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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
First Iain Banks novel I have read. I can't even remember why I bought this so very long ago, but time to give it a whirl. I really really liked it. Apparently, according to GoodReads reviewers, it is far from his best, so maybe I will read one of the ones considered his 'best'. The estate of Garbadale is the family seat of the Wopould family in the north of Scotland. The family made its huge pile of money from board games, and is now into 4th generation family ownership and management. Fractures have started to appear, with some years prior a shareholding taken by an American company, now angling for a greater shareholding. There is considerable conflict amongst all the dozens of shareholders through the generations as to what to do. Meanwhile, Alban Wopould, of the youngest generation, has struggled with the legacy of belonging to and working for the family. He is a top bloke young Alby - intelligent, hard working, a good mate, but has always been haunted by his mother's suicide when he was a child. In addition he has had the most insane crush on his slightly younger cousin Sophie since they were in their early teens. Being cousins of course, it is hardly surprising that things are not allowed to progress anywhere. But this just does not seem to help Alby move on in his love life even though he has an on-off but seemingly envious relationship with the beautiful mathematician Verushka.
All this has put Alby on a path of random directions, few odd corners and no set destination in place. Until the possibility that the ownership of the family goldmine may be lost to the Americans. Alby finds that hidden grit and decides to make things happen. And that Sophie just will not go away, and hopefully Verushka comes back.
This is easy to read, with characters you come to like, even become quite fond of in an 'aww' sort of way. It won't blow your socks off and make you go wow, but certainly enjoyable.
All this has put Alby on a path of random directions, few odd corners and no set destination in place. Until the possibility that the ownership of the family goldmine may be lost to the Americans. Alby finds that hidden grit and decides to make things happen. And that Sophie just will not go away, and hopefully Verushka comes back.
This is easy to read, with characters you come to like, even become quite fond of in an 'aww' sort of way. It won't blow your socks off and make you go wow, but certainly enjoyable.
An entertaining piece of storytelling revealing the secrets behind a large family that has got rich from a classic board game, and then a video game, called Empire. It is mainly told through one of the younger members of the clan, Alban McGill, who returns from self-imposed exile to save the family business from a takeover by a larger US corporation. As he visits different relatives, and recalls incidents from his past, we learn about his mother’s suicide and his teenage passion for his beautiful cousin, Sophie. Full of comic detail and colourful characters, it is a story in which pieces are moved around a board ahead of a finale in which the family confronts the Americans and Alban takes on Winifred, the matriarch and head of the company. It pulls in themes around globalisation, imperialism and climate change and the often problematic legacy left by each generation for the next.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Rape, Suicide
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Despite this being widely proclaimed as a real return to form for Banks I thought it was rather an average Banks offering. I have always enjoyed his books and this was no exception but I found the central story of the long lost love a bit irritating at times and I honestly thought that most of the characters were stereotypes with little real development. The ending was both expected an unexpected and did add a meaning to some of the parts of the story that at times felt a bit odd.
Overall a long way from being my favourite Banks book but definately worth a read.
Overall a long way from being my favourite Banks book but definately worth a read.
Well, it's not as bad as the teeth-gnashingly bad Dead Air, but a long way below his best work. One Amazon review even retitled it The Steep Decline Towards Garbage. It revisits a lot of old ground: extensive and eccentric Scottish family ruled by a patriarch (as in both Whit and Complicity), and the growing pains of the usual young male protagonist, torn between two loves (also features in Complicity), what seems now to be an obligatory anti-American rant, as in Dead Air (though it is perfectly in character for Alban). Here the protagonist, Alban, is almost thirty, yet he's still mooning over his long-lost cousin Sophie, with whom he had a brief fling aged 15 and has barely seen since. I ended up thinking that it is really time Iain Banks grew up; how old is he now anyway? Maybe the whole thing is supposed to be a reflection on the special relationship between the US and the UK, cousins drifting apart, but if so it isn't very profound.[return][return]It has that now trendy structure where the story constantly jumps back and forth in time and you are never sure how each bit relates to the rest. That worked in The House at Riverton, but it doesn't work here; it just seems like a gimmick to mask the absence of plot or suspense. You can see the shock revelation coming miles away. Some passages, including the final chapter, are narrated by an extremely minor character in a rather irritating Scots accent, with greengrocer's apostrophes galore -- why?? [return][return]The ending is a damp squib, as if Banks just got tired of writing and decided it was long enough already (it could indeed have been cut by 100 pages or so). There is some good writing in places, notably describing two suicides, as always there are some laughs too, and I did finish it. But I was disappointed Banks didn't make more of Alban's girlfriend Verushka, a really strong female character who just disappears from the story until the very end. Nothing I've read has matched up to Whit -- still my favourite.
Iain Banks is too patronising and easy going. He obviously wants to be known as a Scottish writer without expect Scottish people to read the book.
The story was a bit thin on the ground, and the twist was unfortunately too predictable. Shame the characters didn't make up for it themselves, the lead just kept going on and on about his cousin. yuk. it got quite tedious by the end
Prob the last Iain Banks book I'll read as I get the impression most of his books are like this (The Business was). Patronisingly simple and thin on story/character development. Shame.
The story was a bit thin on the ground, and the twist was unfortunately too predictable. Shame the characters didn't make up for it themselves, the lead just kept going on and on about his cousin. yuk. it got quite tedious by the end
Prob the last Iain Banks book I'll read as I get the impression most of his books are like this (The Business was). Patronisingly simple and thin on story/character development. Shame.
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another enjoyable read from Iain Banks. Although I have to admit I'd guessed at the twist in the tail long before I got there. Some very funny conversations between some of the characters kept me entertained in what sometimes felt like a very drawn out story. Not one of my favourites but, as I said at the start, an enjoyable read.