Hot off the press
A spotlight on lives untamed and different
The latest fascinating fiction reviewed
Daisy Jones & The Six ***** by Taylor Jenkins Reid
(Hutchinson, £12.99)
Fabulous, flawed and with a voice like a fallen angel, the fictional Daisy Jones (think Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac) was a 70s musical icon and an It girl with the kind of beauty that stopped traffic. Taylor Reid Jenkins tells the insightful, engaging story of the barefoot, sincere and soulful Daisy who craves creativity as much as she craves the drugs that underpin her wild girl lifestyle.
She starts as a solo singer but it’s joining The Six, an on-the-up rock band, that changes everything, making her and the band superstars. But it comes at a cost as Daisy’s carefree hedonism careers into something more wayward, and fame, heartbreak and addiction take their toll.
Composed as a series of powerful interviews with family, friends and band members, Taylor Jenkins Reid tells an explosive story of drugs, bad decisions, songs that slay and the sexual tension between Daisy and lead singer Billy Dunne. It’s a “will they, won’t they?” scenario which takes in volatile emotions, competitive egos, heartfelt lyrics and the sort of bad behaviour that leave scars on everyone involved.
The tension between them is especially fraught as Billy, a recovering addict, is determined to do the right thing by his long-term love Camila. But he can’t ignore the frisson between himself and Daisy.
Taylor Jenkins Reid is brilliant at capturing the tensions and jealousies between band members and their entourage, and the way people remember the same situations in entirely different ways.
She also sensitively explores addiction, complicated questions of love and loyalty, the pressures of creativity and the grim emotional realities behind the glamorous life of a star. This is a gorgeous novel and a ravishing read.
Lanny ***** by Max Porter
(Faber, £12.99)
Max Porter’s wonderful second novel is inspired by folklore, taking an unusual approach to storytelling. Set in a village in the London commuter belt, it enigmatically describes the fallout when a young child goes missing.
Lanny is a lovely, out-of-the-ordinary child, full of madcap ideas and creative schemes, who freely wanders the woods and fields surrounding the village. His parents Robert and Jolie, who moved from the city for rural peace and quiet, consider him to be perfectly safe.
But the woods hold dangers for the unwary. Chief among these is the legendary figure of dangerous Dead Papa Toothwort, who stalks the seasons looking for something unlikely and unusual in the rural surroundings. Lanny, odd, extraordinary Lanny, became the focus of his avid attention. And now Lanny can’t be found.
Porter’s prose is mesmerising. It’s lyrical, enchanting and terrifying, giving voice to a cast of characters who describe what’s happening as the police and the media arrive, the village and the woods are searched and people are questioned, including elderly Peggy, who is attuned to all the neighbourhood goings-on.
Lanny’s parents, desperate and afraid for the safety of their son, are treated with suspicion, as is Mad Pete, an elderly, internationally famous artist who comes under harsh scrutiny due to his friendship with Lanny and their shared artistic bond.
It’s a brilliantly claustrophobic read but also incredibly eerie because the uncanny culprit is a decidedly tricky customer, as Peggy knows only too well: “I know you. I know what you’re up to. Give the boy back.”
Reasons To Be Cheerful *** by Nina Stibbe (Viking, £12.99)
In Reasons To Be Cheerful the delightful Lizzie Vogel returns, the heroine of Nina Stibbe’s previous comic novels. This time round, it’s 1980, Lizzie is 18 and about to leave her ramshackle home and her mother’s erratic parenting for a grown-up life of her own.
Lizzie applies for a job as a dental nurse, is interviewed by a woman called Tammy who looks like “a diluted Dolly Parton” and starts working with the very unpleasant JP Wintergreen whose shin hair stops “at the ankle, like trouser legs, or a brown rooster”.
Lizzie moves into the tiny one-bedroom flat above the surgery, dusts cactuses and tries to cover up her loneliness by being sparky and cheerful. She also develops a crush on smartly attired local Andy Nicolello who has a moped, a winning smile and a good job but who once lived in a shed, dressed like a tramp and dined on scraps from the local Chinese restaurant.
In a neat plot turn, Andy ends up lodging with Lizzie’s mother, a seductress who drinks too much and has a very casual attitude to casual sex, causing Lizzie no end of dramatic dilemmas.
Nina Stibbe has a fine line in fizzy funniness as she describes Lizzie’s valiant attempts to navigate haphazard driving lessons, her attempts to seduce Andy, and the relationship advice she gives to Tammy who’s having a misguided affair with their racist, boorish boss.
Despite the bubbling humour, there’s a curious flatness to Reasons To Be Cheerful.
It’s a challenge to make a dental surgery an enticing environment in a story and descriptions of illegal tooth extractions and fillings are not conducive to comedy.