Daisy Jones and the Six

By Sophia Doshi

Daisy Jones is a beautiful idea to idolize but never a person you'd want to be. Maybe the music, the talent, and the freedom are enticing, but is the loneliness worth it? The brokenness? Daisy Jones is the kind of girl that little girls want to be until they realize that her happiness comes from a concoction of substances, and her only friend lives on the other side of the country, which is a difficult life to live. She's caught in a whirlwind she mistakes for living, whereas she is slowly killing herself throughout the book–The Six is like a parasite that sucks her livelihood away, especially Billy Dunne (and I say that name with poison on my tongue). Just because it's fun doesn't mean it's good. Real party pooper I am.

If you plan on reading the book, I highly recommend doing it with an audiobook. You'll hear the story, which is a narrative/interview-style progression, told by a full cast of voice actors.

Daisy Jones and the Six is a beautifully unique piece of literature that gives an incredible look into a fictional rock band's musical and personal dynamic. Each character has been fleshed out so that you feel they've always existed. I feel like I know Daisy Jones like I know Stevie Nicks; I know Billy Dunne like Robert Plant. Ironically, Nicks and Cobain were musical artists who suffered greatly at the hands of the music industry, as well as love. "Silver Springs" and "Heart-Shaped Box" are two heartfelt and raw looks into what love is; it is anger and heartbreak; it is obsession and yearning.

Daisy is an enigmatic character in her universe. She probably believes that she is the center of the universe, contributing to the quarrels she always has with Billy. But that turns around toward the end of the book when both Dainsty and Billy finally admit that they're equal parts good, bad, and broken. And they would destroy each other, naturally, which I'm sure they ended up doing when Camila charged Julia (her daughter) with finding Daisy for Billy after Camila passed. That was bittersweet, but could it have been destructive for the two of them?

In addition to the undertones of poisonous love and coming together amidst all circumstances, the book portrays the women in it as strong and empowered. Daisy demands credit, she demands to be seen, and she demands to be heard. Of course, men during the late 60s and early 70s did not like that, but she made her mark regardless. And Reid didn't pit the women against each other, instead writing the female characters to have relationships informed by empathy and support. Even Camila and Daisy, who have every right to hate each other, are cordial and respectful of each other.

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Reid also explores the idea of addiction in a visceral, complex way that does not blame the victims but gives them hope for recovery. She writes in a dynamic of pushing and pulling between the desire to partake in substances and unrequited, toxic love. I feel as though there is a metaphor buried in the use of substances for both Billy and Daisy, a symbol of loneliness and constant pull towards chaos. Literature and media glamorize the use of drugs and consumption of alcohol but Daisy Jones and the Six paints a different picture of it. Reid also channels the narratives of bad–no, horrid–parenting and how it affects their children. Daisy grew up with parents who despised her, and held no regard for her well-being. Billy, on the other hand, grew up without a father and constantly tried to run in the opposite direction of his father, but he's really just running in a circle. All of his preventative tactics are just turning him into the man he avoids so prudently from becoming. And poor Camila wears rose-colored glasses (literally and figuratively) to try and see past all of Billy's flaws and issues with control and substances and... Daisy.

Daisy defines her happiness through spontaneity and impulsivity, but it doesn't make her truly happy. She may not even have a definition for happiness. She seeks solace in fleeting moments that aren't permanent, as seen with her marriage to Nicky and her move to the hotel. Daisy chases after things that she can never truly grasp: her art, her music, her love interests, her chaos. She reaches but is held back by her fear of grabbing hold of something that could force her to confront her deep-rooted pain, pain that will materialize for her when she sits down and simply thinks. Her internal chaos is a survival mechanism that helps her cope, but it just kills her.

In the end, how far will people go to escape their pain and past? Will they use so much that they need to check themselves into rehab and miss the birth of their first daughter? Will they suddenly flee the country and marry someone bad for them? And can someone love so hard that their addiction to their love interest turns into a substance-like addiction, or is all addiction the same?

I know a book is good when it makes me think deeply about things that you wouldn't expect from a book of its nature. I suppose Rock and roll is, in some ways, sex, drugs, and music, but Daisy Jones and the Six is much more than that. Their characterizations are so realistic that you feel like you could reach out and touch them. "Regret Me" is like "Silver Springs" (Fleetwood Mac), "Two Against Three" is like "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" (The Smiths).

I felt like a rockstar after reading this book. 9/10.

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