By Dominique Tassell
If you’re a fan of nostalgia, the old-school drama in rock and roll bands, and incredible writing, boy do I have the novel for you.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid follows the fictional band of the same name, from their whirlwind rise in the 70s through to their mysterious break-up.
It follows the enigma that is Daisy Jones, and how she collided with rising band The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne.
The novel is told through interviews many years later, and shows that when you ask a group of people about the exact same situation they all have a different perspective on it.
It’s the kind of novel you’ll want to read over and over again, and probably take to with a highlighter.
Taylor Jenkins Reid has proven to be an absolute force when it comes to storytelling, with a knack for writing perfectly human characters and in particular women.
She creates a world so vivid you’d be absolutely forgiven for thinking you somehow forgot about a real-life band called Daisy Jones & The Six.
Her novels have gained huge acclaim, and are currently being snapped up for book-to-screen adaptions.
Daisy Jones & The Six is being adapted into an upcoming Amazon Prime miniseries, set to consist of ten episodes. Filming has already finished.
The show stars Riley Keough as Daisy Jones, Camila Morrone as Camila Dunne, Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne, Suki Waterhouse as Karen Sirko, Nabiyah Be as Simone Jackson, Will Harrison as Graham Dunne, Josh Whitehouse as Eddie Roundtree, Sebastian Chacon as Warren Rhodes, and Tom Wright as Teddy.
In large part, the cast is perfect. My only concern is that the 11-year age gap between Camila Morrone and Sam Claflin will be far too obvious. I get that they might be showing the characters at different ages (fingers crossed for documentary-style interview scenes) and that Sam Claflin does scream Billy Dunne in a lot of ways, but he might be a smidge too old to play him.
Either way, I’m incredibly excited for the series to come out.
It will be amazing to see the story come to life, and with Phoebe Bridgers working on the soundtrack (yes, that whole section of songs at the back of the book is coming to life) it’s sure to be amazing.
Daisy Jones and the Six is available at Southern Downs Regional Council libraries, as are the novels Malibu Rising and Forever, interrupted also by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
*TW: the book does contain strong themes, including excessive drug use and addictions.
