Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Daisy Jones & The Six

I wasn’t initially sold on this concept, but I was hooked on this book from « End of fucking story. » at the end of the first chapter. The structure is very cool and the multiple narrators played off each other in a way that drove the conflict in present-day even though they were telling 40 year-old stories. I also really liked how the book was rooted in the song lyrics and found myself very much wanting to hear the actual songs.

I think one of my favorite things though was the reveal of the author at the end. I read that part and immediately wanted to start the book over again to examine how their bias could have impacted the storytelling. It made me question my own memory of the story and my affinities for certain characters over others.

Although they weren’t the « narrator »,

they had a heavy hand in shaping the story in a way I don’t think I recognized until then. It added a whole new level of artfully constructed depth to the exploration of memory and storytelling.

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katy_bee's review

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slow-paced

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

3.0

This was only ok by the end, although I was pulled along by bits if it early on.

The "twist" fell flat for me, it didn't really add anything and it jarred a bit in retrospect when you re-read the early chapters.

The device of everyone bring a slightly unreliable narrator, because memory doesn't hold true after decades was near to start with but felt a bit laboured by then end. I also found the very qu ck suggestion of short quotes became a bit unrealistic and repetitive. I would have been interested to see some longer sections or have the narrator acknowledge that assembling dialogue that way is quite artificial

I was also disappointed in the way it seemed to wrap up as - an unusual - love story. Most of the way through it actually felt like it was a story of addiction and people's lives falling apart. I wanted to hear more from Daisy in the "where are they now?" chapter to see her come out the other side.

That's all the negatives... It definitely was interesting to hear more about that world of rock and fame in 60s & 70s and the characters felt nuanced. I liked the portrayal of women and particularly Karen dealing with being an object of affection but not wanting to be defined by that. I think that's still quite rare in fiction, to have a sympathetic portrayal of a woman who doesn't love a man back. I also liked Camilla and Daisy's respect for each other.

Camilla and Billy's relationship also felt like an honest portrayal of the sacr fices and compromised it takes to make a marriage work.

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