Definitely an adventure of a book. It took me a bit to get into the book, but once I was invested, I couldn’t put it down.

I wanted to LOVE The Final Revival of Opal & Nev. The characters were so rich and the story is well-told. And yet, it wasn't a must-read. The action goes slowly and the story meanders a bit. I think this is a book that suffered from being published so closely to Daisy Jones and the Six. There is a great story in there!

For some reason I just couldn’t connect with this book. I even tried listening to it on audio with the full cast, but that didn’t work for me either; which makes me sad because I really wanted to love it.

I think that Dwaine Walton has a stellar writing career in front of her and will definitely try something else by her.

I enjoyed this book. Going in, I thought it would be similar to Daisy Jones and the Six (which it is, in some ways), but it is a very different story. Opal was a strong, courageous character, and I admired her tenacity. I would recommend this book to others.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton is a 2021 37 Ink publication.

Opal and Nev were a dynamic, groundbreaking rock duo during the 70s. But when their recording label signs a group that miraculously makes it onto the music charts, the couple gets caught up in the studio’s attempt to book all their artists in the big Rivington musical festival.

Things go awry when the featured group takes the stage waving a confederate flag, prompting Opal to act. When a melee breaks out it leads to the death of Jimmy Curtis, the band’s drummer, and the duo’s promising career…

Nev goes on to success in Britain, while Opal takes a less commercial, excursion into Afropunk music, having taken the brunt of the fallout of the Rivington festival.

Now, there are rumors that Opal and Nev may be planning a reunion. As the first black editor of Aural magazine, Sunny Shelton is set to do a cover story about the duo. But her interest in this story is very, very personal, because Sunny just happens to be Jimmy Curtis’ daughter, and she’s about to interview, Opal- the woman who was having an affair with her father while her mother was pregnant with her…

Well, wow! Just wow!! This book is so realistic that I Googled 'Opal & Nev' to see if they were a real musical duo – or if this story was based on a true story. I had to keep reminding myself the book was fictional!

Nev is certainly a central part of the story, but he’s overshadowed, rightfully so, in my opinion, by Opal.

Opal is quite the character- and is absolutely THE star of this show, hands down. She’s outlandish, bold, bald, outspoken and takes no prisoners.

The story is written exactly as a journalist would approach it- in the format of an oral history. There are many interviews piecing together the events that led to that fateful show and the fallout that followed. But, as the story progresses, it tightens up to a point of supreme, edge of your seat suspense. I was riveted!

The story eventually narrows the spotlight to Sunny and Opal. The author adeptly creates a parallel between them, and their individual struggles, both personally and professionally. Sunny draws strength and inspiration from Opal that she had not anticipated, as the two women come to a special understanding.

Overall, I was drawn to this book by the lure of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, set in the 1970s, but the story goes far deeper than a surface rock saga. (Some are making comparisons to other books that feature 70s fictional bands- also employing an oral history format, but, while I may have enjoyed those books, this story blows them straight out of the water!!! NO comparisons, in my opinion- to be rudely blunt) It is so effective, I really, really wanted Opal & Nev to be real people, and still can't shake the feeling that they aren't.

The story explores many angles of women and race, juxtaposing the past with the present with a dynamic style. The story is deep, gripping, gritty and dazzling. I couldn’t put it down!! It may be early days yet- but I can assure you, this book will be on my list of favorites in 2022.

Highly recommend!!

I like this style of writing a lot and hope that we see other books use this format in the future. I thought that the personal connection that Sunny has to Opal and Nev's story is definitely what makes this book stand out. The ability for this personal aspect of the story to weave together with what the duo meant to the period and how their fallout happened was definitely captivating. I did find myself getting a bit lost at times and because of the format of the book there is not as much of a deep dive into each character's perspective as maybe would have been helpful.

That Opal was a hoot! I couldn’t believe the transformation of this lady from the beginning to the end of the book. I was grinning from ear to ear as I heard her, her spunk, determination, and compassion just fell out of the book. Being a black woman, she knew exactly where her place was but that wasn’t a place were Opal wanted to be. If you think about the time period that Opal and Nev were an item (1970’s), equality was a hot issue. Liberation, racism, and equal rights were being sought after and it seemed that everyone was on edge.

On stage, I could only image what their performance was like and I would have loved to just see them up close. I doubt any performance was ever the same as their personalities, feelings, and the chemistry of the stage all came into play when they took the stage. Opal seemed to be the one who pushed their performances, who shined, while Nev filled in where he was needed and he worked on other matters.

