The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
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- Create Date：2021-05-30 11:51:31
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Dawnie Walton
- ISBN：1982172312
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Summary
A poignant fictional oral history of the beloved rock 'n' roll duo who shot to fame in the 1970s New York， and the dark， fraught secret that lies at the peak of their stardom。
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。
In early seventies New York City， 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。
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。
In early seventies New York City， 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。
Reviews
E。J。
，
I started The Final Revival of Opal and New with the certainty I'd love it only to get a sinking feeling halfway through and then， as the last hour of the audio unfolded， wanting to punch the air and shout 'There you are。 I knew I'd love it。' Structurally it's based on a series of interviews and articles spanning some forty years and detailing the relationship between Opal a charismatic black singer from Detroit and Nev a geeky white song-writer from Birmingham and the various people who enable I started The Final Revival of Opal and New with the certainty I'd love it only to get a sinking feeling halfway through and then， as the last hour of the audio unfolded， wanting to punch the air and shout 'There you are。 I knew I'd love it。' Structurally it's based on a series of interviews and articles spanning some forty years and detailing the relationship between Opal a charismatic black singer from Detroit and Nev a geeky white song-writer from Birmingham and the various people who enable the band's success。 The interviewer is Sunny， daughter of the band's drummer - Jimmy Curtis - the circumstances of whose death is pivotal to the story。 It hooked me until the half way point。 The authenticity with which Opal and Nev's backstories are told is superb。 You'd be forgiven for thinking they really did exist。 Unfortunately， while Sunny's quest to unearth the true story behind the band's abrupt demise was the glue that held the narrative together， I didn't care enough about her to stay engaged when the emphasis shifted to her story。 Luckily the narrative swung back to focus on the central characters and there we were， at the Final Revival seeing it all tie up。This is a novel in which the music industry serves as the canvas to paint a picture about politics， prejudice and racism。 It's a fabulous social commentary on life in the 1970s and how much and indeed how little has changed in the intervening years。 。。。more
Nona
，
Wow！ I knew it was fiction - it says "A Novel" right on the cover -but the tone and style of the opening "Editor's Note" convinced me to Google the title characters anyway。 And up pops an NPR interview titled "Dawnie Walton's 'Opal and Nev' Are So Compelling You Might Forget They're Not Real"。 So you know they're not real but you also know you're not the only one who was almost fooled。 Then you reach the end and feel a tug of regret for a supporting character （Virgil） whose dreams were never rea Wow！ I knew it was fiction - it says "A Novel" right on the cover -but the tone and style of the opening "Editor's Note" convinced me to Google the title characters anyway。 And up pops an NPR interview titled "Dawnie Walton's 'Opal and Nev' Are So Compelling You Might Forget They're Not Real"。 So you know they're not real but you also know you're not the only one who was almost fooled。 Then you reach the end and feel a tug of regret for a supporting character （Virgil） whose dreams were never realized。 A fictional supporting character。 Wow！ That's some debut novel。 。。。more
Genevieve
，
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton。Review to come。
Brianna
，
Electrifying。 At times difficult to believe that it’s fiction because it’s so vivid。 Best book of 2021 so far for me。
Carrie
，
Opal and Nev started a bit slow but I soon found myself getting absorbed into Sunny digging out their story。 I enjoyed this one but especially on audio。 Love full cast narrations。
Carrie
，
Overall， a very enjoyable take on the 70s rocker history。 Sometimes the execution of the oral history format felt a little too disjointed/superficial for me， but there were some really compelling moments throughout。 Loved Opal， loved Sunny， loved Virgil。 Solid debut novel。 I will be interested in reading more by Dawnie Walton。
Caroline
，
There’s Daisy Jones and the Six and there’s The Final Revival of Opal & Nev。 Both are written in the oral-history fiction format and have loads of booze， sex， drugs， and rock’n’roll。But Opal is nothing like Daisy。 And as much as I loved Daisy Jones and the Six， I loved The Final Revival of Opal & Nev even more。The story of an unknown young black singer from Detroit whom is chosen by a young red-haired singer from the UK to be his unlikely partner in a musical punk-rock duo。A very good， extremely There’s Daisy Jones and the Six and there’s The Final Revival of Opal & Nev。 Both are written in the oral-history fiction format and have loads of booze， sex， drugs， and rock’n’roll。But Opal is nothing like Daisy。 And as much as I loved Daisy Jones and the Six， I loved The Final Revival of Opal & Nev even more。The story of an unknown young black singer from Detroit whom is chosen by a young red-haired singer from the UK to be his unlikely partner in a musical punk-rock duo。A very good， extremely well-writen story。 And because this is author Dawnie Walton’s debut novel， I will eagerly follow her work and 1-click her next book ASAP。 。。。more
Cindee
，
Just couldn’t get into it。 Loved the format didn’t care for the content。
Ms。 Scroggins
，
