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A review by mollysmith1313
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
4.0
This book was so different from any other book I’ve read. It’s a novel about a fictional 70s band in LA, and it’s written like an oral history. I actually found an “oral history” style of writing really neat. I’m a huge subtitles reader anyway watching any documentary. The characters are well written, because I liked and disliked things about all of them, and I had to constantly remind myself none of these people were real. It is heartbreaking when certain characters are their own worse enemies. And it was cool unexpectedly connecting with certain lines as I came across them.
For example, at one point Karen says, “It was a man's world. The whole world was a man's world but the recording industry...it wasn't easy. You had to get some guys approval to do just about anything and it seemed like there were two ways to go about it. You either acted like one of the boys, which is the way I had found. Or you acted real girlie and flirty and batted your eyelashes. They liked that. But Daisy from the beginning, was sort of outside of all that. She was just sort of ‘Take me or leave me.’” I am a female that has spent most of my working years surrounded by men, and I stopped to think about this line for a while. How much I relate or don’t relate with it. And Karen’s story in general broke my heart, even if her character claims she has no regrets. But I can’t even judge her that hard because I relate to some of the very real fears she had about making different decisions and the consequences she was sure she would have to live with.
Another line in the book that made me pause was from Billy, “…Confidence is being okay being bad, not okay being good.” For me personally, being confident comes mostly from being comfortable and knowledgeable about something—in a sense, “being good” at something enough to speak about it like I know something. This line in the book turned that idea a little upside down and reminded me confidence is also holding your head high and believing in your gut that you will get to a better place eventually, even if that does mean getting through the really “messy” parts of living and getting better at something. I don’t like Billy as a character for so many reasons, but this line did make me stop and think!
I’m really glad my copy of the book included, “A Conversation with Taylor Jenkins Reid.” It helped me consider themes and characters in new ways. I can’t see myself reading this book over and over, but I do recommend reading it if you love reading about LA culture and reminiscing about the music scene in Laurel Canyons and the Sunset Strip in the 70s or thereabouts.
For example, at one point Karen says, “It was a man's world. The whole world was a man's world but the recording industry...it wasn't easy. You had to get some guys approval to do just about anything and it seemed like there were two ways to go about it. You either acted like one of the boys, which is the way I had found. Or you acted real girlie and flirty and batted your eyelashes. They liked that. But Daisy from the beginning, was sort of outside of all that. She was just sort of ‘Take me or leave me.’” I am a female that has spent most of my working years surrounded by men, and I stopped to think about this line for a while. How much I relate or don’t relate with it. And Karen’s story in general broke my heart, even if her character claims she has no regrets. But I can’t even judge her that hard because I relate to some of the very real fears she had about making different decisions and the consequences she was sure she would have to live with.
Another line in the book that made me pause was from Billy, “…Confidence is being okay being bad, not okay being good.” For me personally, being confident comes mostly from being comfortable and knowledgeable about something—in a sense, “being good” at something enough to speak about it like I know something. This line in the book turned that idea a little upside down and reminded me confidence is also holding your head high and believing in your gut that you will get to a better place eventually, even if that does mean getting through the really “messy” parts of living and getting better at something. I don’t like Billy as a character for so many reasons, but this line did make me stop and think!
I’m really glad my copy of the book included, “A Conversation with Taylor Jenkins Reid.” It helped me consider themes and characters in new ways. I can’t see myself reading this book over and over, but I do recommend reading it if you love reading about LA culture and reminiscing about the music scene in Laurel Canyons and the Sunset Strip in the 70s or thereabouts.