Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dawnie Walton's debut novel is a five star read. In fictional oral history style, this novel resonates with many of the same issues that we are facing in 2020. The story of Opal & Nev is wrapped around race, flawed characters, rock n' roll and fictional bands set in a 1970's backdrop. There is humor, laughter, tears, and moments of pure inspiration. Dawnie's remarkable writing style makes the reader believe that they are reading a biography of this musical duo and not a work of fiction. Opal is a wonderfully proud woman with a soaring spirit and the heroine of this novel. She is unforgettable.
This will be a 'must read' for 2021 … and a sure-fire winner!

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a timely first novel by journalist Dawnie Walton involving a fictional rock and roll duo enmeshed in race relations during the 1970s and again thirty years later in 2016. The theme resonates even more deeply in 2020. It’s a captivating read with a compelling, iconoclastic heroine. The style is different and noteworthy. It reads like a true biography, and some readers will be tricked into believing that it is, indeed, fact, not fiction.

Wow. At first I thought this would be like a 60s Daisy Jones and the Six but oh this was so so so much more and better. Opal and Nev are flawed from the beginning and the narrator is clear about her biases. Yet, the way the plot unraveled was surprising and captivating. I gasped aloud at Chet Bond’s revelation and was unable to put the book down from that moment forward. This book was so much more than a backward glance at a past musical era. It was even more than a profile of a duo between a black woman and white man. It provided commentary relevant for our current world, political environment, and humanity. This is the first book I’ve given five stars in awhile. It really was great!

At first I wasn't sure what to make of this book, which is structured as both an oral history and a book within the book. I was wondering if the meta aspects of it would keep me at arm's length. But ultimately, they didn't. I dove down and felt the story deeply, at times near tears and at times laughing at its biting sense of humor. And Opal is one of those characters I'll never forget.

It's incredible how Walton captures so many different characters' voices. This story of rock-n-roll, wrapped up in race issues, unfolds powerfully--and clear connections are drawn between what was going on in the 70s with what's going on in the world today.

Favorite quote: "Many things can be true at once, and we must find inspiration in the materials we have."

Second favorite quote [ spoken by a fan of Opal's referring to her black-punk musical aesthetic]: "Yeah, a lot of her shit is challenging to listen to...but that shit is vibrating high on some other frequency, right? When you talk about challenging to absorb, so is Bob Dylan's whiny ass, in my opinion, and that fucking 'Ulysses' book I had to read in college... But aren't we supposed to be better and smarter because of the challenging art that makes us uncomfortable?"

Now that I think about it, both of these quotes apply to this novel.

Thanks, NetGalley, for an ARC of this book, which comes out in April 2021.

For lover's of "Daisy Jones & The Six," "The Final Revival of Opal & Nev" also uses the technique of oral history to tell the story of the rise of the unlikely rock & roll duo, the fateful night that catapulted them to relative fame, their potential reunion years later - and the ugly secret at the center of it all. Walton's characters are both real and complex, striking a perfect balance of human and celebrity. She builds the tension of the story in a way that leaves you holding your breath while you wait for the other shoe to drop, and the revelations of what really happened the night of the Rivington Showcase do not disappoint.
Especially poignant during this time of racial reckoning, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev explores what it meant to be Black in the music industry of the '70s, and the relative place of power one gained from being white. Walton does not shy away from this reality, facing it head on and shining light on the inequality and racism that Black musicians faced. A must read that you will be thinking about long after you turn the final page.

A double edged sword of a Netgalley book: I'm very glad I got a chance to read it early, and annoyed I can't tell all my friends to go read it right now. A book very reminiscent of Daisy Jones & the Six without being a retread, it tackles a very different kind of musician and a very different world than Daisy Jones inhabited. The two novels together create a fantastic genre of fictional bands that could stand up with the real acts from that era. A must-read for anyone who likes the crazy world of 70s music, and definitely recommended to anyone else who wants to meet a flashy, flamboyant, angry female artist who doesn't take any shit from anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC! Loved the history behind Opal and Nev. Learned a lot about Opal and Nev, never heard of the two before now. Would recommend this to others.