Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid is an intimate look at a fictional 70’s rock band that truly lives up to the holy trinity of hedonism: Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. The story starts with an unnamed narrator who has interviewed soloist Daisy Jones, all the band members of The Six, Camila, who is the wife of the lead singer, Billy Dunn, Daisy’s best friend, Simone, plus managers, reporters, photographers, hotel staff, etc. The interviews are pieced together chronologically to tell the story of the “whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup.” 

I love a good epistolary novel. Daisy Jones & The Six provides this insight through the interviews. I highly recommend the Audible version which had a fantastic cast including Daisy Jones, read by Jennifer Beals; Billy Dunne, read by Pablo Schreiber; Graham Dunne, read by Benjamin Bratt; Karen Karen, read by Judy Greer; and, Camila Dunne, read by January LaVoy; It was an immersive experience listening to these talented people.

While listening to the book, I went to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s website. At the bottom of the page, there is a link to download the Fanclub Kit. This is fantastic! It has the setlist, list of tour cities, song lyrics, and the infamous album cover for Aurora, the album that Daisy and Billy Dunne wrote together. There is also a group reading guide. If you love the book, you will want to check this out.

Daisy Jones & The Six won the Historical Fiction category for the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Books of 2019. As a teenager of the ’70s, it is a little hard to swallow that those years are now considered “historical”. 5-stars. Long live rock ‘n’ roll!

and now for the Recipes For Readers selection: Peanut Butter Cookies