It's been way too long since Alexa and I collaborated on a new feature and I'm excited to share that we'll be re-reading 4 books together this year. The first, which we're sharing today, was Daisy Jones and the Six! It was the perfect first re-read of the year since we were both very excited to watch the TV adaptation that was released last month. Which is why we're going to talk about our re-read and the show!
Re-reading Daisy Jones & The Six
The first time I read Daisy Jones & The Six was in 2019 when it was first released. For our re-read, I decided to try something different and listen to the audiobook since I had heard so many great things about it. From the moment I started listening, it was easy to see why! It captivated me from the get-go and having a full cast of voice actors truly elevated the reading experience. In fact, I would say that given a choice between the two, I'd recommend the audio over the physical book (or you could be like me and own both!).
As for the story itself, it completely held up for me. Even though it's a familiar tale—rock band rises to fame only to come crashing down thanks to a mix of drugs, alcohol, and drama—what made this particular book stand out, then and now, was its nuance. The characters are deeply complex and well-written. They're a group of flawed individuals who are trying to make the right choices, and oftentimes failing, while pursuing their love of music and navigating fame. The interview format also really works as it allows us to hear all the different points-of-views. The first time I read it, I remember thinking this could be easily translated to screen and listening to the audiobook only made me that much more excited for the TV show.
Watching the mini-series
I'll just get straight to it—the book is a million times better than the TV show. If you're a fan of the books, then you're more than likely going to be disappointed by the adaptation (as I was!). Don't get me wrong, I think the cast was perfect (particularly Sam Claflin, Riley Keough, Camila Morrone, and Nabiyah Be) and quite a few of the songs made it onto my playlist but it was missing that nuance I mentioned earlier about the book. Instead, the show chose to lean into certain cliches and made changes that I think took away from the complexity the characters originally displayed in their choices. That being said, I did like some of the changes, particularly giving Simone a much-deserved backstory and I loved that Camila had more agency as well (although there was one part I could have definitely lived without). Luckily, the show did keep most of the major turning points from the book (thank goodness!) and I was entertained enough that I wanted to watch every episode but overall, it just wasn't what I hoped it would be.
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TL;DR → Listen to the audiobook and if you choose to watch the TV show, set your expectations really low and look at it as a separate entity from its source material.
Don't forget to check out Alexa's blog to see what she has to say!
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