The Crow Road - Iain Banks

The Crow Road is my favourite Iain Banks novel. For a long time, when I was reading his books, I told myself not to re-read them, because they'd never be as good, never have as much mystery to them the second time around, and I'd get bored. But there are so many little things to pick up on, like a good film, that I'll probably really enjoy re-reading it again next week. Our hero is a teenager called Prentice McHoan. He's been through life like a lot of us - school, college, and now at Uni. His time there has let him get away from his family, which he was glad of, because, like most teenagers ... more

This wonderfully written book is laden with memorable characters and poignant images. One that stuck with me particularly is from the very opening scenes of the book, 'Uncle Hamish quietly snoring in harmony to Bach's Mass in B Minor', which takes place at the narrators Grandmothers funeral. The rest of the book weaves around the story of a deeply complicated and torn family, set somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. The main thrust of the book is the quest of young Prentice McHoan to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his Uncle Rory; missing for more than 10 years. This is not made any ... more

How can you dislike a novel that begins "It was the day my grandmother exploded"? Right from the start, this book kept me enthralled. There were a couple of problems with the timeline - the action jumps around rather a lot, through the life of the lead character, and it is quite difficuly, from time to time, to keep track of what time zone we're in at any given moment. But once you get that sorted out, you will lose yourself in what is probably Banks' best book to date. It's not that easy to categorise the Crow Road - it's in part a love story, part a thriller, partly a crime novel. But all ... more

In my opinion this is Iain Banks best book by far. The story unfolds at a good pace, the characters, a socialist teacher, his student son, the rich neighbour and his wife [the teacher's sister] are varied and interesting and while the plot has been done before the setting is different enough to hold your attention. The relationships between the characters are true to life and the passage from past to present and back is handled well. The Crow Road, a euphemism for death, chronicals the demise of various members of a Scottish family but constantly refers to one who is heard from, in a novel way ... more

“It was the day my Grandmother exploded.” If that doesn’t hook you as the first line to a novel I don’t know what will. The Crow Road is one of favourite Ian Banks books as its dark, almost black, comic overtones are mixed with a brilliant description of growing up with a very unusual family in Scotland. The narrator, Prentice, is one of those people who you just feel sorry for considering the rest of the family and you just want everything he wishes for to come true. I found myself absorbed by the story and it is one of those books you can’t put down. If you don’t get to read the book, don’t ... more