Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Daisy Jones & the Six

This is my fourth TJR book so i was expecting amazing things and a big finale, but I didn’t get that. It was still a very well written book but it felt kind of flat and I’m a bit confused as to why this is rated higher than SHOEH. The little twist at the end

that the author was julia, wasn’t too shocking. i was also surprised that TJR would use the same sort of twist here as in another book of hers

. It was interesting, I really liked and connected with Karen. A lot of lines in here were very touching and framed concepts in ways i hadn’t seen them before. But it’s not my favourite book. it does give a (what i believe is a thoroughly researched) insight into the drugs and sex’s and rock and roll culture in the 70’s, and the differing perspectives of the same events.

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storykath's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

What a whirlwind! This is my first TJR read, and I knew absolutely nothing about the story going into it. I ended up finishing in less than two days, but I feel clearheaded enough to write a good review.

I definitely understand the hype behind this book. The subject matter is super trendy and appealing - who doesn't dream of being a rockstar or wonder what it was like to be part of the music scene, especially in the 70s? The interview format had its drawbacks, which I'll get into as well, but it also quickened the already fast pace and really drew you in. Hearing characters contradict each other or have very different memories of events was really cool to see, and that motif of rewriting memories to make yourself look better is fascinating to see on the page - I think that was executed very well.

Given the number of narrators, there wasn't one clear focus or theme in this book, but I think that part of the appeal is getting such a wide-ranging overview of the characters' lives. No one topic is fully unpacked, but pretty much everything is touched on at some point. It's not a story about addiction, or love, or music, but a story about a band who experiences all those things throughout their career.

The interview format, while engaging and unique, didn't always sit right with me. I've never seen a book (either fiction or nonfiction) comprised solely of quotes from interviews with various characters, and I think there's a reason for that. I understand that this novel was supposed to be a more personal look at the characters' lives rather than a 'history' of the band, but the way some of the characters talked felt contrived on order to cram in information and stats. It wasn't a frequent or major problem, but it did pull me out of the story at times. I also felt that in the more 'narrative' portions of the novel, the way the characters talked wasn't always realistic - it felt overly polished, especially when they were speaking for paragraphs at a time or recalling conversations. From my experience, it's hard to recall exact wording or recreate entire conversations. I liked it when the narrative jumped back and forth quickly between two or three narrators, since that felt more like an accurate 'stitching together' of a past event, but when one character took the reins I had trouble suspending my disbelief.

I was also underwhelmed by

the reveal that the 'author' was Julia all along

. It felt unnecessary, it didn't add anything to the story, and it actually decreased my enjoyment towards the end because suddenly we'd shifted perspective and focus. It felt like it was either a *shocking twist* for Booktok or a contrived way to shift the tone at the end of the story.

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emsky's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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jules_c's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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booksandwolves's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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wiemhorriche's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

an amazing read, loved it entirely. I got so attached to the characters and felt like I was a member of the band.
this is definitely a 5 stars book.

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margitbjaadal's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I think this book is mediocre. There i said it. It is an interessting story and a very cool writing style and narrative. I just got sick of all the characters being annoying all of their personality being reliant on drugs, addiction or the other people in their life. The audiobook kind of saves this, cause i had read it without it, the story would have gotten very repetative.

The ending is very unsatisfying, mostly because there are zero stakes in the whole story. It's just a bunch of 20-somethings doing what they want and some occasional (extremly white) feminism.

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