Taylor Jenkins Reid obviously enjoys exploring the consequences of fame. She has transported readers to 1950s Hollywood in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and onto the competitive courts of a professional tennis player in Carrie Soto is Back. My latest adventure into the Reid universe was Daisy Jones & The Six – an interview-style, retrospective story following the meteoric rise and abrupt fall of a fictional 70s rock band. The book offers a unique writing style with intentional unreliable narration, excellent plot progression, and commentary on the fallacy of fame.
“Men often think they deserve a sticker for treating women like people.”
Daisy Jones & The Six stands out amongst an endless selection of books because of its interview-style writing. I have tremendous respect for Reid because I can’t fathom the difficulty of creating an entirely fictional interview discussing an entirely fictional history of events. Reid admits in a discussion with the Random House Book Club in the back of the 2020 edition of the novel that she “realized [she] had no idea what [she] was doing,” and “[she] had to relearn how to tell a story” (Reid, 359). I didn’t detect Reid’s uncertainty in the slightest while reading the book. She had already nailed mixed-media writing with fictional newspaper clippings in The Seven Husbands and sportscaster snippets in Carrie Soto, so I’m unsurprised by her success with Daisy Jones & The Six.
“I don’t believe in soul mates anymore and I’m not looking for anything. But if I did believe in them, I’d believe your soul mate was somebody who had all the things you didn’t, that needed all the things you had. Not somebody who’s suffering from the same stuff you are.”
The book’s plot pacing is the best I have read in recent memory. Reid introduces the two protagonists in separate storylines, allowing the reader to learn about both Daisy’s and Billy’s independent musical careers before seamlessly merging them into the band Daisy Jones & The Six. It skyrockets to fame while the members face intense personal demons. Reid spends the perfect amount of time building tensions in the beginning and middle of the novel, which makes the band’s dramatic dissolution completely believable to the reader.
“All I will say is that you show up for your friends on their hardest days. And you hold their hand through the roughest parts. Life is about who is holding your hand and, I think, whose hand you commit to holding.”
I enjoyed reading about the flawed characters in Daisy Jones & The Six. They struggle with drug and alcohol abuse, absent parents, imposter syndrome, infidelity, parenthood, love, and loss. Reid injected an interesting twist into the story by intentionally creating unreliable narrators. One character will recount a memory slightly differently than another character. The reader questions the reliability of all the stories being told in the interview, which adds a layer of complexity to the book. My one critique of the characters actually stems from the writing style; the reader is unable to peek into the thoughts and feelings of the characters because of the book’s interview format. For example, when the band members struggle with the death of an important person in their lives, I didn’t feel sad and moved on quickly; the dead person didn’t participate in the interview because the character had already passed away by the time the interview was being taken, so I didn’t get the person’s point of views or opinions. Additionally, the other characters didn’t verbally share enough details about their relationship to the person. In other words, Reid didn’t inject enough emotional depth into the story to make the death feel like an important loss. Although its interview format limits some emotional depth, the book has compellingly flawed characters and a clever use of unreliable narration.
“I think you have to have faith in people before they earn it. Otherwise it’s not faith, right?”
Reid is consistent with the central theme of her novels. Fame ushers in good financial fortune, but it doesn’t erase your struggles. Daisy Jones’ fans see a beautiful young woman with a stunning voice. She’s wealthy, travels the world, and vacations in incredible destinations. She dates handsome and talented rockstars. The other popular band member, Billy Dunn, is handsome, magnetic, husband to a beautiful wife, and the father of adorable children. Daisy and Billy appear to be thriving within their fame, but it’s just a mirage. Daisy’s parents are neglectful, which creates a constant desire within her to be noticed and gain approval, many times from manipulative men. I won’t spoil any important plot points regarding Billy’s story, but his seemingly-perfect family life is actually riddled with mistrust and disappointment. Fame doesn’t fix your problems – it can often exacerbate them.
“I wish someone had told me that love isn’t torture. Because I thought love was this thing that was supposed to tear you in two and leave you heartbroken and make your heart race in the worst way. I thought love was bombs and tears and blood.”
The unique writing style of Daisy Jones & The Six will draw you in, but you’ll continue reading for the complex characters and even-paced plot. You probably won’t become as connected to the characters as you would have if the book was written in a traditional style, but you will still cheer them on as they succeed and wish you could embrace them as they fail. In our current digital age, fame seems widespread and desirable, but Daisy Jones & The Six reminds us that it isn’t a salve for physical and emotional issues, and that the people we have placed on pedestals have probably made many mistakes on their way to the top.
You might like Daisy Jones & The Six if you enjoy:
- Reid’s other novels, particularly The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- Books discussing fame
- Historical fiction
- Novels with flawed characters
- Mixed-media or unique writing formats
Buy a copy of Daisy Jones & The Six at the following links:
Check out the synopsis and reviews on Goodreads
Follow the author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, on Instagram
Hobbies & Happiness 
Leave a comment