The Fairley Brothers in Japan
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The Fairley Brothers in Japan
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From the author of Poor Ghost comes a poignant road trip novel following two middle-aged brothers, Chris and Andy Fairley, as they attempt an unlikely musical comeback in Japan.
Chris and Andy Fairley couldn't be more opposite--Chris, an uptight, ever-pessimist, and Andy, a go-with-the-flow hopeful. Their glory days seemed long behind them since their moderate success as a folk-rock duo and their relationship with each other fizzled out in the mid-1980s. But when their hit song is unexpectedly chosen for a Japanese car commercial, the men are given one last shot to revive their fame and friendship.
They embark on a tour across Japan, but soon find their venues are far from glamorous: a wedding reception where they're asked to play their hit on repeat, a flower farm gift shop, a windy sculpture park, and a restaurant where customers catch their own fish. As tensions between the brothers rise and a strange reporter begins following them all around the country, the men aren't sure if the band or their relationship will survive. With echoes of Andrew Sean Greer's Less, The Fairley Brothers in Japan is a gently comic exploration of aging, family, and belonging. It's a tale of two brothers, not just hitting the road, but rediscovering themselves along the way.
David Starkey is the author of the widely acclaimed novel, Poor Ghost, published by Keylight in 2024. In addition to writing fiction, he has published twelve books of poetry, most recently The Moon Shall Not Give Her Light (Vine Leaves Press, 2025) and You, Caravaggio (Pine Row Press, 2024). The Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Barbara City College and the Publisher and Co-editor of Gunpowder Press, he is also the author of Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief (4th edition, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2021), which for many years has been one of the most popular introductory textbooks for college creative writing courses. With drummer Eric Prothero, he records and performs as Falstaff Riley. You can learn more about David and his work at davidstarkey.net.
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