Daisy Jones And The Six! (Mindscape Reviews!)
Posted On May 31, 2019
Hi Readers! I am proud to say I have binge-read another book this weekend which makes it the 15th book of the year! And, without a doubt, it was the best one of the 15. As you all know, I tend to keep switching between books & also read 4 to 5 books at the same times. I give a book 100 pages. If it doesn’t get interesting within the first 100 pages, I get bored & I give up on it. But, ‘Daisy Jones And The Six’ got me impressed within the first 20 pages!
Go on & read my review!
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~~INTRODUCTION~~
‘Daisy Jones And The Six’ is what you can call historical fiction but in the most intriguing fashion possible. It’s like reading a documentary about the best band there ever was. Daisy Jones is someone who is popular for nothing in particular, until she finally starts singing & writing songs. The Six consists of 6 members of the band. They have a lot of talent, but not as much fame as Daisy. So, together, they become a perfect combo.
It starts off with different chapters wherein there are story lines happening for Daisy & The Six parallely until the stories finally merge & the outcome is a beautiful song named ‘Honeycomb’.
Thereon after, they realise, one is not complete without the other. They need their combined talent to create something really epic. This is how ‘Daisy Jones And The Six’ come into existence. From the beginning of the novel, as individual musicians until the end as a Band, it’s an extraordinary story which will make you want to come back for more.
It is simple. It is intense. It is glorified. It is magic. It is 70s rock n roll!
~~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~~
This is the first ever book that I read of Taylor Jenkins Reid & I have one word; Brilliance! I have never read anything in such a different composition in a novel. While it has a lot of subtle every-day humour, it also captures the most intense of the emotions. It feels like I was a part of their journey from 1965 till 1979. It’s a story with a lot of characters & the way she has written on account of them all is fabulous. Everyone has different personalities & it’s so easy to see that. And to be able to write such a complex story with so many different personalities from one person is simply quite amazing! I have never seen such character development portraying moments of weakness, power of family, intense unrequited love, jealousy, talent & so much potential from the characters as well as the story!
~~CHARACTERS~~
The main characters are Daisy & The Six, which includes Billy Dunne, Graham Dunne, Warren, Karen, Eddie & Pete. Of The Six, minor ones would be Warren, Eddie & Pete.
Daisy Jones is this enigma of a person. She is the most badass & unapologetic woman which fits in so well with her brat status & the 70s background. She will do whatever the hell she wants, take her as is or forget about her.
The founder of the band & also the singer & song writer from The Six is Billy Dunne. He has a huge personality as well. There are a lot of aspects revolving his character. He is quite an arrogant & selfish man who never takes credit for his shit. Fine, he’s talented but that doesn’t give him the right to bulldoze over his band members. You go from liking to disliking him quite quickly. He acted like a leader with zero leadership skills. There are other aspects to him as well which includes his lovely wife Camila, his addiction to drugs, alcohol & heroin, his sobriety, his fatherhood. Just a lot of things for such a flawed character, but I suppose that is the point of it.
Graham Dunne is Billy’s brother. He is mostly shadowed by Billy throughout the course of the band. My personal favourite is Warren. He is the most chilled out person in the band. Since it’s a band, there is always a lot of drama going on, and he is just away from it. That’s what I loved about him. Karen is the only female in the Band until Daisy joins them. She is her own woman & doesn’t take shit from anyone. Eddie is the kind of person who could be easily replaceable & yet he has ego conflicts with Billy. But the good thing about him is that he is dedicated to the band & would forgo all the conflicts as long as he gets to play his music. Pete is not much in the scene. He comes in, plays, goes back.
There are other characters as well. Simmone is Daisy’s best friend who always stands by her. There is Teddy who represents the Record company & is always supportive. There are other behind-the-scenes people of the band. There is Camila who is Billy’s most awesome wife. There’s Chuck who used to be in the Band before.
There are a lot of people in this story & that could get confusing, but since it is so well written, that’s not the case. Not once will you be wondering, “Wait, who is this person?” Not only will you be aware of all the characters, you will also have a favourite minor character! Another best thing is that all the women are such fierce & inspirational ladies, be it Daisy, Karen or Camila! So, yes, there are a lot of people, and you will end up sharing a precious unexplainable bond with all of them!
~~STORY LINE~~
I am sure you must have got an idea of what the book is about. This is the novel which I have truly loved, after a lot of time! This is why I have ranted on for so long! Well, what can I say! I’m just a girl, standing in front of a book, asking it to be truly awesome!
‘Daisy Jones And The Six’ is a story of a young girl finding herself through music. It’s a story of a band giving meaning to their life through music. It has it all. From their truest individual selves to becoming a Team & then falling apart. It has everything you can imagine. It has a passion story. It has a possible love story. It has an impossible love story. It has a sobriety story. It has a failure story & also a success story. It is the perfect story!
~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~
I have rated this book at 4.5/5. I am a very choosy & picky & judgemental reader. I am the reader who is always on the lookout of flaws & imperfection in a story, just so I can bash it out here, but not this one. It’s just too good. I truly wished it came with an album of all the songs mentioned in the book. And, I was at my happiest when I found all the lyrics of the songs at the end of the book! I have felt the emotions which the characters have felt. The intensity of singing on stage in front of thousands of people about your own life, without ever showing weakness but also portraying it in the song! The urge to stop Billy from drinking that shot which will ruin his sobriety! The hopeless state in which Simmone was when she saw Daisy ruining her life but couldn’t do anything! The epic badassery level at which Daisy was at that time!
It is simple. It is intense. It is glorified. It is magic. It is 70s rock n roll!
~~QUOTES~~
There is a lot to love about this books. But, there are some dialogues or pieces that are flawless. I didn’t make image quotes for all of them, so here are a few (a lot):
· I wore what I wanted when I wanted. I did what I wanted with who I wanted. And if somebody didn’t like it, screw ‘em.
· You could hear her smile in her words.
· I was drawn to him mainly because he was drawn to me. I wanted someone to single me out as something special. I was just so desperate to hold someone’s interest.
· I run hot and I always have. I am not going to sit around sweating my ass off just so men can feel more comfortable. It’s not my responsibility to not turn them on. It’s their responsibility to not be an asshole.
· Imagine achieving your wildest dream and feeling empty inside.
· You’re an underdog for so long and then one day you’re not. And when you start to feel real success, when you start to feel large and all that, you have to stop and ask yourself if you think you really deserve it.
· I hurt. So I wrote about it.
· Handsome men that tell you what you want to hear are almost always liars.
· Denial is like an old blanket. I loved to get on under that thing and curl up and sleep.
· You’ve taken a big, black, bold line and you’ve made it a bit gray. And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, There was a line here once, I think. I have overflown all of the love I had for this book into this post.
So, my dear readers, please go & read this. It will be the best thing ever!
So, my dear readers, please go & read this. It will be the best thing ever!
Until next time,
About The Author
Aishwarya Shenolikar
Hello! I'm Aishwarya, an Introverted bookworm & writer. I have been reviewing books since 6 years on my blog - Mindscape in Words. My favourite genres are Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers, Magical Realism, Poetry, Fantasy & Memoirs. I like the kind of books which evoke emotions on several levels leaving me wrecked, but also incredibly content. I'm dreaming for the world to paint a landscape full of words, more like Mindscape in Words. Hope you enjoy the view.