Taylor Jenkins Reid is an American author. She was born in 1983, in Maryland.

Reid graduated from Emerson College in Boston and majored in media studies.
She began her career in film production and worked as a casting assistant in Los
Angeles. Then she found her voice in storytelling and got a book deal.
Nevertheless, she says that her on-the-job experience in Hollywood has
contributed to how she tells a story. She is mostly known for her "famous
women quarter" including “Daisy Jones & The Six” and three other novels.“The
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”, “Daisy Jones and The Six”, “Malibu Rising”
and the presumed final book “Carrie Soto is Back”. Taylor writes about strong,
independent and fame-seeking women. She explains this by saying that the
mechanism of fame is often under-analyzed. People tend to notice only the
bright part of a celebrity's life. Writing about famous women allows her to talk
about the way all females have to form their two selves: who they really are and
who they pretend to be. Taylor admits that her novel “Daisy Jones & The Six”
springs up from running through the songs of the real rock band "Fleetwood
Mac".
The plot of "Daisy Jones & The Six" follows the rise and fall of a fictional rock
band of the 70s. The title of the novel comes from the name of a female
protagonist, a talented young singer and the name of the rock band she
cooperates with. The story is told through a series of interviews with the band
members and other people related to them, as well as through transcripts of
recordings and articles which adds an authentic effect. In addition to Daisy, the
story has a male protagonist, the talented guitarist, songwriter and singer Billy
Dunne. When the two meet, they are both struggling with their problems, their
music being an outlet of their personal troubles. They begin collaborating and
contribute greatly to making their band one of the most successful of their time.
However, the more famous they become, the more tension rises within the band.
Daisy and Billy get into a stormy romantic relationship, while the other band
members gradually feel distanced from them. The band ultimately breaks up
after a disastrous concert, and the musicians go their separate ways.
As for the character set we should without a doubt start with the main characters
Daisy Jones “Music can dig, you know? It can take a shovel to your chest and
just start digging until it hits something” and Billy Dunne “It hurts to care
about someone more than they care about themselves”. You've got a rich white
girl growing up in L.A. She's gorgeous even as a child. She has these stunning
big blue eyes, dark, cobalt blue. She's got copped-red hair that is thick and wavy
and takes up so much space. And she's got an incredible voice that she doesn't
cultivate, never takes lessons. She was born with all money in the world, access
to whatever she wants, artists, drugs, clubs, anything and everything at her
disposal. But she has no one. Two parents who are so into their own world that
they are all but indifferent to her existence. As it turns out, both of them used to
be neglected as kids, despite the fact that they come from different social
backgrounds ( Daisy was literally born with a silver spoon in her mouth, while
Billy had to share his guitar with his brother because his single mother couldn't
afford to buy another musical instrument). In fact, Daisy and Billy are model
soulmates. They are both extremely talented, passionate, strikingly attractive
and will always have things their own way. One more thing that they have in
common is the dreadful addiction to alcohol and drugs. Being so generously
gifted, they often fail to see the significance of self-perfection, hard work and
self-sacrifice. Moreover, their arrogance prevents them from understanding the
importance of cooperation within the band, mutual respect and support. Blinded
by their own success, they become the only soldiers on the harsh battlefield of
rock music so they can't go on with their struggle.
Other characters of the book include the band members, their producer, and
Billy’s wife Camila. As for the musicians, Graham Dunne “If you redeem
yourself, then believ in your own redemption”, Billy's younger brother and the
bassist, should be mentioned first. Despite being quiet and even reserved, he is
also rather talented. Karen Sirko, the keyboardist, is the person to bring a unique
sound to the band’s music. “Men often think they deserve a sticker for treating
women like people.” Throughout the novel these two have a complex
relationship that involves creative tension and personal dynamics. They also
have a deep respect and admiration for each other, but they’re never able to act
as a couple. Warren Rhodes “Some people just don’t threaten each other. And
other people threaten everuthing about each other”, the drummer of the band,
is a hard-partying womanizer. Eddie & Pete Loving are rhythm guitarists.
I should admit the band members , accept Billy as their leader, they value his
opinion. At the beginning they’re ready to put up with his addiction,his
sobering, his family issues, but eventually they get annoyed by their total
dependance on his egotism, eccentricity and lack of self-control.
The person who brought the two lead singers together is the recording producer
Teddy Price. He’s a professional in finding talents and shaping them into the
world-famous stars. Teddy is not only a record producer but also a father figure
to both singers. Neither Daisy nor Billy are on good terms with their own
fathers, and they’re both seeking approval and mentorship which Teddy
provides them.
I can’t but mention Сamila Dunne, Billy’s wife. She is that type of character
that you can't help but fall for and connect even when you might not have
anything in common with her. Being the complete opposite of her extravagant
husband, she is on the one hand strongly attracted by his charisma, on the other
hand she is not blind to see his numerous drawbacks. However, she possesses a
wonderful gift to believe in the better side of his personality. With the heart as
big as hers she can forgive and forget, support and console. She works ard on
their relationship as she is sure she deserved to have a happy family. “I think
you have to have faith in people before they earn it. Otherwise it's not faith,
right?”
If to talk about problems raised in the book, I’d like to concentraet on jealous, at
first. One example is between the main characters. Billy become jelous of
Daisy’s growing popularity and attention she recieves from fans and the media.
He starts to feel overshadowed by her and that his role as a frontman of the band
is being threatend. This lead to the struggle to find a way to work together.
Another issue the writer draw s readers attention is family issues take, parental
neglect, estranged relationships and the impact of family trauma. All problems
consider, it makes a big impact on how characters see the world, and how they
deal with obstacles on their way. One more issue to contemplate is addiction.
All the band members from time to time indulge themselves with drugs but they
manage to keep it under control. But I cannot say the same about the lead
singers Billy and Daisy. Unlike Billy, Daisy became addicted to drugs at a
young age. Her weakness for drugs is fueled by her desire to escape from the
pain of her traumatic childhood and fear of abandonment. Whereas Billy
became addicted to heroin as a way to cope with the pressure of fame. But not
only a songwriter but also his wife Camila would have to reap the drawbacks of
addiction.