“I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story.”
Right from the beginning, Taylor Jenkins Reid makes her readers aware that this is not a story that will ever be forgotten. Daisy Jones & the Six has held the reading community hostage since its release, and it's no wonder why. With its theatrical release premiering later this week, Olivia Blank revisits the novel that started it all.
Our story starts with Daisy Jones, a twenty year old making a name for herself on the Sunset Strip. She lives an electrifying life of sleeping with rockstars and sneaking into clubs, but it's the music that truly sets her soul on fire. At the same time, a new band called The Six have begun their steady rise to the top. After their first headline tour, The Six are ready to return to the studio to begin work on their next record. But when their producer lacks confidence in the album, he suggests featuring Daisy on the lead single. What happens next will leave a mark on the music industry that can never be erased.
Written in the form of an interview, Daisy Jones & The Six follows the tumultuous journey of a fictional band rising to fame in the 1970s. Everyone knows the band, but the behind-the-scenes story has never been revealed — until now, decades after their breakup.
“It was about drugs and sex and love and denial and a whole mess of stuff.”
When it comes to the marvellous storytelling abilities of Reid, this book is no exception. The story of these characters is so enthralling, it is hard to believe that this book is only a work of fiction. Reid has managed to create a band so realistic, that readers find themselves scrambling to find their discography just to remember it doesn’t exist. The story is filled with such intense emotion, that it consumes your every thought. Reid avoids romanticising the music industry of the 70s and shows the truth behind it. The highs and the lows, the glamour and the heartbreak. In my opinion, she did a beautiful job at accurately depicting the era of rock n’ roll.
Since the release of this book, there have been many comparisons made between Daisy Jones & The Six and other artists of the 70s, but the most common comparison has been Fleetwood Mac. With the resemblance in band dynamics as well as the bewitching energy both bands possess, the British-American band of the seventies is the most obvious comparison.
It won’t be much longer that these songs and characters will exist only in our imagination. On 3rd March, the television adaptation of Daisy Jones & The Six arrives on Amazon Prime Video. Readers like myself are beside themselves with excitement that this captivating story will exist not only between the pages of the book but also on screen. So pull out your record players and bell-bottoms, and get ready to live out your rockstar fantasies!
Daisy Jones & the Six will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on 3rd March 2023.
Words by Olivia Blank
(@olivias.musings on IG)
Edited by Lucy Eaton
(@llucyeaton on IG)