Set up like an interview, this book is an oral history of the lives of Opal Jewel and Nev Charles, a singing duo from 1970’s. I loved the book, Daisy Jones and the Six so I knew I would enjoy this book also. The two books are alike yet they’re different. I liked how this book was an interview which consists of flashbacks that told the story of Opal and Nev. We hear from their friends and family, they speak about their ups and their downs, and we forget that this book is a work of fiction. As I read the book, I imagined hearing Opal’s voice as she talked about her relationship with Nev and then, I had to get the audio of this book to actually hear her words being spoken. Her voice brought strength to the words that I had previously read, for it solidified what I had previously thought about her. I really enjoyed the audio version of this book and the books was fantastic also, I got the best of both worlds!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest opinion.

“The Final Revival of Opal & Nev” was one of 2021’s big titles. It was a Good Morning America Buzz pick and it was named a best book of the year by Barack Obama, The Washington Post, NPR, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, Goodreads, The Millions, Reader’s Digest, Philadelphia Inquirer, Eerie Reader, Public Radio Tulsa, Chicago Public Library and Kirkus Reviews.

Initially, the blood orange cover with the black silhouette of a guitar, and a woman within it, caught my eye. Little did I know it would turn out to be a rock ‘n roll novel for the ages.

Dawnie Walton’s dazzling debut explores the challenges of love and art, American history, capitalism, racism and gender inequality. It’s early seventies New York. Rock and Roll, Sex, Drugs, Bell-bottoms and Platform Shoes!

Structured as an oral history, the novel opens in 2015, when Opal Jewel, a black singer who was a pioneer of Afro-Punk music in the 1970s, announces plans for a reunion tour with her collaborator, a white Englishman named Nev Charles. Sunny Curtis, a music journalist, spies an opportunity to become involved with the duo—with various motives.

“This novel is so good, I want to rent a velvet-swagged amphitheater and gather a large audience to blare through a microphone just how much I like it…Befitting her name, Opal is a complex, shade-shifting idol, not so much sparkling as iridescent…[Dawnie Walton] has conjured an entire oeuvre of lyrics, licks and liner notes that is backdrop for some of the most pressing political issues of our era, or any era. The story Sunny “tells” using the tools of journalism is propulsive, often funny and thought-provoking. Like the best fiction, it feels truer and more mesmerizing than some true stories. It’s a packed time capsule that doubles as a stick of dynamite”, writes The New York Times.

“The Final Revival of Opal & Nev” is a bold, exhilarating novel and I can’t recommend it highly enough.


Synopsis

Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, Afro-punk before that term existed. Coming of age in Detroit, she can’t imagine settling for a 9-to-5 job—despite her unusual looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her at a bar’s amateur night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together for the fledgling Rivington Records.

Just as she’s finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal’s bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves, but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially black women, who dare to speak their truth.

Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols. Sunny thought she knew most of the stories leading up to the cult duo’s most politicized chapter. But as her interviews dig deeper, a nasty new allegation from an unexpected source threatens to blow up everything.

Provocative and chilling, “The Final Revival of Opal & Nev” features a backup chorus of unforgettable voices, a heroine the likes of which we’ve not seen in storytelling, and a daring structure, and introduces a bold new voice in contemporary fiction.


About the author

Dawnie Walton is a fiction writer and journalist whose work explores identity, place, and the influence of pop culture. She has won fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Tin House Summer Workshop, and earned her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Previously, she worked as an executive-level editor for magazine and multimedia brands, including Essence, Entertainment Weekly, Getty Images, and LIFE. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, she lives with her husband in Brooklyn.


A huge thank you to @SimonAndSchuster and @NetGalley for the review copy of this spectacular novel.

This book read like a documentary film with interviews and editors notes etc.... As someone who loves documentaries, I found this to be a perfect way to tell this story. Sunny is a reporter writing a book and feature article about the revival of controversial singing duo Opal and Nev. Not only is she a fan of sorts, she has a personal connection to their story and she's looking for some answers. All the character development was told by the characters themselves and was very interestingly done and the different perspectives presented on the events really did a great job showing you everything. A very well done book that I will recommend to others and probably revisit myself someday.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

My Rating - 4 stars
I loved this tale - different and new and altogether unique from the likes of Daisy Jones. Loved the interplay between civil rights and music, something that we as music lovers are still able to enjoy and experience today. The ending!!!! I will be thinking about it for quite some time. I wish this made more lists; in my opinion, it flew pretty under the radar and I don't understand why. More of this please, in the coming years, and I'd love to gift this for friends in the future. 4 strong stars from me!

This was a very interesting book. The format, some of the themes, the era & music type felt like copies of Daisy Jones (which I really enjoyed). But this book has a theme of race as well. What it means to protest and stand up for your beliefs as a colored woman. I thought it was quite well done! Even though the "copy-cat-ness" of it felt a little uncomfortable, the direction in which this book went definitely sets it apart from Daisy Jones.

