I’ve been in Southern California this past week visiting my parents. My hub was here for awhile and we rode bikes, which was fun and scenic. Thanks to rain this past winter, it’s much more green here than in years past. My folks still live in the same house from when I was in first grade, if you can believe it. It’s in part of the “Inland Empire” area between Los Angeles and Palm Springs and boasts lots of lovely citrus and avocado trees, and gorgeous views of the mountains. It’s a nice, peaceful place to visit, and warmer than our Canadian environs, so I can’t complain.
Despite being here, I did not attend the huge Los Angeles Times Festival of Books over the weekend, which is the largest annual literary festival in the country with more than 150,000 visitors. I’ve always wanted to go but never quite made the trek and I sort of wonder if I’d be swallowed up by it and not spit out. Still, Rebecca Makkai won the L.A.Times Book Prize for fiction there for her novel “The Great Believers,” which I plan to get to. Speaking of literary prizes, congrats to author Richard Powers for winning this year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his epic environmental novel “The Overstory,” about the life of trees and the people who understand them. Judy over at the blog Keep the Wisdom loved it and I’m curious sometime to test it out. “The Overstory’s” win gives a big boost to eco-novels everywhere, so I’m excited about that.
Meanwhile I finished a couple books lately that have been bantered about this year. First, I listened to the audiobook of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel “Daisy Jones & the Six,” about the rise and fall of an iconic 1970s rock band. Did you think I’d miss it? I grew up on classic rock in the ’70s and ’80s and have consumed a steady dose of various rock star memoirs and their lives of sex, drugs, & rock ’n roll. My brother still gives me a new rock bio each Christmas — whether it’s of The Doors, or Eric Clapton, or Robbie Robertson, or Janis Joplin, or whomever I’ve likely been glued at one time to their stories. If you like such tales, then this one is worth checking out.
As you might have heard, “Daisy Jones & the Six” is a novel written in an interview format that unfolds like an oral history of the band with all its various members and managers giving input into what happened. I found its structure really conducive to experiencing the novel as an audiobook. It follows chronologically and all the various characters — of which there are quite a few — are played by different people so you become familiar with their voices and they seem to really take on their roles. Their dialogue too plays off each other in a cool way. By the end, I was pretty convinced the band was real and the individuals were all apart of it … but alas, no, this is a novel after all. So I had to wake up and snap back to reality.
The story revolves around a band that reminded me a lot of Fleetwood Mac. There’s the core group out of Pittsburgh that begins with two brothers, the Dunne brothers, Billy and Graham, along with four other musicians, who come to make up The Six. Then in an interesting way a free-spirited young woman, Daisy Jones, joins the band when they move out to L.A. Like Fleetwood Mac, the band includes two female members: singer-songwriter Daisy and the keyboardist, Karen; there’s also at times similar infighting and in-sleeping among the group’s members.
Lead singer Billy, who’s trying to hang onto his sobriety and marriage, and new member, Daisy, at first differ a lot on artistic directions of songs, their words, and styles, but over time come to thrive on writing songs together. They have a creative chemistry, perhaps in my head a bit like Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, or Lennon & McCartney for that matter. But while, author Taylor J. Reid says her inspiration for the band was a group like Fleetwood Mac, she also says such bands like the Eagles gave her much fodder to work with for the details, especially in their pitfalls. And believe me, Daisy and the other members have their share of drugs and misadventures.
It’s no secret Billy and Daisy’s band in the end break up, it’s set up that way from the beginning, but you wonder along the way how or why it happens. They hit a huge pinnacle of success after the band’s album “Aurora” comes out (a bit like Fleetwood Mac’s blockbuster “Rumors”), but then little cracks begin to deepen. The story takes a couple turns that kept it fresh enough, though you’ll probably guess the particulars. For the most part, I found the novel an enjoyable romp through the ’70s music scene and the life of a band. I liked the various characters and voices who made the story come to life via the audiobook. While a few parts might have been a bit cheesy, on the whole I was sad by the band’s end and nostalgic for those ’70s days when such music and stars reigned supreme. I hear the author might someday bring these characters back. What do you think, will there be a sequel, or just a movie?
Next up, I read Susan Choi’s novel “Trust Exercise,” which is a more complex book than any “Daisy Jones.” It’s broken up into three parts … overall it’s about teens at an esteemed performing arts high school in the 1980s whose teacher, Mr. Kingsley, puts them through some intense exercises and long production days, which will affect them and they’ll remember in different ways for the rest of their lives. The first part is told pretty straightforwardly about their high school days, and two teens in particular, Sarah and David, who get involved in a sexual relationship that is on again, off again, when Mr. Kingsley tags them for some of his class exercises. Uh-oh. Shortly after, an English-exchange troupe arrives at their school, and Sarah and her friend Karen get involved with two of the older guys from it.
Then it cuts to Part 2: which shifts to a dozen years later and to Karen’s point of view of her past at the school and in the present of her contact with the other alums. This section confused me with its use of Karen in the first person, as well as third person narrative, and I was like whaaa? But I kept going. In Part 2, Karen returns back to her hometown where her former classmate David is putting on a play, and in which she, Sarah and Karen’s former English beau get involved with. Uh-oh it’s the four of them again, confronting their old high school ties and days … in a final act that turns into a doozy. The book ends with a short coda from another character, only indirectly related.
It’s a novel that doesn’t exactly make you want to go back to high school again — with all the angst, hormones, embarrassment, and power plays at hand. The adults don’t seem to be acting any better than the kids, and the power and abuse in it are disturbing. I was reminded of people’s #MeToo moments. It offers up various characters who seem to remember things and confront their memories about those times differently.
It’s an ambitious novel with a lot to think about and the author writes well, but I didn’t find it exactly enjoyable — because of the flawed characters and place for one thing — nor was it an easy read. There’s not much dialogue or paragraph breaks in it and the narrative changes threw me a bit. You have to work for this one! Still Susan Choi is a talented writer with plenty of insight and turns of phrases about high school life and these characters that gave me enough to make it worth it. I’m sure her novels in the future will continue to challenge readers like this and push the envelope so to speak.
*Thanks to Grazia at Henry Holt Books for sending me a copy of “Trust Exercise” to review.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read either of these books and if so, what did you think? Lastly, I just want to pass along my utmost sympathies to the people of France and everyone for the awful fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral. I just couldn’t believe it, so horrible to hear. We had passed the Cathedral last summer on our trip. Feels emotional to see such flames on such an iconic, historic and beloved place.
I thought the audio of Daisy Jones was VERY well done but the book fell flat for me. It was fairly obvious Reid was inspired by Fleetwood Mac. My problem with the book was there just wasn’t enough plot – I felt like I’d been built up for a grand ending and was rather disappointed with what I got. I’m definitely in the minority, though.
Your visit with your parents and Trust Exercise both sound terrific.
Hi Kathy, you make good points about the Daisy Jones book. I’m glad I listened to it on audio as it’s performed well; I wonder if the book would’ve been more flat for me. I hear what you’re saying about the build up to the grand ending. I think it had enough for me but I can see where others would think not.
It looks like you had a very nice trip. It is good to come home sometime.
I want to read Daisy Jones & the Six. I am also a lifelong Rock fan. I may have mentioned this before, but I also want to read Salmon Rushdie’s The Ground Beneath Her Feet, which is also about a fictional Rock band. Rushdie is surprisingly also a fan of Rock.
Thanks Brian, the trip home has been really good. I’m glad you reminded me about the Rushdie rock novel. I must find a copy. I have not read it and now I am very curious about it. I had no idea Rushdie was a fan of Rock.
I will be reading both of these books! Daisy Jones for a reading group in June and Trust Exercise as soon as I can get a copy from the library. Choi does write challenging books but I have been wowed every time, though I am curious why she chose high school as a starting point this time. I guess I will see.
I’m glad you got to see the glory of our spring down here after all the rain. My yard is like a little piece of heaven right now.
Notre Dame–oof. So much beauty and history in that building, but reminding us that nothing lasts forever. I hope they can restore it.
Yes! Richard Powers and The Overstory winning the Pulitzer. I am overjoyed. You must read it.
Great Judy, I can totally relate to your yard as a piece of heaven. The bloom in SoCal right now — even in the desert is amazing! Pretty days, indeed. I wonder what you will think of these two books? Especially the music one, since that was your life. It might be too predictable, or not be strong enough for you but we will see. It’s not exactly The Overstory, ha. Choi seems to have a thing about high schools and apparently her novel is based a bit on the performing arts school she attended in Houston, which she mentions in her acknowledgments. Hmm.
Aaaaah….Southern California! I always feel such a nostalgic pang for it. I went to college there and could have easily spent much more of my life there, but married a man whose career took us other places. Still I love it. That’s incredible that your parents are still in the same house you grew up in. (You might enjoy The Other Americans by Laila Lalami which is set in and around 29 Palms.)
Glad Daisy mostly worked for you and that the audio was good. I loved that book so much that I’m planning on going back and listening to it this summer. Finally, bravo to you for making it through Trust Exercises! I just couldn’t do it, but also tried while on my trip, so the timing wasn’t great.
Have a great week.
That’s wonderful Susie: I’m glad you’re back. I’ll have to stop by your site to see how Portugal went. I agree Trust Exercise wasn’t exactly an easy read & it can be difficult when traveling to read such books. I did like the audio of Daisy Jones, which I actually listened to twice to get it all. It’s cool you went to college in SoCal. It’s always a great place to visit. I might check out Lalami’s novel for the setting especially. Thx for stopping by!
