Customer Reviews

The Crow Road

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Iain Banks first novel, The Wasp Factory, was published in 1984. In the years since, he's won critical acclaim, topped best-seller lists and has even written Science Fiction books under the cunning nom-de-plume 'Iain M. Banks'. He's also seen this book, "The Crow Road", adapted for television by the BBC in 1996. At the time, I was only vaguely aware of Banks - however, having stumbled across and enjoyed the BBC's adaptation, I was determined to pick the book up as well. I'm glad I did - as much as I can remember enjoying the show, I think I enjoyed the book more.

The Crow Road's central character is a young Scot called Prentice McHoan. A Star Wars fan as a boy, he's given up his attempts to master the force and now studies history at university in Glasgow. It would be fair to say, however, that he has more interest in alcohol, drugs and sex in general and the beautiful Verity Walker in particular. Prentice's key relationship, however, is probably the one he has (or, more accurately, doesn't have) with his father, Kenneth. Rather than Glasgow, most of the story takes place in and around his home village of Gallanach - visits home are fairly regular for various parties and funerals. Most of the supporting cast is made up of his own family, the Urvills and the Watts (friends to the McHoans over several generations). Fergus Urvill is not only Kenneth's brother-in-law, but also a lifelong friend. (Very good friends, in fact, based on the amount of abuse they give each other). As boys, Kenneth and Fergus were also friendly with Lachy Watt, an uncle of some Prentice's best friends : Ashley, Dean and Darren.

Due to a falling out with Kenneth, Prentice usually stays with his Uncle Hamish when he comes back to Gallanach - the rift between Kenneth and Prentice being caused by a difference of opinion over religion. However, not only is Uncle Hamish certain there is a God, he's also invented his own faith. Another uncle, Rory, an author and television presenter, hasn't been seen in 8 years - some believe him to be dead. Prentice, meanwhile, has a suspicion he's still alive while Kenneth seems strangely sure of it. The curiosity about where he is and what has happened to him simmers in the background until Prentice tries to find out what really happened to him.

The sections of the book that focus on Prentice are told from his point of view ("when I started to understand the lyrics of a Cocteau Twins song, I knew I was wrecked"). The remainder is told in 'flashback', about various different family members, and is written about them ("It was the last time Kenneth ever saw Rory"). I found it a little strange to begin with, but - once used to it - I found it really added to the enjoyment of the book. I'd look on it as less of a story, and more of a book about a group of people that strange and / or funny things happen to. That may sound a little strange, but it's a hugely enjoyable book and one that I would highly recommend.

Easily my favourite Iain Banks book. It layers in a murder-mystery, coming-of-age, an unexpected love, the growth of a town (even a country?), and tangled themes of religion, drink, family, and friends without ever missing a beat, without unintentionally confusing the reader, and without once treating its characters with anything less than the highest respect (I mean here that every one of them is utterly true to themselves even to the end of the book without ever being distorted to meet the ends of the plot). Exceptionally good and thoroughly worth its place on any reader's shelf.

The Crow Road was one of the most charming novels I've read in a long time. The storyline was original, the characters were round, and it was riveting and interesting to read - all 500+ pages of it!

This was the first novel I'd read by Iain Banks, so I didn't know what to expect. His descriptive powers are truly first-rate, however, and he has a remarkable gift of being able to capture the mood of an environment with only a few well-chosen words. The locations were described magnificently, and he managed to make you feel as though you were really there. As a reader, I truly fell for Prentice's sort-of dopey bad luck. He was a wonderful and endearing choice for a main character, and he was defined incredibly well.

I have only two (very slight) criticisms of this novel. First, I found the ending to be rather anti-climactic. Perhaps the romantic side of me was hoping it would end differently; I felt that it was kind-of ho-hum. Second, I found the book difficult to follow at times. Certain passages were described very cryptically, and once or twice I had to give up in trying to figure out what was being explained. For the first half of the book, the chronology jumped around quite a lot, and I feel that Banks managed this more adeptly at some times than at others.

All in all, I was quite pleased by this novel. It was definitely one which was tough to put down (which could explain why I'm so sleepy lately!) and I'm sorry to see it end.

