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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would give this 10 stars if I could! I loved the full-cast recording (which is not always my favorite, but it worked for this book full of interviews.)
If you liked Daisy Jones & the Six, you'll love this even more.
If you liked Daisy Jones & the Six, you'll love this even more.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
gives daisy jones & the six vibes, but different and slightly more impactful. i still prefer daisy jones, but would still recommend this one! i'm curious how i would feel about the two if i read this one before daisy jones. the audiobook for this on is excellent!!
I wanted to love this book. It had all the ingredients to be wonderful: Rock n’ Roll! The 70s! Social justice (?) and feminism (?), and race stuff (?), maybe??
But I can’t help but feel that the author didn’t get the recipe quite right. Firstly, the author couldn’t decide between oral history or Wikipedia entry: all of the editor’s notes just felt like intrusive, boring pages of fact-timelines. What even was the point of Sunny? Her character didn’t belong in the story in a natural-feeling way, and felt like an afterthought shoved into the story after the main characters had already been written.
Further, the choice to tell us about Jimmy’s death at the beginning of the novel sucked all of the impact out of the scene once it arrived. The result was that there was absolutely no tension to keep the book interesting. Once that scene passed (halfway through the book), the rest of the story felt tedious and pointless.
Opal is an incredible character who deserved a deeper dive. But the choice to tell her story from an outside perspective robbed us of any insight into her deepest feelings, and kept her character development at the surface level. I needed more depth of feeling from Opal and Jimmy’s relationship. I needed to more of why she cared for Nev. I just needed more. These characters deserved more than the author gave them. Oh well.
But I can’t help but feel that the author didn’t get the recipe quite right. Firstly, the author couldn’t decide between oral history or Wikipedia entry: all of the editor’s notes just felt like intrusive, boring pages of fact-timelines. What even was the point of Sunny? Her character didn’t belong in the story in a natural-feeling way, and felt like an afterthought shoved into the story after the main characters had already been written.
Further, the choice to tell us about Jimmy’s death at the beginning of the novel sucked all of the impact out of the scene once it arrived. The result was that there was absolutely no tension to keep the book interesting. Once that scene passed (halfway through the book), the rest of the story felt tedious and pointless.
Opal is an incredible character who deserved a deeper dive. But the choice to tell her story from an outside perspective robbed us of any insight into her deepest feelings, and kept her character development at the surface level. I needed more depth of feeling from Opal and Jimmy’s relationship. I needed to more of why she cared for Nev. I just needed more. These characters deserved more than the author gave them. Oh well.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This is the oral history of a fictional rock duo from the early 1970s, as written by a music critic (also fictional) who has a very personal connection to the group. So while we’re reading Sunny’s book, she is very much part of the story – as narrator, as curator and as a character herself. I adored it. I love how the format approach lets Walton invent so many distinct voices and let their personalities come through. And I’m told the audiobook does an excellent job of bringing these voices to life.
Opal and Nev often seem to be nothing alike, but share a deep need to create, to be seen, to find their voice. And although most of the action is set about a decade after Kennedy’s presidency, there’s a sense of Camelot about their partnership, a one brief, shining moment before various tensions pull them apart.
Like many books about fictional art, you will wish SO HARD you could look up Opal and Nev’s music on Spotify, or find their clips on YouTube, or see their album covers for yourself. Walton’s descriptions are so evocative, it all feels just out of reach.
I have some minor quibbles about (a) whether Sunny would really put so many personal details and making-the-sausage anecdotes into her book about Opal and Nev and (b) the details of her publishing timeline, but none of them kept me from enjoying the book. And for a debut novel? Standing ovation.
Opal and Nev often seem to be nothing alike, but share a deep need to create, to be seen, to find their voice. And although most of the action is set about a decade after Kennedy’s presidency, there’s a sense of Camelot about their partnership, a one brief, shining moment before various tensions pull them apart.
Like many books about fictional art, you will wish SO HARD you could look up Opal and Nev’s music on Spotify, or find their clips on YouTube, or see their album covers for yourself. Walton’s descriptions are so evocative, it all feels just out of reach.
I have some minor quibbles about (a) whether Sunny would really put so many personal details and making-the-sausage anecdotes into her book about Opal and Nev and (b) the details of her publishing timeline, but none of them kept me from enjoying the book. And for a debut novel? Standing ovation.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes