"It felt like they were ripping their hearts out on national TV."

This novel represents the history of the fictional band 'Daisy Jones and The Six'. told like an interview in lieu of a documentary. The narrator tell the story through the years, with interviews spread throughout. It takes a bit to get used to the stylistic choice (Reid said she was inspired to write this while watching documentaries about the rise and fall of famous rock bands) but once you're immersed the pages fly by.

We are first introduced to Daisy, a rich girl with famous parent who wants to be taken seriously. She enters the LA groupie scene, starts doing drugs and sleeping with rock stars. Then there is The Six, originally The Dunne Brothers, formed by Billy and Graham, then joined by other instrumentalists. Each are on their own trajectory until they are put together to collaborate on a song.

This sparks a demand for more and soon 'Daisy Jones and the Six' is formed, with Billy and Daisy writing the lyrics, and the other supplying instrumentals. The push and pull between these two artists is the driving force behind the novel. They are too similar, they get each other but they don't get along. Billy is married to Camila and soon becomes a father to 3 daughters. He tries his damnedest to stay on the right path, but Daisy incites the worst in him. Daily is a train wreck , choosing bad men, alcohol and drugs to deal with life.

"I wish someone had told me that love isn't torture."

The question the novel poses is: why did the band split up? It takes us from the beginning to their last show, peeling back layers and asking difficult questions. I love how some of the band members give different answers to some questions, giving the story nuance and proving how unreliable memory is. Or how we change the memory to fit our narrative.

I have complicated feelings for Daisy. I love that she's her own person, that she does what she wants, asserts herself, fights for her art, puts her bleeding hart into her lyrics. I hate that she is so weak that she turns to alcohol and drugs to get her through the day. Her relationship with Billy left me reeling because I just didn't know what to feel about it. It's all so messy and everyone is the good guy and everyone is the bad guy at the same time and it's simply... life. It's just life and it happens and we make choices. Hindsight is a curse because it is only then that we see what we should have done.

"No matter who you love they will break your heat along the way."

The supporting characters add even more nuance: Graham and Karen's doomed relationship, Daisy's amazing friend Simone, the resentful Eddie who always felt he deserved more say  and more credit in the working of the band, Warren and Pete who were indifferent, who knew the band was only a phase in their lives, who didn't take it too seriously.

It's a novel about life, love and music. About people who feel too much, who need something to dull the pain and the love because they cannot cope with the immensity of the world.