This was the best book I've read in awhile。 Depth， fascinating characters， all around win。 This was the best book I've read in awhile。 Depth， fascinating characters， all around win。 。。。more
Claire
，
This was the best book I've read in awhile。 Depth， fascinating characters， all around win。 This was the best book I've read in awhile。 Depth， fascinating characters， all around win。 。。。more
Heidi
，
Because I kept seeing this compared to Daisy Jones & The Six and I really liked that book， my expectations for this one were very high。 Maybe they were too high。 For the first 30-40% of this， I thought I was on the way to another favourite read。 But the story started dragging， and I never really felt emotionally connected to any of the characters。 At the end， I was left feeling indifferent about pretty much every aspect of this book。 The author clearly tried to make observations about class， rac Because I kept seeing this compared to Daisy Jones & The Six and I really liked that book， my expectations for this one were very high。 Maybe they were too high。 For the first 30-40% of this， I thought I was on the way to another favourite read。 But the story started dragging， and I never really felt emotionally connected to any of the characters。 At the end， I was left feeling indifferent about pretty much every aspect of this book。 The author clearly tried to make observations about class， race， and gender throughout， but it often came across as quite heavy-handed to the point where it became rather easy to see where the broader story was going to go。 There are plenty of references to the real world， which should have increased the realistic feel of the story。 Unfortunately they only served to pull me out of the story world， and it became increasingly difficult to make my way back to the story。 If not for the （excellent） audiobook， as much as it pains me to say， I probably would have DNF'd this one。 （I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。） 。。。more
Yaara Hendel
，
This book's obvious comparison is "Daisy Jones and the Six"， but "The Final Revival" deserves so， so much better。 It's fun yet believable without falling into the cliché traps that a pop/rock theme can lead to， and its story progresses beautifully to the sensible-yet-exciting peak。 I was quite concerned about how the book was going to end as the pages were running out， but I was far from disappointed。 Can't remember the last book I enjoyed this much， looking forward to read more from this author This book's obvious comparison is "Daisy Jones and the Six"， but "The Final Revival" deserves so， so much better。 It's fun yet believable without falling into the cliché traps that a pop/rock theme can lead to， and its story progresses beautifully to the sensible-yet-exciting peak。 I was quite concerned about how the book was going to end as the pages were running out， but I was far from disappointed。 Can't remember the last book I enjoyed this much， looking forward to read more from this author。 。。。more
Dcbk
，
If this was an Audible book here is how i would rate it:Overall。。。3*Narration。。。5*Story。。。4*I know that seems incongruous - the narration of the audio of this book is brilliant - it uses multiple narrators and there are times where this a bit clunky and/or cheesy it over all works and is really well done。 All of the narrators were well suited to their parts。 It elevates the book to a bit of a performance price which is appropriate for the theme and story of this novel。A book with a Gem， mineral If this was an Audible book here is how i would rate it:Overall。。。3*Narration。。。5*Story。。。4*I know that seems incongruous - the narration of the audio of this book is brilliant - it uses multiple narrators and there are times where this a bit clunky and/or cheesy it over all works and is really well done。 All of the narrators were well suited to their parts。 It elevates the book to a bit of a performance price which is appropriate for the theme and story of this novel。A book with a Gem， mineral or rock in the title ~ check 。。。more
Michelle
，
This book has some amazing reviews， so it must just not be right for me。 Props for the interesting format and memorable characters， especially Opal。 I kept waiting for the action to really get going， but I could never get past “interesting。” I was mostly just bored。
Jamie Lee
，
4。5 Rounded up 🌟 An incredible debut！ Once I started this it was pretty hard to stop， you are immediately sucked into Opal and Sunny's stories and how there stories connect under difficult and heartbreaking circumstances。 This book is written so beautifully and in such vivid detail that you come away believing Opal Jewel is a real person， that she graced the covers of music magazines and you can easily just find her music on Spotify。 Seamlessly weaving a thrilling story of Opal's life with a loo 4。5 Rounded up 🌟 An incredible debut！ Once I started this it was pretty hard to stop， you are immediately sucked into Opal and Sunny's stories and how there stories connect under difficult and heartbreaking circumstances。 This book is written so beautifully and in such vivid detail that you come away believing Opal Jewel is a real person， that she graced the covers of music magazines and you can easily just find her music on Spotify。 Seamlessly weaving a thrilling story of Opal's life with a look into Black culture and what it means to be a Black woman in music and pulling no punches！ Dawnie writes in such heartbreaking detail that doesn't shy away from tough subjects。 Bursting with incredible light and energy！A beautiful debut from a very exciting new voice is fiction， I can't wait to see what Dawnie does next， she's one to watch for sure。 。。。more
Allison Predmore
，
