Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins-Reid

Historical Fiction. Mental Health. 

Reread. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Pages: 400

Started: 19 December 2022

Finished: 19 December 2022

Summary:

        Daisy Jones was fourteen when she first walked out of her parents house and headed down to the Sunset Strip to watch a show. With blue eyes and curly red hair she was stunning. It was the sixties, and men were all too eager to ignore her youth, to ply her with drugs, to taste her just once. But that wasn't enough for Daisy Jones: she wanted to sing, and she wanted to write songs. So she landed a record deal, but all they wanted her to do was sing other people's songs. She was hungry for more, fueled by the drugs that kept her awake, kept her numb, helped her sleep. Then collaborated on a song with on-the-rise rock band The Six, and it was all over. Together, they were great, and as Daisy began to write more songs with Billy, The Six's lead singer, an album emerged. But the culture surrounding rock music is, by design, unstable. Drugs, ego and art are a dangerous combination.

   Daisy Jones & The Six tells the story of a successful 70s rock band through a series of interviews, culminating in one final email. 

Thoughts:

    It hurts to just think about this book. I'm all for tragedy, but it's hard to watch it happen while witnessing the pain and clashing perspectives of all involved. It's hard to watch talent--even fictional--be wasted to drugs and envy and unrequited love. But it's unarguable that Taylor Jenkins-Reid did an incredible job. Again I read this book in one sitting, barely aware of how much time was passing, unable to care. 

    I think one of the biggest draws of Jenkins-Reid's books is that when it comes to famous figures, everyone wants the details. Everyone wants to know what it was like to actually be there. There's a unique intimacy in seeing the private lives of those who are normally so public yet secretive. And with the way Jenkins-Reid used interview formatting to play with contrasting takes on events, the intimacy the audience received was fascinating. 

    The addiction was really hard to read, as was the ego and fights and blindness to emotions. But it also contained a lot of good lessons. Don't do drugs, kids. Don't try to be famous; it only leads to heartbreak. 

    I'm very excited to read Carrie Soto is Back next. I've heard less than great things, but I have high hopes.