Book Review: The Final Revival of Opal and Nev

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.

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.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev is the debut novel from Dawnie Walton. 37 Ink, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster Canada released it on March 30, 2021.

Regulars here know I'm all in on music and books (fiction and nonfiction) that revolve around it. This one was added to my want-to-read list earlier this year, and I'm now getting around to it. The description indicated it would have a lot going for it.

Most of the narrative is written in a documentary transcript style. Daisy Jones and the Six from a few years back was one of the first I encountered in this same style. For books that focus on entertainment media, I find that it can work well. It does force the author to really lock in on the "voices"of the characters as their words and speaking rhythms are key to selling it. Walton does a wonderful job at this; many of the secondary characters are very memorable here.

I can tell when an author has done the work to include authentic pop-culture and historical references into their work. The mentions of several classic soap operas as well as various British music programs made me smile. I also like the fictional soundbites from real celebrities as well; they really fit in with the story nicely.

Overall, a moving narrative with a lot of thematic meat to leave the reader thinking.