I might have approached this story backwards, by watching the miniseries first, and then reading the book (because I loved the miniseries so much). It’s not my usual fare for sure, but the characters were so compelling that I took notes on them (I have a file for favorite characters I encounter in other people’s work, to help me learn how to write more compelling characters myself.) Daisy and Billy both got a note, on their vulnerabilities and defense mechanisms, motivations, and the reasons behind their various addictions. Absolutely brilliantly done.
Why it’s not my usual fare: there’s a ton of foul language in both the series and the book, but given the scene they’re in, there almost has to be. It would be disingenuous otherwise. There’s a lot of sex too, but it was never gratuitous in the show, and in the book it can’t be because of the narrative style, which is a Q&A between a narrator (anonymous until the very end) and each of the various characters. No one in that format would go into salacious detail, so they don’t. The show almost revolves around drugs, but it’s portrayed in a very negative light, so I didn’t have a problem with it. I also really thought when watching the series that it was going to turn out to be an adultery story (at which point I’d have stopped watching)–but even though Billy is married, it didn’t, not really. In fact, if it had gone there, I think the power of the story would have been lost.
The book and the miniseries are quite similar, though there are some plot points that diverge. The overall feel and trajectory of the characters is the same. And it’s truly fantastic. I think I’ll have to pick up more by this author. I guess she deserves the hype.
My rating: *****
Language: tons. It’s pretty bad.
Violence: none
Sexual content: there but… moderate, I guess?
Political content: some, but there was more in the series than in the book, honestly
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