At Fiction Unbound, we love reviewing speculative fiction novels with a musical twist - whether that be punk rock, space opera, or something in between. In this post, we tackle the decade where rock ‘n’ roll developed its distinct identity. There is a crazy mythos surrounding the era of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1970s. The saying “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” was practically defined by this time period of pop-rock ballads, legendary singers, and badass bands. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel, Daisy Jones & The Six, takes this romanticized time period and pulls back the curtain in a clever and wildly entertaining behind-the-scenes format. Daisy Jones & The Six is about fictional 70s rock band The Six, their relationship to the singer and eventual bandmate Daisy Jones, and how, as these things always do, it all fell apart.
Reid’s dedication to the behind-the-music documentary format is, honestly, one of the most impressive things about the novel. Taking on the challenge of building a completely fictional band, and writing all the “ground-breaking” music to go along with it, supposedly created during one of the most defining eras of rock ‘n’ roll, wasn’t enough. Reid also tells the story through the eyes of each character looking back on these days in a VH1-style episodic way. It makes for fun, fast reading that would be clunky and difficult to digest if written any less flawlessly. A forgiving format this is not. Reid pulls it off, and the reader doesn’t question how a guy, after decades of time has passed, can still describe a hotel lobby in perfect detail. Bravo.
As for the narrative itself, the best part is its focus on the female characters. Daisy Jones is an uber-sexy yet under-appreciated (and often uncredited) rock ‘n’ roll singer/songwriter, Karen Karen is the band’s keyboardist going through a drama of her own, and Camila Dunne is The Six’s lead singer’s wife with her own side of the story to tell. Not to mention a few female side characters who also get to have a voice in the story. Reid gives these women the space to breathe and be recognized for more than their association with a mostly male band. There’s so much more going on beneath the surface, and it’s a lot of fun to dive deep into their world.
I can assure readers that Reid neatly disposes of the cliché notion of a man in love with two women at odds with each other. Rock star and lead singer of The Six, Billy Dunne, is a bit stereotypical at times, but the women in his life, Daisy and Camila, are much more than the sum of their relationships to him. So much more, in fact, that I’d argue this isn’t really a story about him at all, but about Daisy and Camila. Maybe even, surprisingly, mostly Camila. It’s an extraordinarily refreshing take on this well-trodden territory. Reid gives all the characters, including Billy, so much nuance that you can’t help but be swept along in the current of their rock ‘n’ roll story.
That isn’t to say it’s not a story without a few flaws. I find Daisy’s independent confidence a little too convenient and clear-minded for a girl who is supposed to be very young and on drugs most of the time. It’s spelled out very plainly that she wants to be the captain of her own ship, men who want to use her be damned, but then goes on to make the same mistakes you would expect a character like her to make (marrying the wrong guy, too into drugs, etc.). While I heartily agree with the message here (how many real-life Daisys have there been, I wonder, where the men in their life take all the credit for their talent? TOO MANY, obviously), it’s still a little on-the-nose at certain points early on when Daisy is supposed to be flawed and just figuring things out. I’m also wondering a bit at Billy Dunne’s sobriety throughout almost the whole novel. Is that…realistic? Don’t get me wrong, I did find it comforting he could learn so fast from his mistakes, and his struggle is his whole arc, but…I don’t know. It feels too easy, sometimes.
Of course, an obvious flaw is that this is a book and you can’t hear the music they are writing about. Reid wrote all the songs (again, Bravo!), but it’s not the same experience as hearing them, is it? Fortunately, this will be remedied by the upcoming Amazon Video mini-series based on the book. I’m looking forward to seeing this novel play out on screen. I suspect, like the book, it’ll be a wildly entertaining ride.
Have you read Daisy Jones & The Six? Tell us what you thought of it in the comments below!
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