Espedair Street

A reissue of Banks's funny, sad, compelling tale of a washed-up rock star

Daniel Weir used to be a famous—not to say infamous—rock star. Maybe he still is. At 31 he has been both a brilliant failure and a dull success. He's made a lot of mistakes that have paid off and a lot of smart moves he'll regret forever (however long that turns out to be). Daniel Weir has gone from rags to riches and back, and managed to hold onto them both, though not much else. His friends all seem to be dead, fed up with him, or just disgusted—and who can blame them? And now Daniel Weir is all alone. As he contemplates his life, Daniel realizes he only has two problems: the past and the future. He knows how bad the past has been. But the future, well, the future is something else.