Daisy Jones and the Six Book Review and Character Overview

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

2019

Historical fiction, Literary Fiction

Warning! Spoilers!

Daisy Jones and the Six follows the rise and fall of a band set against the backdrop of the early years of Rock.

Despite seeing Daisy Jones & The Six on bookstores shelves and bestseller lists, I had never really looked into the book. While I enjoyed my time reading Daisy Jones & The Six, I'm happy I went in without expectations.

As someone unfamiliar with the late 60s and early 70s era of rock'n'roll, I found the band and setting completely believable. Reading Daisy Jones & The Six is an immersive experience.

The characters all feel human, something the interview format only advances. Even though the book is essentially dialogue, I can’t imagine the story being told any other way.

Rating 3/5

The novel is filled with a cast of amazingly written characters, so I decided to put together a list of what I loved about each character, including some of their memorable quotes.

Billy Dune is the main singer and songwriter of the band. His struggle with addiction was compelling and his character felt overly real. Billy is portrayed as narcissistic and controlling by other members of the band, yet he never saw things this way which made his portions incredibly interesting to read.

Daisy Jones is such an amazing character, I’m not sure if I’ve ever read another quite like her. I loved how her older self didn’t shy away from describing all her partying and drug abuse, and her instability as the novel goes on creates such a distinct tone. I don’t think I have the right words to describe how much she draws you in.

My favourite line of the book is a lyric from a song that Daisy wrote: “When you think of me, I hope it ruins rock’n’roll” (221)

Karen Sirko is probably my favourite character of the novel. She offered great insight to how women were treated in the music scene of the late twentieth century. Her struggle for control as an artist, and how becoming pregnant destabilizes that, brought much needed emotion to the book.

“I was scared of bringing an unwanted life into this world. I was scared of living my life, feeling like I’d anchor myself to the wrong dock. I was scared of punching myself to do something I did not want.” (283)

Eddie Roundtree was a necessary character to provide a much needed contrast and tension to the novel. I liked how his character showed the band as unstable due to a power dynamic that isn’t as obvious in Billy’s or Daisy’s dialogue.

“Man, Billy was in such denial of what a bulldozer he was to the rest of us.” (93)