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Book Review: Daisy Jones and the Six
Mar. 22nd, 2023 09:27 amI've said elsewhere that I found this book as frustrating as it is fun. So I'm going to do a +/- thing because that seems the best way to express my feelings. The last section (~) will be things I either have mixed feelings about or that I'm observing but not judging.
+ Look, I'm a sucker for 60s/70s counterculture stories, particularly about the music. Almost Famous is one of my favorite movies for a reason. Despite being a tee-totaling prude who would have been completely miserable and judging everyone were I surrounded by all that sex and drugs and drinking, I just find it so fun to visit that world. Probably because it feels about as real to me as a fantasy novel lol. And this book leans into that hard. It's about the idea of California 70s rock much more than it is about reality, and that's okay. I like that.
+ Oral history books! I think they're fun! This one is not as innovative as Wylding Hall, but I feel like the characters are distinctive and emerge well through their own narration. I like that you have one member who doesn't want to participate and so just doesn't. That was good!
+ Unreliable narrators! Love when their memories/interpretations clash!
+ It's just a very readable book.
+ Pretty much everybody in the book is terrible, but I'm fine with that, actually. I figure 90% of rock stars are terrible people.
+ I found the scene where Billy talks to the stranger in the bar very moving. I am a sucker for moments of grace between strangers.
+ I like Karen a lot. "Good for her!" /Lucille Bluth voice
+ The Rumors influence is so obvious that I was convinced that [character] and [character] would [action]. The fact that they did not genuinely surprised me and I was glad.
- Other than the last + mentioned, the beats are really obvious. Like, there's nothing subversive or unexpected about the way it all unfolds. It's basically just VH1's Behind the Music meets Fleetwood Mac RPF with the (British) serial numbers filed off (with the twist of "what if Stevie Nicks were the most beautiful woman in the world? Stevie Nicks is a very attractive woman, though that is not nearly as important as the fact that she's cool. But she's not the most beautiful woman in the world like Daisy is.) I just felt like there could have been more! Subvert something!
- The Simone stuff is truly egregious. Introducing a black character entirely so she can be a caretaker for our main character is just...not a good look. I honestly think that the book would have been better without that "representation." If she'd been white, I would have said, "Wow, this book is really white," but I wouldn't have said, "Wow, that trope is really not okay." And frankly, the rock scene was really very white so it would have at least been realistic instead of uncomfortable! Bad choice, Taylor Jenkins Reid!
~ I kind of adored Camila but also...she saves everyone. That is a) not realistic and b) uncomfortable. I bounced back and forth between her being my favorite character and feeling like the way she was written was terrible. It was confusing!
- Frankly, I felt like it wasn't realistic enough in its depiction of how bad addiction is. I never really believed in Daisy hitting rock bottom.
~ I saw a Tumblr post the other day that said something like, "What if the plot twist was FIDELITY?" and I love that but I'm not sure if, in this context, the way fidelity was established works for me. (See: Camila part above.)
So yeah. I don't regret reading it or anything, and it certainly held my attention as I was doing so, but I just think it could have been more.
+ Look, I'm a sucker for 60s/70s counterculture stories, particularly about the music. Almost Famous is one of my favorite movies for a reason. Despite being a tee-totaling prude who would have been completely miserable and judging everyone were I surrounded by all that sex and drugs and drinking, I just find it so fun to visit that world. Probably because it feels about as real to me as a fantasy novel lol. And this book leans into that hard. It's about the idea of California 70s rock much more than it is about reality, and that's okay. I like that.
+ Oral history books! I think they're fun! This one is not as innovative as Wylding Hall, but I feel like the characters are distinctive and emerge well through their own narration. I like that you have one member who doesn't want to participate and so just doesn't. That was good!
+ Unreliable narrators! Love when their memories/interpretations clash!
+ It's just a very readable book.
+ Pretty much everybody in the book is terrible, but I'm fine with that, actually. I figure 90% of rock stars are terrible people.
+ I found the scene where Billy talks to the stranger in the bar very moving. I am a sucker for moments of grace between strangers.
+ I like Karen a lot. "Good for her!" /Lucille Bluth voice
+ The Rumors influence is so obvious that I was convinced that [character] and [character] would [action]. The fact that they did not genuinely surprised me and I was glad.
- Other than the last + mentioned, the beats are really obvious. Like, there's nothing subversive or unexpected about the way it all unfolds. It's basically just VH1's Behind the Music meets Fleetwood Mac RPF with the (British) serial numbers filed off (with the twist of "what if Stevie Nicks were the most beautiful woman in the world? Stevie Nicks is a very attractive woman, though that is not nearly as important as the fact that she's cool. But she's not the most beautiful woman in the world like Daisy is.) I just felt like there could have been more! Subvert something!
- The Simone stuff is truly egregious. Introducing a black character entirely so she can be a caretaker for our main character is just...not a good look. I honestly think that the book would have been better without that "representation." If she'd been white, I would have said, "Wow, this book is really white," but I wouldn't have said, "Wow, that trope is really not okay." And frankly, the rock scene was really very white so it would have at least been realistic instead of uncomfortable! Bad choice, Taylor Jenkins Reid!
~ I kind of adored Camila but also...she saves everyone. That is a) not realistic and b) uncomfortable. I bounced back and forth between her being my favorite character and feeling like the way she was written was terrible. It was confusing!
- Frankly, I felt like it wasn't realistic enough in its depiction of how bad addiction is. I never really believed in Daisy hitting rock bottom.
~ I saw a Tumblr post the other day that said something like, "What if the plot twist was FIDELITY?" and I love that but I'm not sure if, in this context, the way fidelity was established works for me. (See: Camila part above.)
So yeah. I don't regret reading it or anything, and it certainly held my attention as I was doing so, but I just think it could have been more.
