I’m a huge fan of books that delve into the world of the music industry and its stars, so I couldn’t pass on Opal & Nev. Told in a journalistic format, we get multiple perspectives on the culture within the band and the vibe of the 1970s.

British songwriter, Nev Charles discovers Opal, a young, eccentric African American woman singing at a bar in Detroit, and from there, a tumultuous relationship begins.
When they perform on stage, they make a stunning sight - Nev and Opal - as opposite as and can be, but they stir up controversy.

When an act of racism incites violence at one of their concerts, it will change their lives forever and affect Opal and the band.

Years later, S. Sunny Shelton, the daughter of Opal & Nev’s former Drummer, Jimmy, is writing an oral history on Opal. As Sunny interviews band members, managers, crew, and family members, she gets more of a story than she ever imagined.

I will say, I think the ending may have gone on a bit too long. But I loved Opal as a strong woman, and her best friend Virgil was the best! I enjoyed reading this with @bernluvsbooks and @whimsicalyme for the #diversebuddyreads

Thank you to @simonandschuster and @netgalley for this #gifted ebook.

In this documentary-style book, writer D.A. Pennebaker traces the rise and fall of the civil rights movement with punk duo Opal & Nev, from their inception in 1971 to the present day. Shelton is the new editor of Aural, a fictional magazine that seeks to keep its head above the internets. With a name that's both complex and iridescent, Opal is a shade-shifting idol. She's an asset, transforming alopecia into an asset. This is a story of two Birminghams, one coming of age in Alabama, and one coming of age in England. It is the story of how a ginger-haired guitar player named Neville Charles, with a Black female singer named Opal, forges a relationship and a career together. With its juxtaposition of real and fictional characters, this book is sure to provoke thought and debate. Thank you Simon and Schuster, for the gifted copy.

Unfortunately, this novel felt lacking. On the heels of similarly formatted Daisy Jones & the Six, which was brilliant, I was very excited about this book. The plot was dry, the characters, except for Opal, felt underdeveloped, and the seemingly “main issue” of the story shifted and disappeared halfway through the book. There were plenty of missed opportunities in the novel within which to accomplish the author’s main goal. In my opinion, the long and much less successful way was taken.

What an absolutely stunning novel. I had no expectations coming into this story other than being intrigued by the blurb itself and I came out the other side with so much more than I hoped for.

The way the story is told, interviews from a huge cast of dynamic uniquely-voiced characters interspersed with Sunny's own POV, was innovative and incredibly engaging. It was truly impossible to put down as each section provided a new layer to the story and a new lens to take it in through.

The characters themselves are a vast array of experiences and voices, each one flawed and interesting in their own way. There wasn't a single moment of "eh, I don't like this guy" as I read, a challenge with so many POVs. The plot doesn't suffer for a single page as the stories compel the reader forward, realizing more with each chapter that this book-within-a-book is so much more than about just Opal and Nev.

This book is my surprise delight of 2021. I would recommend it to absolutely any reader but those who love music, who find the concept of fame interesting, or are looking for an innovative format will find something even more special here. Highly recommend!

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

From reading other reviews, it's my understanding that the interview style narrative this book is formatted in is not new, but it was new for me. Let me just say the realistic style of writing and the interweaving of real-life events, musical talents, and groundbreaking moments in the art/music/fashion industry had me second-guessing if this was a work of fiction. At one point, in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself on Google, just to be assured I had not in fact missed out on such an iconic duo. Not only is the story itself engrossing, but the way social justice issues such as racism, sexism, and LGBQT rights are addressed both past and present is a lesson for all.

This book inevitable has to deal with comparisons to Daisy Jones and the Six--oral history about a band from the 70s. For me, this one fell flat. Part Two picked up and was better than part one as the story finally got past the too long "how they got together' narrative. The author seemed to be trying to cram too many hot button issues into this story and it was a little heavy handed a times. (less)

It took me a month and a half to get through The Final Revival of Opal & Nev and I think it's partly because the first half of the book didn't draw me in. I switched to audiobook about halfway through, and it helped tremendously. The audiobook has a full cast and Bahni Turpin narrates for Opal, who is an amazing narrator!

