Taylor Jenkins Reid 2020 novel ‘Daisy Jones and the Six‘ was an instant best seller last year, the last in a string of bestselling novels that have showcased Taylor Jenkins Reid as one of the premiere novelists of the last few years. In every recent release, Jenkins Reid has continued to reinvent herself and dive into new themes and focusses. In her new release – Malibu Rising – Jenkins Reid explores the idea of family and kinship, in a way she hasn’t done before. Pick up a copy of the novel here.
Taylor Jenkins Reid paints the glamour of the past century like no other commercial novelist of the moment. So in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, she painted a picture of Hollywood glamour in the 1960s and in Daisy Jones and the Six, she describes the gritty underbelly of rock n’ roll in the 1960s. Now, she is back with a new novel situated in the surfing culture of the 1970s – for those paying attention, it builds on the story of Mick Riva, one of Evelyn Hugo’s ex-husbands, his first wife June and their four children – Nina, Hud, Jay and Kit.
The children and the dynamic between the siblings form the major part of the storyline for Malibu Rising – the major focus of the storyline is set around the siblings’ annual party and the events that unfold, flitting back to the disintegration of Mick and June’s marriage as a result of Mick’s infidelity and Mick’s consequent abandonment of his children. June’s pain, as a result of Mick’s infidelity, is heartbreaking as she descends into alcoholism – a fact that does not escape her children. After June’s untimely death, Nina – the oldest daughter – is left to mother her younger siblings. Amidst all the pain, the siblings form an unbreakable bond as a consequence of their heartbreak and their shared love – surfing that ultimately becomes the base for all four of their careers and lives. In the alternating chapters of the novel, their annual party – a mass gathering of all the rich and famous of Malibu, from actors to sportsmen and DJs – disintegrates into a drug-fuelled chaos.
All four of the siblings are perfectly formed, distinct individuals, as are the celebrities that float through the doorways of Nina’s Malibu home – from the somewhat passive, snobby model friend of Nina’s Tarine Montefiore to Nina’s estranged husband, the flashy tennis player Brandon Randall and his cold mistress Carrie Soto. Jenkins Reid perfectly fleshes out all the siblings and the nuances of their unwanted fame and celebrity, so that the reader is made to feel like they know each of the characters intimately, flaws and all. Jenkins Reid’s pacing is flawless as she flits between the timelines with ease – it’s seamlessly formed and fits snugly in the world that Reid created in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Once again, Jenkins Reid has created a compelling and propulsive novel that will be the perfect beach read for 2021.
