters to help organize all the many people that move in and out of the story. There's no doubt that a major studio will want to make this into a movie or miniseries soon.

Happy reading--

(Book 102 - 2019)

ps. Jenkins Reid wrote one of my very favorite books called "One True Loves" (*Loves is not a typo). I read it every summer.