I liked this book, in fact there are parts I loved. However, there were too many points that were convoluted - especially with the Bond Brothers - that I got a bit uninterested at times. The whole flag ordeal was the crux of the plot, but it didn't land well for me. Still, there were important themes woven throughout and good context about how people just don't understand racism. I appreciated this book, but it was lacking a bit for me.

Told in an oral history format this tale of an iconic 70s rock duo and their rise/fall from fame was the gritty & immersive book I was looking for. Featuring dynamic, unforgettable charters and a complicated heroine you can help but root for. You get to experience a “peak behind the curtain” of the music industry while themes of social justice are woven throughout. I found myself wishing I could listen to the music and see the fashion from this book in real life. Hoping this gets picked up and made into a TV show or movie because it would be amazing!

Review // The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton

Wheeeeew 🔥🔥🔥

One of the great tragedies in life is that Opal Jewel is merely a figment of Dawnie Walton's imagination. A badass Black feminist, civil-rights activist, and literal rock star, the world needs Opal now more than ever.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is the oral history of a fictional 70s rock band - AKA my favorite kind of story. Told in interview format, the book was incredibly immersive. The characters, their backstories and their tales of sex, drugs and rock and roll all felt so real. I wanted nothing more than to close the book and go listen to their jams. Watch some of their old shows on YouTube. Buy tickets to their revival tour. The incredibly fun (yet fake) interviews with actual celebrities only added to the immersion.

There have been many comparisons between Opal and Nev and Daisy Jones thanks to the storytelling format and time period, but the comparisons end there. I loved Daisy Jones, but Opal and Nev was much deeper. This was a history lesson on civil rights, microaggressions in the music industry, and racism in the arts. It was about the clashing of cultures, from Birmingham, Alabama to Birmingham, England. I was entertained through and through, but also learned a lot.

Added to the fun of rock music and the seriousness of the history of civil rights, there was also a bit of a murder mystery that perfectly tied into both the story and recent current events. It really hit home that not everyone has your best interests at heart, and that silence is violence.

If you want to immerse yourself in the '70s for a bit, live that rock and roll lifestyle and get to know some truly memorable characters, you've got to read The Final Revival of Opal and Nev. I can't wait to see what Dawnie Walton does next!

One of my first audiobooks was Daisy Jones and the Six and I loved it! The ensemble cast of readers was amazing. The story was fun, engaging and brought me back to the 70’s when I was a kid. I could easily envision this fictional band as a real one (I kept imagining Fleetwood Mac).

I was extra excited to listen to The Final Revival of Opal and Nev which is said to be similar to Daisy Jones but more serious as it also includes racial challenges experienced by some of the characters.

This book was amazing in that the content and quality of the book for a debut author was very impressive. This story will stay with me for a long time as it was very unique. However, this audiobook felt a little all over the place for me. At first, I didn’t understand that the story revolves around one central occurrence and the story telling leading up to it, while purposefully filling in the back story for the reader, just seemed to drift from one thing to the next in a leisurely fashion. It felt a bit fun, a little bit like a rags to riches story with Opal being the leading lady.

After the event, the story felt more serious, and I really struggled to keep my attention focused on the story. There should have been a lot of emotions coming through the story, but it felt a bit dry and distant to me. I was angry about the event and the serious consequences, but I also felt like I couldn’t connect with the remaining chapters and Sonny finishing her interviews. It seemed there were certain strings of the story that didn’t connect for me or issues that came out of nowhere with no foreshadowing that left me feeling confused. Maybe this writing format didn’t fit will with this story? I can’t quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it would have made more sense to me in written format but I really wanted to listen to the full cast.

The narrators were amazing. I will definitely be looking forward to Walton’s next book.

3.75 stars, rounded up to 4.

The first book by Dawnie Walton that I've read, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a fictional biopic history of the 70s rock duo Opal & Nev.

