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Espedair Street [Paperback]

Iain Banks
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £7.19 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Book Description

6 Dec 1990

Daniel Weir used to be a famous - not to say infamous - rock star. Maybe still is. At thirty-one 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 realises 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.


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Espedair Street + Complicity (Abacus Paperback)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Abacus; New Ed edition (6 Dec 1990)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0349102147
  • ISBN-13: 978-0349102146
  • Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 19.8 x 2.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 54,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Engagingly told, cleverly constructed (TIME OUT )

Glittering pockets of wit...Banks is undoubtedly a natural (INDEPENDENT )

Book Description

* Paperback reissue of Iain Banks' ESPEDAIR STREET, 'the funniest, truest rock biopic yet' - OBSERVER

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Two days ago I decided to kill myself. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 2 Jan 2004
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Banks is incredibly versatile as an author. Each of his books manages to deal with a wide array of subjects. Yet the commonailty of his books is the way the reader is completely drawn in to the characters.
Espedair Street - about an ex rock-star - is moving, and at the same time hilarious. It genuinely had me laughing out loud (on the Tube, not the done thing).
For once, a Scottish author has managed to portray dingy life and the struggle of a disadvantaged background, in a non-depressing manner. Congratulations.
I've found some of the reviews critical of this book as it is unrealistic. It may well be. I'm not an ex rock star, so I don't know. Don't buy it perhaps if you want a book about a rock-star. But as a book about the human being - from no-hope misery, to success and back - this is outstanding. Read this book.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic. One of Banks' best. 6 Jun 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is one of Iain's most consistently entertaining books, even if it is a little short. Superbly written, structured and moving along at a breakneck pace, Banks clearly used up all his non-sci-fi ideas in this one as his next book was, ahem, Canal Dreams.

Even if you've not read any Banks before this is still heartily recommended, especially for anyone who is, was or has ever wanted to be a rock star...

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Original, funny, poignant. 5 Nov 2001
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Having read and enjoyed Bank's previous books, The Wasp Factory and Walking on Glass, I tried this one. I was not disappointed. Espedair Street is a well-researched, well-written, engrossing read. The narrator, a gangly, ugly, reclusive former rock star, is realistically flawed, while maintaining enough qualities for the audience to truly sympathise with him. The non-lineal structure of the book captivates the reader and supplies them with constant intrigue. Espedair Street is an essential read for fans of rock music, especially those who also happen to be partial to Iain Banks sardonic wit.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book. I loved it!
This book stayed with me after reading it. So well written and engaging. I almost feel I am a fan of Frozen Gold
Published 17 days ago by Queen Tanner
3.0 out of 5 stars A Banks Potboiler
Eminently readable. Intermittently funny. Ultimately empty novel.
Is Banks describing himself here or is the "hero" a fully manufactured pop-star who hides his... Read more
Published 24 days ago by disgusted of dagenham
5.0 out of 5 stars Sad but Funny
I was saddened to hear of Iain Bank's cancer but found Espadier Street so funny from start to finish that I recommend it totally.
Published 1 month ago by ladbroke1
4.0 out of 5 stars Fondly remembered across a quarter of a century
I've read almost everything Banks has written and read this as soon as it was published in the late eighties. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tinhead
3.0 out of 5 stars Not up my street
Twenty years ago I think I would have really enjoyed this story of a washed-up 70s rock star facing the brash new world of 80s Britain. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Simon Bendle
3.0 out of 5 stars Espedair Street
Espedair Street is narrated by retired songwriter Daniel Weir, as he looks back on his wild days as a member of the world famous rock band Liquid Gold. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Book 1981
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written and engaging
I am a huge Ian Banks fan, but i think that this is his best book, its well written and engaging so it makes you turn the pages and delve deeper into the book. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Roger Butterworth
1.0 out of 5 stars Creme Brulee
Although not a huge fan of Iain Banks, I did enjoy Complicity, which kept me reading on the edge of my seat until the end. Read more
Published 13 months ago by M. Daly
5.0 out of 5 stars Take a trip down Espedair Street
Espedair Street is a very good book and a very enjoyable read. The plot revolves around the rise and fall of a 70s rock star called Daniel Weir. Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2010 by Mr. Craig Henderson
5.0 out of 5 stars A return to Banks
I read Espedair Street, what? 15 years ago? I loved it then. Since that time I've slowly fallen out of love with books. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2010 by R. A. Scarrow
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