CBR11 Bingo – Canonballer Says
This book has been popping up on ‘must read’ lists, and in bookstore displays all year, but in reading the description, I wasn’t sure it would be my jam. But then it was on the new releases shelf at the library, and there had been a couple recent 5star reviews here (Jen K, Manimama, and ardaigle), so I tossed it in my pile on a whim.
The book is laid out like a VH1 Behind the Music interview, with snippets of comments from various band members, producers, friends, etc, all flowing together. At first I found it distracting and off-putting, but it didn’t take long for me to get into the groove of reading it.
The story follows a 70’s rock band, The Six, and what happens when their path crosses with an up and coming singer, Daisy Jones. It’s a pretty standard story about what the 70’s rock scene was like – sex, drugs, booze, music. I’m not sure there was anything about that part of it that was overwhelmingly unique. But I loved the way that she wrote some of these characters and the emotions they were going through. Some could have been given more airtime and focus, but overall I think she did an amazing job at describing the horrible feeling that is unrequited love, of desperately searching for your identity, of trying to be true to yourself even if it means not conforming to the expectations of others. She wrote about family and sacrifice, addiction, hope, reconciliation, second chances, forgiveness, and redemption. It’s because of this human aspect that I really really enjoyed this book. ….and I can’t wait for someone to record these songs, because it’s bound to happen.