I am way too far behind on reviewing this incredible read...it's too good not to give feedback, though. Such an inspiring debut, own voices novel. Once I had the time to begin it, I could not put it down. The unique viewpoints of the interviewer and her interviewees, including Opal and Nev, are at times heartbreaking, at times funny, and always fascinating. These fictional events and characters were so well-developed, it all felt very real. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy!

This book is about a short lived 70’s Afro-Punk duo and what they went through past & present. Most of it is interview style where the interviewer is trying to write a book about Opal & Nev, a white boy from the UK and a black girl from Detroit. The interviewer just happens to be the daughter of a band member, and Opal’s lover, who was killed at their first promotional event in the 70’s. I listened to the audiobook version with a full cast and I definitely recommend listening to it!

I couldn’t get through this book. Originally I said I would not give feedback, but I changed my mind. I chose to get this book since it on was BOTM, but it really wasn’t for me. I couldn’t connect with the story and I stopped 30% in. Just not for me.

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a fictionalized oral history of beloved but short-lived musical duo Opal & Nev, whose lives and careers were irrevocably changed by the racially-charged killing of the band’s drummer in the 1970s, a man who also happens to be the father of the journalist Opal calls upon to write her story after decades of silence.

When reading and discussing The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, it’s impossible to not touch on the comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s much-acclaimed Daisy Jones & the Six; the marketing surrounding the book embraces it, calling to Daisy Jones fans through its similarities. And at first, it’s all there: the fictional tell-all style, the 70s rock and roll act, and lots of unanswered questions, whose answers are revealed chronologically through a series of interviews that create the sense that a real, lived story is being told. But as you flip through the pages and Walton’s story begins to take shape, the few similarities make way for the many differences, and you see that Opal & Nev is much less about the music than it is about the social context surrounding it, particularly the ways Opal and Nev’s careers differed due to their races and the choices they made in the fateful incident the book teases for several chapters before revealing in an explosive sequence. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev felt like something akin to a mystery novel. At times when the tension ramps up, Walton pulls no punches—her writing got my blood pumping, my heart beating wildly in my chest like I was living through those moments, eagerly awaiting to see how they’d unfold.

The problem lies in that there was a lot riding on this instant connection Opal and Nev had, in Opal’s intrinsic faith in Nev because of how deeply they seemingly cared for each other in the past. I was told about it, but I never actually saw it. I was supposed to believe in this deep friendship between them, this great chemistry they shared as a duo, which would justify Opal’s belief in him, and I just… didn’t. I wish there’d been more time dedicated to making this bond between them more tangible—Nev’s infatuation, Opal’s care. Briefly, we are told of sleepless nights spent huddled together in hotel rooms, of conversations that reveal their similarities, and I wanted to shake my ereader and say, Well, show me!

My other complaint is the way the inclusion of real-life figures was handled; having “quotes” and “interviews” from them about the fictional characters, well, to me it just took the illusion a little too far. It felt gimmicky, and had the adverse effect of pulling me out of the world I was trying to immerse myself in.

All that being said, Opal & Nev is a must-read for fans of music and fictional oral histories, and brings African-American voices to the forefront with a tragedy that unfortunately reflects a lot of what we still see today. Opal herself, the undeniable star of the book, is a layered character whose secrets I thoroughly enjoyed uncovering. I suspect that, like Daisy Jones, this is a book perfectly suited for audio.

A captivating exploration of music, race, gender, and class. This was such an engaging read that felt as though the characters were actual people of history. The middle section felt a bit of a slog, but the ending was fantastic. This brings up such important topics and points of consideration. Would be an excellent tool for discussion and deeper exploration of societal issues.

2.5 stars. This book was just meh for me. It didn't really grab me until the last 1/3 of the book but by then, it was a little too late. I haven't read Daisy Jones & The Six so I can't compare but this definitely didn't make me want to pick up that one in a hurry. The format was interesting - a ficitonal oral history that felt so incredibly real but I just didn't feel anything that pulled me back into the story. The audiobook is a full cast performance but sadly, I abandoned that for the print copy as my attention waned while listening. Maybe a little too much going on.

Interesting format, one that I ultimately enjoyed. Well written and researched. Thought provoking look at the music industry, which I don't have any insight into.

Confession: It took me a while to get into this story. But once I did, I enjoyed it.
I loved Opal and Virgil; those two made the story for me.. The storyline was interesting, as this is my first book reading interview style format. Overall, again, I enjoyed this book. All of the characters played an important role in this book and brought this fictional band LIFE, even the difficult, heartbreaking parts.