Daisy Jones and the Six (Review)

Reading Daisy Jones and the Six is like reading the juiciest secrets of a band you’ve never heard of.

But then, somehow, by the end it feels as if you’ve known the characters the whole time. Not necessarily as a fan of the band, but as a friend of theirs, almost as a member.

Daisy Jones and the Six is the story of how the famous band came together, made amusing music, and fell apart. It’s about rock n’ roll in the late sixties and seventies, real and fictional.

Picking up Daisy Jones, I told myself not to compare it to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Both Taylor Jenkins Reid books have gotten a lot of hype. Daisy Jones has unquestionably been riding on the popularity and praise of Evelyn Hugo, which helped this book get a lot of attention it may not have had otherwise.

I questioned whether Daisy Jones could fill the large shoes of Evelyn Hugo. I didn’t want to compare the two, not only because they were different stories with different characters in different eras, but also because Evelyn Hugo is easily one of the top books I’ve read this year. Going into Daisy Jones with the expectation that it would become yet another favorite seemed unfair.

But…inevitably…the two were compared.

“The Chosen ones never know they are chosen. They think everyone gets a gold carpet rolled out for them.”

Let’s be frank: Was Daisy Jones as good as Evelyn Hugo?

No.

Is Daisy Jones still a really good book?

Yes.

But there’s a caveat to that.

I’ve seen a ton of great reviews for Daisy Jones and a few negative ones. The good ones are usually very good and the bad ones are pretty bad. I understand both.

At first, I picked up Daisy Jones as an ebook. I got pretty far in (it’s a short book) and was disappointed. I was struggling to picture the characters and tell them apart. With the interview style, all the reader has is dialogue, and I was hard-pressed to imagine voices and faces I felt would fit the characters, especially with such sparse descriptions. I had to pay close attention to the dialogue tags but was still confused as to who everyone was and their roles in the band. This made it almost impossible for me to connect to the characters.

But I had a feeling that my reading experience was not giving the book justice. I was determined to feel better about a book by an author I had so recently fallen head over heels for with Evelyn Hugo.

Now, let me tell you two things that I rarely do: 1) repurchase a book I’ve just bought. 2) listen to audiobooks.

But I repurchased Daisy Jones as an audiobook and started over. It was the best decision I could have made.

I noticed, when I looked at the reviews, that the negative ones are usually from people who physically read the book. The positive ones are, more often than not, from audiobook listeners.

That’s because this book should be read as an audiobook. I feel so strongly about this, that I almost think there should only be an audiobook option.

Coming from me, that’s saying something.

Because Daisy Jones is written entirely as interviews, it’s basically a ready script, which is then brought to life by a full cast. But not just any full cast. Jennifer Beals and Judy Greer, are just two of many star voices in this recording. Reid’s own husband even voices a small part!

Usually, if you’re lucky enough to get a full cast for an audiobook, the main character may be great but the other characters, especially the minor characters, are sub-par at best. But even the people with only a few lines in Daisy Jones were spot on. 

“I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse.

I am not a muse.

I am the somebody.”

This just makes the story into what it should be. It allows the reader to see Taylor Jenkins Reid’s ability to capture voice and create fully-rounded, flawed, and believable characters that give you insight into an alternative history that feels very real. The story encompasses you until you find yourself wanting to look up the band’s songs the same way you may have wanted to look up Evelyn’s movies. I craved to hear the music all the time while reading.

Incredibly, the audiobook comes with an instrumental version of one of the songs, ‘honeycomb,’ after the credits. You’ll miss out on hearing the single if you have a physical or ebook copy, but will have access to lyrics for a handful of their other songs. I loved this little detail and was excited to realize I had both. The touch concludes the story nicely, throwing in that extra pinch of realism. I’d urge you, if you’re reading, not to spoil yourself and to wait to savor the music at the end once you’ve got the whole story.

My favorite part of Daisy Jones was the way Reid plays with the idea of truth, a concept that is brought up blatantly at the beginning of the book. Daisy Jones and the Six have finally agreed to sit down and do a tell-all, truthful interview, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all their stories are the same. I appreciated the extra layer this brought to the drama and characterization, but I also loved how it added a fair amount of humor. I found myself smiling and even laughing out loud a few times as one character would say exactly the opposite of another, both asserting their versions of events were the truth. The full cast really helps to bring these funnier moments to life with perfect delivery.

“This book serves as the first and only time members of the band have commented on their history together. However, it should also be noted that, on matters both big and small, sometimes accounts of the same event differ.

The truth often lies, unclaimed, in the middle.”

I’ll admit, however, that most of the way through Daisy Jones, I was not singing its praises. It was a classic and somewhat stereotypical story of addiction and rock n’ roll. I’ve seen other negative comments about the topic (“Why do all rock n’ roll stories always seem to feature so much alcohol, drugs, and sex??”) and I see where they’re coming from, although I personally think the issue speaks to the times and the lifestyle that many stars really did experience (not that I’m an expert by any means!). I also didn’t find Daisy Jones to be a particularly hard-hitting or profound story of addiction. It doesn’t do much for the subject that other books haven’t explored before (and many, better). But I still think that the story is a true enough depiction. I never felt the events of the story were done in bad taste.

I did, however, often find myself thinking that the story was predictable. Although there was plenty of drama, I was not surprised by anything that happened. But just at the very end, when I thought ‘nothing in this book will surprise me,’ it did. It had just enough of a twist to prove me wrong. Was it as shocking as Evelyn Hugo? Absolutely not. But it was enough to prove me wrong, and for me to enjoy the book that much more.

“Acceptance is a powerful drug. And I should know, because I’ve done ’em all.”

Daisy Jones is a story that will be familiar to some but gives a little more with the unique format and the ability of Taylor Jenkins Reid to create characters and histories that feel as if they truly existed. Because of this, I rated it 4 out of 5 stars. I think that those who enjoy rock ‘n roll stories and sixties- and seventies-era books should definitely pick this up. Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will more than likely also enjoy her newest release. I would suggest Daisy Jones to die-hard fans of Evelyn Hugo, but warn them not to compare the two, or expect Daisy Jones to be another Seven Husbands.  

Most importantly, I would recommend to anyone looking to pick this book up to read the audiobook, even if they’re a physical-copy-purist like me. If I’d only read the book, without listening to it as well, my rating would have probably been more in the 3-star range, which is quite a difference.

Because of my love for the audiobook, I was also excited to find that Daisy Jones, is being made into a miniseries, produced by none other than Reese Witherspoon! I assume (and hope) the series will be mockumentary style, which seems easy enough to adapt from the interview style. With the miniseries will come original music. Fans of Daisy Jones rejoice!

Now if we can just get an adaption for Evelyn Hugo…