I’m with the Band: Daisy Jones and The Six

Originally posted March 2019

Thank god for books, the beautiful distractions they are.

I have been in no mood these past few days. The stories out of DC has been soul crushing to the point that even having the news on for 15 minutes makes me stabby. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “Daisy Jones & The Six” was a perfect place to stick my head and avoid the world.

This is not Reid’s first foray into the complications of love and its myriad definitions. In “Forever, Interrupted” Reid tackles the notion that grief over love is not something measured by time. With “Daisy Jones” Reid is tackling grief and love all over again, but in this case, it’s the loss of a love that can never be consummated. Of a love that is unrequited. Of love that is misunderstood. And love that never leaves.

Thanks to a deceivingly simple construct, that of an author’s interviews with band members, their family and their friends, “Daisy Jones” is an engaging, easy-to-sit-back-and-read-in-one-shot kind of book. Going back to the beginning with Daisy’s introduction to the Sunset Strip and The Six’s origins as the The Dunne Brothers, readers sail along the tumultuous history of one the biggest one-album wonders of the late 70s. The stronger stories, though, are the ones that lie beneath the surface of the fame and fortune bestowed upon the band. I didn’t want to put the book down because I wanted to know more about Karen and Graham. Because I enjoyed Warren’s joie de vivre. Because Billy was trying so hard for Camila. Because Simone was always there for Daisy. And because Daisy was so sad.

Oh, Daisy.

There’s so much about her that is relatable (not the blackout drunk and stoned out of your mind part — hell no, not that) — just that raging insecurity beneath layers and layers and heaps and heaps of talent.  That no matter how successful she was at any given time, she was desperate for something so close yet still completely out of reach.

The “author” becomes apparent toward the end of the book, and it adds a later of sweetness to the story, making me wish we had a little more of that person’s perspective.

I appreciated the setting in the late 70s if for nothing else than if this had been an 80s band I would have likely been distracted by the obligatory pop culture references. No, instead, this was sweet and vivid and makes me pine for a movie version so I could enjoy a Henry Cavill as Billy and I don’t know — maybe Natasha Lyonne as Daisy (“Russian Doll was the beast, y’all). Rashida Jones as Karen, and Gina Rodriguez as Camila.

Off to start a GoFundMe so I can produce this. And to make my husband write me a love song. Wish me luck. In the meantime, yes, read this. Good all-purpose distractor and a genuine love story.