A review by archaicrobin
Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
What I love about Taylor Jenkins Reid, is her ability to create these powerful characters that actually feel like real people you might have heard of. Daisy Jones and the Six reminded me of those chaotic, drug fueled bands of classic rock that fizzled out for mysterious reasons that my Dad loved to watch documentaries on. Reid has a gift of building an era an era and immersing the reader totally. Malibu Rising is my favorite novel of hers because it’s set in a Southern California beach town in the 90s, and it’s written so well that I felt like the characters were growing up with me in SoCal! It was complete nostalgia for me! It’s this skill with characters and setting that keeps me devouring her books!
While Daisy Jones and the Six is my least favorite of her novels so far, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and HIGHLY recommend the audiobook! The story is written in an interview format, so having different narrators on the audio made it even more real and I know reading interviews would not have been as immersive.
Why did I give this 3 stars? Mainly for two reasons. Firstly, this is written as an interview similar to Evelyn Hugo, except in Daisy Jones and The Six it is ALL interview. There is no introspection or look into a character’s mind the same way you would in a traditional novel. Due to this I didn’t feel as attached to the characters as I normally would, so when a character made a stupid decision or a twist occurred it was much less impactful for me and a little predictable which leads me to my next big problem with this novel.
It was too predictable, because it follows the same formula as Evelyn Hugo, minus the details. Amazingly beautiful girl with shitty parents strives for greatness, meets a powerful man already a big name in the business, Rocky relationship ensues with more than one guy, greatness achieved is essentially achieved, but also tons of unforeseen tragedy. And if you read Hugo, you know the end of that book has a big twist in regards to the interviewer/journalist. The same twist occurs in Daisy Jones and The Six, making it’s impact for me nonexistent. All I thought was: wow, again? The end was also terrible in my opinion and reminded me of a sitcom that had the same horrific ending that fans hated, including me. The predictability in this novel made it ok for me, but not what I would consider great. If you want a nice palate cleanser, or an easy read I’d suggest this audiobook, but if you’re looking for a page turner or something unique I’d pass on Daisy Jones.
While Daisy Jones and the Six is my least favorite of her novels so far, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and HIGHLY recommend the audiobook! The story is written in an interview format, so having different narrators on the audio made it even more real and I know reading interviews would not have been as immersive.
Why did I give this 3 stars? Mainly for two reasons. Firstly, this is written as an interview similar to Evelyn Hugo, except in Daisy Jones and The Six it is ALL interview. There is no introspection or look into a character’s mind the same way you would in a traditional novel. Due to this I didn’t feel as attached to the characters as I normally would, so when a character made a stupid decision or a twist occurred it was much less impactful for me and a little predictable which leads me to my next big problem with this novel.
It was too predictable, because it follows the same formula as Evelyn Hugo, minus the details. Amazingly beautiful girl with shitty parents strives for greatness, meets a powerful man already a big name in the business, Rocky relationship ensues with more than one guy, greatness achieved is essentially achieved, but also tons of unforeseen tragedy. And if you read Hugo, you know the end of that book has a big twist in regards to the interviewer/journalist. The same twist occurs in Daisy Jones and The Six, making it’s impact for me nonexistent. All I thought was: wow, again? The end was also terrible in my opinion and reminded me of a sitcom that had the same horrific ending that fans hated, including me. The predictability in this novel made it ok for me, but not what I would consider great. If you want a nice palate cleanser, or an easy read I’d suggest this audiobook, but if you’re looking for a page turner or something unique I’d pass on Daisy Jones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Abortion