My new favorite genre might be books written in oral history about fictional musicians/musical groups。 Number of books in this genre: 2 - Daisy Jones and The Six- The Final Revival of Opal and NevWithout a doubt， what sets this apart from Daisy Jones is that it goes beyond storytelling to elevate a conversation about systemic racism， specifically the scrutiny black women face and violence against people of color。 For now， I’ll be daydreaming about Daisy Jones and Opal Jewel meeting somewhere in My new favorite genre might be books written in oral history about fictional musicians/musical groups。 Number of books in this genre: 2 - Daisy Jones and The Six- The Final Revival of Opal and NevWithout a doubt， what sets this apart from Daisy Jones is that it goes beyond storytelling to elevate a conversation about systemic racism， specifically the scrutiny black women face and violence against people of color。 For now， I’ll be daydreaming about Daisy Jones and Opal Jewel meeting somewhere in between the lands created by Dawnie Walton and Taylor Jenkins Reid。 。。。more
Dana
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4。5 stars。Honestly I felt like a white person watching Get Out reading this - but in the best way possible。 This is ENTIRELY because of Nev's character who played my ass like a damn fiddle， but it was the great way at showcasing how truly sinister racism can be even within the most passionate of "allies"。A number of topics were addressed in this story， as I expected with black rockstars， and were all handled expectionally well。 My personal favorite was the discussion Opal had about the world's o 4。5 stars。Honestly I felt like a white person watching Get Out reading this - but in the best way possible。 This is ENTIRELY because of Nev's character who played my ass like a damn fiddle， but it was the great way at showcasing how truly sinister racism can be even within the most passionate of "allies"。A number of topics were addressed in this story， as I expected with black rockstars， and were all handled expectionally well。 My personal favorite was the discussion Opal had about the world's odd fascination with viewing black pain and tragedies as something "symbolic" or needing a metaphors behind it。 How sometimes when things are amplified they get trivialized at the exact same time。 Sometimes pain doesn't have a deeper meaning other than it fucking hurts。 Quote: "The music itself don't have a color。 It's a continuum that starts with the drums & branches out from there" 。。。more
Andrea
，
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 lay 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。 。。。more
Berit Ericson
，
This is beautiful and timely and creative and heartbreaking and gut wrenching and soulful and kind and just。。。
Linda
，
While I did enjoy this book， it isn’t one that I’d be interested in reading again。 I did absolutely love the format though！！ It seemed so real。 Super impressive！ Two musicians trying to make it big while holding on to their convictions。 Also the story of the writer， unraveling their story。 I’m glad that I read it。 Always enjoyable to see what debut authors can create！
Stephanie
，
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 o 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。 。。。more
Suzann
，
Listened to audio， amazing production， full cast！ Listened as part of Good Ancestor Book Club。 The entire experience， including podcast， book club discussion on Patreon， live author discussion with Layla Saad。 This is an unforgettable experience of characters。
Tanya E
，
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 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。 。。。more
Jessica （readitandquip） H
，
first take of the prologue I thought I was reading a true story but then realized it was getting right into the book and I loved it。I adored Daisy Jones & the Six and this is right up there as well。I highly highly recommend listening to the audio not only because it has a full cast， but that Sunny reads her footnotes at the correct points。Brava！
Hannah Glenn
，
Really wanted to love this one— I loved Daisy Jones， love books on social justice， but this one didn’t do what I expected it to do for me。 Beginning felt fast paced， then it slowed down a lot， and I don’t think I liked any of the characters。
Liz
，
3。5 stars rounded down because I struggled with this book at first。 It didn’t grab me。 It was slow。 I didn’t want to sit down and read it every night。 I knew I wanted to finish it， at some point， so I set it aside and read a few other books to get me out of what I assumed was a reading funk。 When I got back to the book and it was still slow going I realized it wasn’t a funk。 It was just the point in the story was a funk。 The part that was predominantly Nev and his career。 Snooze。 But when Opal f 3。5 stars rounded down because I struggled with this book at first。 It didn’t grab me。 It was slow。 I didn’t want to sit down and read it every night。 I knew I wanted to finish it， at some point， so I set it aside and read a few other books to get me out of what I assumed was a reading funk。 When I got back to the book and it was still slow going I realized it wasn’t a funk。 It was just the point in the story was a funk。 The part that was predominantly Nev and his career。 Snooze。 But when Opal finally became involved in the timeline of the story， when she moved to NYC， the book finally began for me。 And from that point on it was fabulous。 I love Opal。 I love the Sunny/SarahLena for her complicated love/criticism of Opal。 I love that， in the end， Opal prevailed and Nev was revealed as， to use the slang of his countrymen， a total prat。 。。。more
Brigette Lepe
，
An amazing ride。 Great character development。 Very immersive。 Loved them all and loved to hate some of them。
Paige
，
Recommend。 Made me think a lot about how truly dangerous performative white allyship is。 The POV changes frequently， which made it a slower read for me， but I’m ok with that。
Stephanie
，
Loved the audiobook version of this， with the cast of voices。 Excellent book！
Victoria
，