It was similar in tone and subject matter to Daisy Jones & the Six (which I LOVED) but it had the added layer of racial tension and a much more badass female character. The narrator of the story (author of the faux article) is the daughter of a band member that was killed in a riot in their big showcase performance. It adds a layer of nuance and interest.

If you liked Daisy Jones, pick this one up this summer!

*with thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I loved Daisy Jones and the Six and wanted to read The Final Revival of Opel & Nev because it was compared to it, and I get the comparison in part because of the way it was written as the oral history of the 70s music duo Opal & Nev. However, I felt like I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I'm not sure why because the writing was well done for the most part, but I wish that the author had focused more on the characters than she did, especially Opal since I felt like her story was overshadowed by the journalism and oral history tellings of the duo. Overall, the book is powerful with its political, racial, and social themes that were happening in the 70s, which are sadly just as relevant to today. I think if you like music from this era and the history of this period then you will most likely enjoy the book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

Wonderful book! Much more focused on the civil rights movement than music and I don't think it's fair to be so heavily compared to Daisy Jones. Keep that in mind when you pick this up and you'll enjoy it much more!

This was an excellent book. I absolutely LOVED the oral history format of it. It very much reminds me of Daisy Jones and the Six, but I liked this much better! I loved the way different perspectives were layered to tell the story of a single incident, and the way we as readers were left to suss out how we felt about each person's contributions to what the truth was. I feel like it drew on a similar idea as Daisy Jones but did more with it. The story was more compelling—both the story we were being told and the narrator's investment in it. Plus, I was grateful for the focus on confronting ideas about race, letting each character speak for themselves, allowing readers to see boldness and conviction and shortcomings through the variety of lenses. Plus, Opal herself is an unforgettable character.

I know it's only June, but this book is on track to be my favorite new book of 2021. The audiobook is definitely the way to go with this one. All of the narrators do an amazing job.

There are obvious comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones and the Six. Like Daisy Jones this book takes the form of an oral history for a new defunct 1970's band. This is where the similarities end. Daisy Jones mostly dealt with the making of the music and interpersonal relationships within the band. Opal and Nev is quite personal, but takes a broader perspective.

Proto Punk Duo Opal and Nev shoot to stardom in the early 70's after a horrific outbreak of violence at a record label event. They made only two records of incendiary songs before breaking up a few years later. Nev retains a career as a popular singer while Opal fades into near obscurity. In 2016 a long awaited reunion tour prompts an oral history written by the first black editor of Oral Magazine. The fictional author, Sunny, is as much of a character as Opal and Nev and she has a very personal connection with the band.

As I mentioned above, the oral history deals with the goings on within the band and production team, but also the wider impact of Opal and Nev. Their music was socially conscious, confrontational and ahead of its time. While Nev wrote the music, its impact is largely due to Opal's charisma and style.

The character's telling their own stories to a third party makes for a very compelling narrative. Everyone has very different opinions on the events of the past. The truth is more complicated than anyone realizes.

2.5/5 ⭐️

I wanted to LOVE this. At the start it was giving me mad Daisy Jones & The Six vibes, but it took SO long to get going and the background info chapters were just too long and wordy for my liking.

Opal was, by far, my favorite though. She was so tenacious and I could see her and I being friends in real life!

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton reexamines the trials and tribulations of a fictional 1970s soul rock band fronted by a White British man and an Black American woman who see their rise decline during a racial riot at a major concert. Marked with exquisite detail, the story trips up on telling multiple perspectives to the point it’s difficult to connect with the many characters and their worlds.

Sunny Shelton is a music journalist and the daughter of Jimmy Curtis, a drummer who was fatally beaten during a 1971 concert featuring the top talent from up-and-coming label Rivington Records. What sparked the melee was the conflict between Opal & Nev, an interracial soul rock group, and the Bond Brothers, a Southern White band who brought the Confederate flag on stage. Opal, a Black woman from Detroit who summered in Alabama when she was young, hated that the Bond Brothers had the audacity to bring this oft-perceived offensive symbol of oppression on stage. The history of how the concert went south becomes fascination for Sunny who revisits all the players decades later to write a book about the events that led to her father’s untimely death. And the fact that Opal was having an affair with Sunny’s father at the time of the concert blurs the emotions of Sunny’s journalism as she tries to revive a music magazine as editor in chief.

