The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

Book Review

What better place to photograph a book about incredible music than Zilker Park, the home of Austin City Limits music festival, my favorite music event of the year (and just two weeks away)!

Thank you Literati for my gifted copy of this fascinating book. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev was the September selection for Cheryl Strayed’s Wild Reads book club. This was my first month reading with this particular book club, but it won’t be the last! Although admittedly, I did switch to Megan Rapinoe’s club for October 🤩.

This book about a fictional rock duo in the 1970s is told in interview format and dives deep into race relations, Black culture/history and feminism. Think Daisy Jones & The Six but swap Daisy for a fierce Black woman and replace The Six with a charming British songwriter. While there are many parallels to Daisy Jones, Opal & Nev is more serious, introspective and political.

The story is told by Sunny Shelton, the first Black woman to become Editor & Chief of Aural magazine, a fictional cutting-edge music magazine. When Sunny hears that Opal & Nev are considering a reunion tour, she becomes determined to capitalize on the opportunity by writing a book about the famed rock duo. However, the project is also a deeply personal one for Sunny, as her father, drummer Jimmy Curtis, had an affair with Opal Jewel and was tragically killed while performing with Opal & Nev.

The author did a fantastic job of bringing her characters to life and intertwining them with the history, culture and events of both the 70s and present day. I kept wanting to google Opal & Nev and the various events depicted in the book - momentarily forgetting that the book is a work of fiction.

Opal’s character was especially fun to read, as she is truly a force of nature. She’s inspiring, iconic and powerful, yet she certainly has (and owns) her flaws.

If you’re interested in music, historical fiction and/or books that provide introspective social commentary, I would definitely recommend this one. Admittedly, I did find the middle a bit slow, as I struggled through some of the chapters leading up to the career/life-defining concert. Nevertheless, I’m very glad I read this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5