Thanks for the great reviews, Susan! I’m probably going to end up skipping both books, although I’m still waffling a little on Daisy Jones. The reviews for Trust Exercise seem to be all over the place.
The Great Believers is very good… think you’ll like it. I want to try The Overstory, but also feel a little intimidated by it.
Hi JoAnn: Thanks for the word on The Great Believers. I do want to get to it and try The Overstory as well. I’m a bit intimidated too but need to try it. I think it’s probably wise for you to skip the novels above as they might not be a good fit for you. And there’s too many books, too little time to get to. Enjoy your reads!
I am reading Daisy now but had to put it down to finish There There, which was very, very good. I plan to pick up Daisy again tomorrow.
i did no attend the Festival. I didn’t have much of a morning to give to it…only a couple of hours and it’s too big of an event to only visit for such a short while. So, I skipped it. However, what you said about getting spit out… it is overwhelmingly large to deal with now. Hard to get tickets for the various speakers, etc. Which mean you are left with shopping which I can do at any local store.
Hi Ti, thanks for the word about the LA Times Book Festival. It sounds gigantic – something one really needs to plan for ahead of time, which I haven’t done yet. I’m glad you are reading Daisy — look forward to your thoughts on it. I liked There There though there were a lot of characters to follow.
I hadn’t heard that Richard Powers had won the Pulitzer — hooray! The Overstory is excellent. It is extremely well researched and the cast of characters impressive. If I wasn’t already a tree/plant person, this would be the book that would decidedly make me one. I meant to send you the NYT’s By The Book interview of Powers a couple of weeks ago (March 29). I especially thought his praise of Marilynne Robinson (he would choose her to write his biography) was eloquent. This book went out of print before the holidays after being caught up in the printing press shortfall caused by, among other things, the promotion of Michelle Obama’s book. I hope they have a huge stock on hand now!
I enjoyed your pics of the hometown!
Thanks Sarah: your words give me hope to try out The Overstory. I think some are a bit intimidated by it — just maybe the scope or narrative or subject matter. Though I like eco-novels and am all for the life of Trees so I hope to get to it. So many books on my stack; I’ve really gotten behind, argh! Keep giving me reports of your reads. thx
I didn’t want Daisy Jones to end! I’m curious about the audio- were the songs performed? That would be fun!
I tried with Trust Exercise but that book made me mad. I agree that the second part is a doozy, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make me like the book.
Are you back home for awhile? Or getting ready to travel again?
Hi Catherine, yeah too much travel lately. I’m back now for good until mid-June. I can see where one would not like Trust Exercise and I had trouble with it as well. Kingsley and some of the other characters were icky to me, though a lot weird sh*t happens in high school and it sort of reminded me of that … and the odd time between adulthood & late teenage-ness. As for Daisy, the audio is Awesome …. but I don’t recall them performing the songs in it though I noticed there’s a playlist on Spotify for the book but it includes only songs by real artists. I sure thought the Band & its tunes were real at some points.
I’m curious about Trust Exercise.
I read Daisy Jones, but I suspect that I might have enjoyed it more as an audiobook.
Have a great week.
Hey Laurel, I think the audiobook might have been the best route for Daisy Jones. Trust Exercise was a bit of work but the author is a good writer. Thx for stopping by!
I am trying Daisy Jones and the Six, but really because of book blogger peer pressure and everyone talking about it. I already am not enamored of the format, but we’ll see. 🙂 Oh…and the Susan Choi novel? A hard, hard pass. Just no. I’m working right now on fairly light books, because so much going on personally (not all bad, just a lot) and politically (all bad, not much of a silver lining except with the new, young representatives, in my not-so-humble opinion that I don’t share at work because I can’t).
Hi Bryan, I really liked Daisy Jones as an audiobook but not sure if I would’ve liked it as much as a print book with its format. The Choi novel takes some work so if you’re reading light books now, then this is not it. Hope things calm down for you. all the best.
This Spring has been bountiful in plenty of places. It’s been years since I remember such frequent rain.
Great review of Daisy Jones, Susan, 🙂 especially because you bring to the fore your knowledge of those real bands, their emblematic albums, and the pitfalls that befell them. It seems that, despite the not so likable storyline from Trust Exercise, is a nice complement to Daisy Jones… I’m not sure if I’ll be able to accommodate Daisy Jones this year, though I downloaded a sample, but I’ll definitely keep it in mind for later. 🙂
Thanks Carmen, I guess it’s a bit fun to review rock ‘n roll kind of novels. It means a lot coming from you that you thought my review was pretty good. I’m glad I tried Trust Exercise as the author does write well but the story didn’t make those high school years look very good, yikes.
I love your review of Daisy Jones & The Six, I cant see how a sequel would work though. I will definitely be watching the mini series.
Thanks, my review seems a bit long now. There’s a mini series coming? That’s good to know. It seemed quite a visual story so I’m sure that was in the making after it became quite popular. I’ll look for it.