The Crow Road by Iain BanksMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this free e-book of the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Crow Road.
Prior to this I had read just one book by Iain Banks - Raw Spirit, In Search of the Perfect Dram. The Crow Road is a revelation, first published in 1992 and contemporaneous with that time. A great panoply of a story, a lengthy tale, a huge canvas covering the trials and tribulations of the McHoan family, narrated for the most part by Prentice McHoan, who has returned to the bosom of his Scottish family in Gallanach.
”It was the day my grandmother exploded. I sat in the crematorium, listening to my Uncle Hamish quietly snoring in harmony to Bach’s Mass in B Minor…” A riveting start to a story, indeed!
Warm, funny, enchanting, poignant - the scope of The Crow Road is complex, telling the tale of the McHoan family - past present and future. A tale of unrequited love, a man preoccupied with death, sex, drink, God and illegal substances. There are passages that had me shaking with laughter; stuck in the mind, had me laughing out loud hours after reading them. Yes, it’s that good! With a satisfying mystery that Prentice is determined to solve, with unexpected consequences.
Bearing in mind that The Crow Road was published twenty-five years ago it still reads as a contemporary tale, although any background events take place in the 80s and 90s.
The Crow Road is considered by many to be Banks’ finest novel.
I loved it.
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