Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Daisy Jones & The Six

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.

Content Warnings

nickel_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-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

Content Warnings

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