Daisy Jones & The Six

The story is told in sound bytes, like the transcript to a documentary film. For me, the pull of this book is that its format allows the reader to experience firsthand the extreme highs and lows of being a 1970s rock star. Yeah, there are drugs. And sex. A lot of drugs and sex. But lead singer Daisy Jones and the band she’s paired with have messy lives with real, off-stage problems that will draw you in: two surprise pregnancies, ambivalent parents, an accidental marriage to a European prince, shit-faced mistakes, and necessary sobriety. Sometimes, music is the answer. And—as… show more.

Part of me has always wanted to be a girl like Daisy, one who will walk barefoot through the streets of LA and just trust that she won’t get tetanus. Alas, I keep my shoes on. But that’s why reading about Daisy Jones is so much fun. Her innate talent, beauty, and powerful charisma might be enough to propel her to stardom anyway, but she does not settle for being just another pretty singer, pushing her writing, ambition, and her voice to their scratchy, stretched-out limits. I could read this again and again.

Cue the music. That’s what you’ll want to do after reading this book. Then, you’ll be disappointed to learn that Daisy Jones and The Six is a fictional 1970s rock band. Yep, that’s how good the writing feels. Structured like a music documentary transcript, the most compelling parts of the story come from the personal accounts of the bandmates. Although the book has a love story at its center, this introspective inside view of the side characters gives this novel its true rock and roll heart and soul.

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel is so brilliantly crafted that I had to keep reminding myself it was fiction, not fact. Written as a collection of interviews of a 1970s band, this story is propulsive and complex and filled with such fascinating details of the music business and the interpersonal band relationships. Come for the music, stay for the passion—and the phenomenal writing.  

A Fleetwood Mac devotee, I couldn't help fall for this book whose flawed and fabulous band characters are at the heart and soul of the story. Reid swears it's a fictional group, but you will find yourself wondering if she's having us on. It's that real. And so absorbing, it's a page-turning palooza. Ambition, success, friendship, desire, betrayal, disillusionment, and true love lie below the surface of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.