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A review by violentdelights
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Writing this review a fair amount of time after I read the book, so forgive me if it's not completely accurate.
This book was a fast read that got me out of my reading slump and stuck with me for a few days. The interview format made it easy to get through (sometimes I find books tend to get bogged down in details) and also gave voice to all the characters that was easy to hear. With such a big cast of characters, and especially in such a character heavy book, it can be difficult to make all the character's desires and quirks unique to one another. I found this book did a fairly good job, especially as it went along, though at the beginning I had to flip back and forth to make sure I had all the character's instruments and such down pat.
The format probably was the most appealing part of the book to me, as someone who loves unique storytelling devices. Of course, there were moments where it worked to its detriment: at some points the informed characteristics of the characters felt heavy-handed (it felt like a lot of the book was telling us how great Daisy was instead of showing us), as that can be a difficult thing to avoid in a multi-interview style book. However, I found that overall it worked really well to bring the characters to life and for us to feel the growing relationships, both negative and positive. Seeing everybody's perspectives on situations that may have been read as cut-and-dry in other formats paved the way for the eventual demise of the band: for example, being able to see how everyone but Billy himself could see Billy was adored the most set up various tensions within the band.
I liked the deconstruction of the manic pixie dream girl/it girl trope with Daisy, who is introduced as someone who does wild things like goes to clubs too young and stays out too long, but it becomes apparent that it came from parental negligence and a lack of anyone caring about her to take care of her. For me, personally, though, this made certain aspects of her relationship with Billy (as well as other members) harder to swallow: I speak specifically of the scene where Billy sees Daisy coked up and walking barefoot on glass and writes a song about it, flat out romanticizing someone in physical pain from drug use. The way they felt about each other, while palpable, had this undercurrent of disapproval, of knowledge that this wasn't quite right.
Of course, that is both a charm and detriment of the book: all the characters and their relationships to one another were deeply complicated. It's hard for me to truly say I liked any of the characters; moreso, I liked hearing their stories and wanted to know more about them, which I think is more important in a story than liking them. Still, if likeable protagonists and uncomplicated relationships are more your speed, this book may not be for you.
Everyone so far has described this as a book about drugs, sex, and rock and roll, which of course it is, but I feel that to be a little inaccurate. Moreso, this book is one of miscommunication, conflict, difficult decisions, and in a way a bit of a coming-of-age story set to the backdrop of drugs, sex, and rock and roll.
This book was a fast read that got me out of my reading slump and stuck with me for a few days. The interview format made it easy to get through (sometimes I find books tend to get bogged down in details) and also gave voice to all the characters that was easy to hear. With such a big cast of characters, and especially in such a character heavy book, it can be difficult to make all the character's desires and quirks unique to one another. I found this book did a fairly good job, especially as it went along, though at the beginning I had to flip back and forth to make sure I had all the character's instruments and such down pat.
The format probably was the most appealing part of the book to me, as someone who loves unique storytelling devices. Of course, there were moments where it worked to its detriment: at some points the informed characteristics of the characters felt heavy-handed (it felt like a lot of the book was telling us how great Daisy was instead of showing us), as that can be a difficult thing to avoid in a multi-interview style book. However, I found that overall it worked really well to bring the characters to life and for us to feel the growing relationships, both negative and positive. Seeing everybody's perspectives on situations that may have been read as cut-and-dry in other formats paved the way for the eventual demise of the band: for example, being able to see how everyone but Billy himself could see Billy was adored the most set up various tensions within the band.
I liked the deconstruction of the manic pixie dream girl/it girl trope with Daisy, who is introduced as someone who does wild things like goes to clubs too young and stays out too long, but it becomes apparent that it came from parental negligence and a lack of anyone caring about her to take care of her. For me, personally, though, this made certain aspects of her relationship with Billy (as well as other members) harder to swallow: I speak specifically of the scene where Billy sees Daisy coked up and walking barefoot on glass and writes a song about it, flat out romanticizing someone in physical pain from drug use. The way they felt about each other, while palpable, had this undercurrent of disapproval, of knowledge that this wasn't quite right.
Of course, that is both a charm and detriment of the book: all the characters and their relationships to one another were deeply complicated. It's hard for me to truly say I liked any of the characters; moreso, I liked hearing their stories and wanted to know more about them, which I think is more important in a story than liking them. Still, if likeable protagonists and uncomplicated relationships are more your speed, this book may not be for you.
Everyone so far has described this as a book about drugs, sex, and rock and roll, which of course it is, but I feel that to be a little inaccurate. Moreso, this book is one of miscommunication, conflict, difficult decisions, and in a way a bit of a coming-of-age story set to the backdrop of drugs, sex, and rock and roll.