Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Daisy Jones and the Six
I typically never read books twice. If I’ve already experienced a story, I normally find the re-reading experience to be less exciting–the first read, with all of its surprises, will always be the best. This, however, was not the case with Daisy Jones and the Six.
The novel, written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, depicts the rise and fall of a fictional rock band in the 1970s. Because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed many of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novels (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising, etc), I had no doubt that Daisy Jones and the Six would be equally entertaining. The first time I read the book occurred over one or two days of winter break blues where reading was the only activity the weather permitted. This was last winter and I admittingly sped through it — its interview style and fast pace allowed me to do so. But, overall, I enjoyed it. To me, it was a seemingly Fleetwood Mac-inspired story of the close relationships of a band told from the perspective of the band members themselves. In short, it was entertaining and complex enough that I felt it was worth my time. I put the book back on my bookshelf, mentally crossed another book off of my Taylor Jenkins Reid list, and that was that. Finished.
I began hearing of a Daisy Jones Amazon Prime series shortly after last winter. Upon seeing the initial cast photos and first released songs, I was intrigued but nothing more than that–how could I be overly excited if I spent two days in total with the story? The photos weren’t exactly how I had imagined the band to look anyway.
The moment I came home for spring break, I revisited my bookshelf and found Daisy Jones and the Six placed between other random books I’ve read in the past. Having been placed on “Daisy Jones Tik Tok” I was persuaded to dive into the series. With a free week ahead of me I was ready to begin the series, but I refused to do so until I gave myself a refresher on the novel. I reread the book within two days again, but this time allowing myself to pay full attention and love every second of it. After finishing it (and moving it up to my #1 favorite Taylor Jenkins Reid book — sorry Evelyn Hugo), I began the series but was almost immediately turned off by its lack of similarity to the book.
In my opinion, the most significant difference between the series and the book is its narration style. The book is told fully in interview style, with each character depicting what occurred years prior from their own (faulty) perspectives. Though there are “scenes” within these interviews, there is much more commentary from the modern-day versions of the characters. The interview style allows for much more error in the recounted events, and, in turn, much more open interpretation for the reader. Some narrations entirely conflict from character to character, leading the reader to believe that whatever “occurred” may have not actually happened as we hear. Additionally, once Julia (the daughter of Billy and Camilla Dunne) is revealed to be the interviewer, it leads readers to believe that the band members may have censored themselves further given the nature of the interviews.
In the series, we as viewers are guided by the flashbacks rather than the ‘current’ perspectives of the band members. Though the interviews do prompt whatever flashback is being recounted, the show mostly relies on the actual events that occurred–leaving much less up for interpretation. By doing so, the series is inevitably more “juicy”— no censored information, just the raw events. We no longer have to rely on narrators but rather are guided by their current feelings towards the occurrences with supplemental commentary.
I initially held onto the book and rejected the differences that the series posed. However, with time and viewing more episodes, I quickly realized that the show and book, though different, are somewhat complementary to each other. Any gaps that Taylor Jenkins Reid left for readers to fill in are sufficed by viewing the series, while additional character development or other tidbits can be found within the book’s pages. In all, I loved both the series and the book and completely understood the “hype” surrounding the story. Now, my only question is the following: when is the Daisy Jones and the Six world tour?