Review: Daisy Jones & The Six
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3 stars. Crap. I really wanted to like this one. I admire the premise and respect the author, but this just felt like a big ol' bowl of bland mush to me.
This book takes the form of an "oral narrative," essentially a collection of related quotes from various players that tell the story. In this case, the "author" has "interviewed" the members of a famous fictional classic rock band from the 70s: Daisy Jones & The Six. We as readers hear firsthand about the formation of the band and its (this is not a spoiler) ultimate demise.
Under the umbrella of an obvious Fleetwood Mac retelling, there are some really serious and interesting themes explored: the power and intimacy of performance, the pain and emotion of hearing or writing music, the heartbreaking challenge of addiction, the intensity of unrequited love, etc. I enjoyed the author's ability to write succinctly and with style about all of this. I also appreciated the representation of a female character who wanted to take an "untraditional" path in her life.
I mean some of the passages about music hitting right and about clocking the person you’re attracted to and about the pressure of having to make sacrifices and Big Choices and stuff like that! So good.
However, like I said, it was bland, to me. It needed more pepper. I think this is a personal thing, but I desperately just wanted Billy and Daisy to communicate directly. I know firsthand how the line between hate and love can get blurry, but it's a pet peeve when so much can be solved and worked through with basic communication. And I GET IT - the point was that they communicated with their music. It just personally bugged me.
It also didn't seem very realistic in its depiction of three things: hardcore substance use disorder, creative differences in a famous band, and true love. The drug use is talked about seriously but I never felt like it was horrifying or a real threat to any of the characters. The clash of personalities in the band and musical jealousies were solved way too quickly. And the loyalty and trust of Billy's wife was WAY over the top angelic. What an obnoxious saint.
And, of course, as with her other books, the author wrapped this up in a neat little bow. Too neat. Ugh, I don't know, am I being too harsh? I couldn't put it down, that's for sure! And I did really love the way music was used and described and explored. My mind just really wasn't blown. On to the next.