I think you have to have faith in people before they earn it. Otherwise it’s not faith, right?
Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six, a women’s fiction book
I picked up the auidobook version of this women’s fiction novel from my library based on a recommendation from an awesome bookstagram friend.
First, I was still coming off of the Evelyn Hugo haze, another contemporary/historical fiction novel from this author.
Second, I love me a good audiobook performed by a cast. The cast on this one included Benjamin Bratt and Judy Greer. (Archer, anyone?)
Third, I always take bookstagram recommendations seriously because really. My bookstagram peeps know what they’re talking about. (If you’re on Instagram, follow me so we can talk about books!)
The 1970s
So that’s how I fell into this book, because this story is not for me at all. I don’t do rock and roll. I don’t do the 1970s. I know. I have a weird aversion to the 1970s like I have a weird aversion to beds in corners but there is something about the 1970s that suggest chaos and dirt, and my analytical self cannot handle it. So I avoid the 70s. (Don’t tell my husband who was born in 1979 and is also blond, another thing that bothers me and yet I married him.)
So back to the book – I listened to this book whenever I freaking could. If I had ten minutes, I listened. I listened in the shower. I listened in the car. I would listen anywhere!
Here’s Why I Loved This Women’s Fiction Book
Here were the two things that snatched me right in –
First, the cast. As I mentioned, I love a performed audiobook. There is something dynamic about a story that bubbles to the surface when the audiobook is performed rather than narrated. The cast here was brilliant. The voices fit the characters, but it was the delivery of the story through the individual characters that made this the absolute cherry on top of the sundae. Heck, throw on some extra cherries because that’s how good this was.
Each character would relay the story from his or her perspective in his or her voice. This did two things. It showed how the same events could be understood in two completely different ways, and through this understanding, the characters were revealed.
Character Development in Women’s Fiction
The instance that stuck out to me the most was the different tellings of the wedding of Billy and Camila. One character talks about her showing up in a white t-shirt and the other one says she came in this gold crocheted top. They are totally different outfits, but their description match the characters telling the stories and showcases the perception of each of the characters. It’s exquisite. You start to peel back the layers of these characters until you feel like you’re friends with them. It’s so intimate you think you’re doing something wrong.
Camila
The second thing is Camila. This women’s fiction book is called Daisy Jones & The Six. The set up is that the author is recording interviews to put together the biography of rock star Daisy Jones. Daisy Jones appears to be the center of the story. Camila is the wife of Billy, lead singer and guitarist of The Six before Daisy Jones comes on to the scene. Camila comes in and out of the story at various times as Billy struggles with fame and addiction and being forced to work with Daisy.
Camila is the woman you wish you were ten years ago and the one you hope you are ten years into the future. She’s got her stuff together, she knows herself, and she has the strength of an ox. She doesn’t get emotional in situations that are drowning in emotion. Instead, she stares them dead in the eye and does what’s best for her and her family.
But you don’t realize Camila’s power until the very last moment.
As always, I don’t do spoilers, so I can’t reveal what happens here, but I want to say how Reid delivers the death blow that is Camila’s greatness is so finely tuned it had me stopping the recording and backing it up to hear it again.
In my pervious Reid read, Evelyn Hugo, I saw the twist coming. Here – it blindsided me right into confusion and back out again. My breath caught in my throat, my stomach heaved, and once my brain caught up, I cheered.
Camila is perfection.
So even if you don’t do rock and roll, drugs, or the 1970s, you must read this women’s fiction book just so you can cheer for Camila.
Don’t miss my post on The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo also by Reid.
Have you read Daisy Jones & The Six?
Let us know in the comments, but please – no spoilers!
