Daisy: I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story. [loc. 393]
A rockumentary in the form of a novel, Daisy Jones and the Six is told entirely in interview format, featuring the voices of The Six, their erstwhile singer Daisy, and various friends, colleagues and lovers. It's set in the 1970s -- I was horrified to discover that this is tagged as 'historical fiction' by many on Goodreads! It can't be history, I remember those years! -- and examines groupie culture, creative differences and the fragile interface between emotion and art. There's a distinctly feminist mentality here, which Reid manages to convey without anachronism. Possibly that's because the story does focus on Daisy, and on several other excellent women (Karen the Six's keyboard player, Camila the band's founder's wife, Simone the disco star who's Daisy's best friend).
I found this an easy and enjoyable read. The voices of the various interview subjects are sufficiently differentiated to make the 'oral history' format read smoothly: there are also many delightful instances of mis- and re-interpretation (though one might ask why the individuals concerned didn't discuss these with one another, rather than waiting to be interviewed many years later). (Oh, wait, yes: rock stars.) Ego, narcissism, a classic love triangle -- as well as the predictable sex'n'drugs'n'rock'n'roll -- make this a credible and often amusing take on the Seventies rock-star lifestyle, and the tensions that can make or break a band.
Late in the novel we discover the identity of the interviewer: I found this an interesting twist while reading, but now wonder what purpose it serves.
Soon to be a TV series -- I may actually watch it.
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