Book summary

Soupspoon Wise, an unsuccessful blues guitarist, is dying of cancer on the streets of New York when he is rescued by an angel in the form of Kiki Waters. Kiki's a hustler with a heart of gold, who rustles up a home for Soupspoon to pour the incredible story of his life into a final, bluesy, wail, before he joins the big jam session in the sky.

Media reviews

"As the narrative gathers momentum, the images and driving rhythms of the blues seem to work closer and closer to the surface, so that by the end of this fine novel we are listening to prose of such deceptive simplicity and fine-hewn poetry that it sings."