Rated of 5
by Maggie Absorbing read
This is my first Iain Banks book and I thoroughly enjoyed the attention to characters - major, minor and fleetingly glimpsed. Essentially a growing up, multigenerational, mystery hybrid set in a real-feeling Scotland, the plot remains a means to an end - that of giving the reader time to pass in the company of a well drawn, lifelike and idiosyncratic fictional community.
Rated of 5
by Mary Jo The Crow Road
"It was the day my grandmother exploded." Now I ask you. With a beginning sentence like that and when the author is Iain Banks you know you have a winner! The Crow Road is the multigenerational story of a Scots family - I know the breed. As with all good stories The Crow Road gives us a look into lives not our own and makes them seem almost familiar. This familiarity , however, breeds not contempt, but a feeling of warmth, of humor sadness - of a good story very well told. Everyone feels real. No situations seem strained. I want to re-read this book and look forward to many others. The Crow Road has my highest rating!
Rated of 5
by Debra The Crow Road
I found this novel to be dark, macabre and sometimes funny. Probably if I knew more about Scotland and the culture it would have been more readable, as there were details and phrases that were beyond me. This out of it teenager is presented in a coming of age story that rings true because it is so unusual. However, this is not a universally fascinating Holden Caufield coming of age story. It is too idiosyncratic and unusual for that. Fascination with the past, as well as misunderstandings of the present combine to provide the details of an eccentric and unusual family and the central character. Themes of mortality and identity permeate the novel. For those fascinated with growing up in a different culture it will probably “hit the sweet spot”.
Rated of 5
by Jill Complicated, compelling and thoroughly fantastic!
Iain Banks’ The Crow Road, is pure enjoyment. This compelling and complicated novel starts with a bang (quite literally) as 20-something Prentice McHoan returns to his Scottish hometown to attend the funeral of his grandmother--who explodes at the crematory in the novel’s first line. To say that the remaining 500 pages of Banks’ offering are a fun and tricky narrative of a young man coming to grips with death, family and the importance of being aware of who and what is most important to you would sadly water down a fantastic literary gift.
In McHoan, Banks has created a faulted, sometimes frivolous and always wildly entertaining character who introduces us to his merry band of sometimes semi-psycho friends and family as he delves into a family mystery. This is a book best read alone unless you want to spend a lot of time explaining to others why you are often laughing out loud--but it begs for a book club to share it with!
Rated of 5
by Susan Tereza A Thoroughly Enjoyable Challenge
Crow Road wasn’t an easy read for me; I had to work to understand it. But as I found the challenge (and the writing) extremely enjoyable, I think this is a brilliant book.
My comprehension difficulties were twofold. First, Crow Road is very much a Scottish book, and doesn’t appear to have been Americanized (Americanised?) for US publication. Result: I spent a lot of time with the OED looking up words and expressions I didn’t know. Since I love dictionary spelunking this was more than fine with me.
The second challenge was due to the writing style. Sudden switches between times and characters and points of view were tremendously confusing at first. As I grew more used to the style, and got to know the characters, time frames and locations better, I found it invigorating rather than frustrating.
So the (eventually) enjoyable challenges of comprehension, plus very clever, often funny writing, and interesting characters and plot twists, made Crow Roada fascinating read for me.
Rated of 5
by Cam The Crow Road
This was the the first Iain Banks book that I've read, and was delighted to get the chance to read The Crow Road. I, however, was very disappointed, and agree with Kim who previously reviewed it...it jumped around so much that it was too confusing for me to enjoy.
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