While I won't go so far as calling this his masterpiece (mostly because he's still fairly young and his real masterpiece is still lurking within him somewhere) this is probably his most consistently enjoyable and amazing book and the best one to thrust upon family and friends saying, "See? See? He is a genius." All of Banks' novels (yes, even Canal Dreams) have something to offer the reader, but previous (and future) novels all were quirky in one way or another and while his writing and plotting was so good it didn't matter, sometimes it felt like the oddness was masking what he really wanted to say. Not so in this book. He focuses on the people of Scotland, specifically the McHoan family and peripherally the Watt and Urvill families, all with different social and financial backgrounds, all with family members as different as the people you know. His characterizations are amazing, about a third of the book is told in a third person perspective while the rest is told by middle son Prentice . . . yet every character feels absolutely real, even the people who only show up for a few pages. All have different ideals and beliefs and ways of living and the fun is watching all that clash. The first third of the book might turn some folks off at first as Banks takes his time setting the background, shifting backwards and forwards in time and showing the main two generations of the family at different stages on their lives. Once you get used to it, it's not that difficult to figure out who is what and what period of time you're looking at, and he does a brilliant job at making the sections echo and inform each other, so even though they're out of sequence they feel like they're in sequence. For me, these sections make the book, as he details some of the magic of growing up in Scotland as a young lad, and an excellent job of showing one generation growing older and doing its best to make way for the incoming crew, and so on. His people and their relationships feel real and I wonder how much of this was taken from Banks' own life, but honestly it really doesn't matter. Maybe he made it all up. Who cares? It takes up a huge chunk of the novel but it's so well done I don't think I could stomach removing any of it. There's also a central mystery to the book and the later portions of the novel deal with it specifically, and that's where all the little bits and hints he dropped in the early scenes comes into play. But in the end it doesn't even really matter, and the mystery itself never overtakes the story of people and their families just living. This novel works on almost every level, on a literary, emotional, symbolic level, he crams everything he can into it (since it is basically about life) and all of it works beautifully. It makes for almost compulsive reading and the characters go beyond resonating into almost becoming real, so that when any of them die, it feels like a real loss, but the book merely mourns and moves on, because in the end that's all anyone can do. I also like how the book leaves questions unanswered for the reader to ponder, just like in real life when not everything ties up as neatly as we'd like. In case you haven't figured it out from my heaps of praise, this is probably my favorite "regular" Banks novel (Use of Weapons is the best Iain M Banks book) and comes with the highest recommendation, it's like nothing else he had done and yet it's undeniably his work. It gives me great hope that when he does come out with his absolute masterpiece, it's going to be truly amazing indeed. But for now, we have this.

"The Crow Road (CR)" is an atypical Iain Banks novel (I am told) but that's where I chose to wet my feet. None of that sci-fi or futuristic stuff for me. It's a big book but don't be intimated by it. Sure, Banks takes his time setting the scene and you may get a little impatient or lost making out who's who and getting the chronology of events into perspective - Banks does get carried away toggling between past and present in the first third of the novel - but persevere 'cos when the story finally gets going and builds into a dramatic climax, it becomes a real page turner and by then, you're hooked and can't wait to find out how it'll end.

The McHoans and the Urvills are an extended Scottish family. They are highly eccentric and of all persuasions - atheists, religious, environmentalists, etc. You name them, you'll find them. Throw them together and you have an explosive cocktail of types. Banks also introduces the perenniel class divide, with the working class Watts on one side and the moneyed Urvills on the other. How their paths cross is the one surprise element that will propel the story towards its own dramatic conclusion. Meanwhile, poor, confused young Prentice, the novel's protagonist, isn't coping too well with his love life. He falls in lust with the lovely Verity when his heart belongs to another. As soon as Prentice cottons on to the sinister happenings within his family - a mysterious disappearance, untimely deaths, etc - the tempo of CR changes, the narrative acquires more focus - no more going backwards and forwards in time - and we're onto a thriller that builds relentless into a climax.

CR is a sleeper. A little too loose and sprawling perhaps at the beginning, but is quickly transformed into a heady thriller with a heart when Banks starts to focus and everything else falls into place. A marvelous novel, I enjoyed it very much.

Banks is a pretty honest fellow. As a writer he doesn't consciously set out to make his heros and heroines 'good', infact he certainly packs them with faults and foibles. A bit like real people in fact. Prentice is the same, and he's all the more enjoyable to listen to for it. "The Crow Road" is supremely enjoyable and, as has been said already, works in every way, delivering what you want out of it. When I first read it it spoke to me about the confusions of leaving your teenage years behind and the need to mature. Now, it's a rattling good murder mystery with some rather scathing politico dialogue thrown in. But there's more in the mix and you'd have to find it out for yourself.

When Banks signed my battered old copy a couple of years back he smiled at the state of the cracked and dog-eared and well-thumbed book, then he wrote "Ha!" on the last page which, if you've read it, you'll understand.

Love it.

One of Banks' longer works of fiction (as opposed to the science fiction he writes as Iain M. Banks), The Crow Road is an outstanding novel. This time around, we find Banks taking on a family saga. Amazingly Banks is able to pull off such a story. He weaves a complex and intriguing family story and for extra bite, adds a little mystery to keep things interesting.

There's something haunting and magical in everything I've read by Banks and The Crow Road is no exception. It's a shame it can't be found in the United States. Hopefully Banks begins to receive the attention he deserves.

This is an excellent book - my favourite Banks novel (I've read all his non-SF novels). Prentice is a great character, and someone you can't but help feel sympathy for. Great writing, great story, and some spot on cultural references from the early 90s (I was the same age as Prentice at the time the book is set). If you liked this one, then you should also check out 'Whit',also by Banks, which is absolutely hilarious...

At first it is not exactly clear what is going on. But then you continue and the plot starts to resolve. Meanwhile you are getting to know a cast of human and fallible characters. The teenage agonies and embarressments of Prentice are handled well.

On second and subsequent readings, not having to concentrate as much on the plot, you can enjoy the prose style.

As a further recommendation, the BBC televsion production is very faithful to the book and worth trying to obtain on video.

..that this fantastic book is out of print! I managed to pick up a copy at a Borders book shop in San Diego during a recent trip out west. My original intent was to pick up a copy of The Wasp Factory (5 stars as well) for my brother-in-law, so I grabbed that and The Crow Road. It's cliche, but it's also the truth: I started reading The Crow Road upon departure from California, and did not put it down until I had to get on the Subway in New York. This is a well-paced book, with a wonderful story. Banks' writing is an absolute pleasure to read. If I can find another copy of this book, my brother-in-law's collection will be expanding soon.