The book is packed with details that the story of Opal & Nev feels authentic. The story focuses on this band, but the story comes full circle with the band’s influence on the deadly concert that becomes part of music history on the level of Woodstock. The details also become problematic where the characters become sidelined by telling their stories to Sunny, who as a narrator fades in the background but reappears toward the end as she pieces who was at fault for her father’s death. The plot is reminiscent to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but in that masterpiece the journalist with the dead father and the Hollywood actress are the only perspectives the reader receives with their stories intertwining at the end as well. In Evelyn Hugo, the characters’ truths flow well with the same story backdrop of a journalist’s interview process highlighting an icon’s journey where in Opal & Nev that technique fails especially with the characters’ truths changing almost every page, so a character’s thought process gets amputated by another character’s thought process.

Opal is supposed to be the main character, but when the story is not told from her point-of-view, it seems like a loss for the reader to really get to know how magical she seems to be. She is presented to us as this badass Black female singer struggling to become a star amid the civil rights movement who has elements of Betty Davis or Tina Turner, overshadowed by a male musician but finds her voice. But her voice is misconstrued when she tries to plot revenge on the Bond Brothers and destroy the Confederate flag at a high-profile concert. This part of the story feels all too real of a Black woman trying to raise awareness about racial insensitivity yet is the scapegoat for the disaster that results from the explosive anger.

Overall, the novel features an extraordinary fictional music saga, but the characters contributing to the story get lost in the shuffle of a pretend journalistic venture. The elaborateness of the fake historical account can be awe-inspiring as well as destructive to the story’s resonance.




View all my reviews

Well written look at the music industry of the 70’s and the politics that inspired much of it. Opal and Nev is not the love story I was expecting, but it is a love story of 70’s music and it’s fans. Opal is a character to cherish and the author gives us a timely look at the racism of the era which yet infects our society.

Fascinating, shimmering, emotional yet clear- eyed. I had to stop myself from Googling he characters more than once.

ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

I am struggling to rate this one! The story is told in transcribed audio from recordings by the narrator. I haven't read Daisy Jones and the Six, but from what I understand there are similarities in style.

Initially, the format works. I loved reading about Opal and Nev's background and how they got together. But about 1/3 of the way in the transcribed audio began to get a bit tiresome. I think the author felt that, too - in Part 2 of the book, we get more narrative exposition.

The central conflict revolves around a music showcase with Opal and Nev, who perform what is described as Afropunk or punk rock. There are other performers on the showcase, including a Southern rock band for whom the Civil War hasn't completely ended.

The author brings out a lot of parallels to our world today, even though showcase itself happened in the 70s. Opal is presented as a strong, powerful Black woman and it's easy to like her, even as you see her make some choices that will have lasting impacts.

I mainly liked the story and found it entertaining. I love music and the music business, so that was all enjoyable.

But some things didn't completely work for me. Sunny/SarahLena sounded much younger than the 40 she should've been. I kept forgetting she was a mature adult; she seemed so hesitant, so...immature isn't quite the right word, but not fully grown up.

[Nev, who is painted as a lovable Englishman along the lines of Elvis Costello, is ultimately painted as the bad guy, but I never got his motivation to do what he did, either in the 70s or at the modern-day Derringdo Festival. Making Nev take the fall seemed like the easy way out. And although we hear his voice early on, we completely lose it in the second half. I'd like to hear what Nev had to say about it. I also would've liked to have heard from Beau Bond and didn't get why Sunny didn't try to track him down. Chet had too much power over what ultimately happened. (hide spoiler)]

The ending left me feeling unfinished, unsatisfied. The premise of the novel is great, the execution is pretty good, but the wrap up is a little lacking. The writing is good, especially in creating voice within the transcriptions. Opal is a great character, as are some of the lesser characters like her sister and Bob Hize.