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jessica_lam 's review for:
Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram
by Iain Banks
Rounded up 3.5. Banks' Raw Spirit is 1/3 whiskey, 1/3 driving, 1/3 memoir. As one goes through the book, one starts looking forward to different parts of those thirds as they come up.
As far as a fiction writer getting a publishing deal of a memoir, getting one that funds a trip around Scotland to visit all of its distilleries and taste different years, blends, expressions (for research, of course), is a pretty sweet way to do it. Admittedly, I've never read any of Banks' previous works - I'd actually purchased this book on a whim about 3-4 years ago when I was getting into whiskeys, but he has a fun way of writing that is personable while occasionally interjecting beautiful imagery of the Scottish landscape. His anecdotes of his friends, childhood, rants are fun asides you can see yourself having with a friendly stranger, while enjoying a scotch.
When I first started the book, I was in agony over the descriptions of the roads and his cars. As someone who rarely drives, it was not a topic I was interested in and I wanted to get to the whiskey already! One very informative review of the whiskey making process later and after describing several visits and several tastings, in which he was generous in his descriptions of all of them, your mind starts to wander and I began to have an interest in Scottish roads. (Note for the editor: a map! A map! My kingdom for a map! You have a pronunciation guide in the back so this book is not only for Scots so having maps indicating where in the world is Iain Banks would have been very helpful).
Near the last third, one feels familiar with how distilleries work and the reviews of the distilleries and drinks, though well-written, start to fade, as do the descriptions of roads. One looks forward to the next anecdote of his life or updates on the then-current political situation. It's odd writing this review in 2020 when Trump has idiotically ran like a blind infant into Iran and reading Banks in 2003 decrying Bush and Blair for the Iraq War in its earlier stages. It's disheartening to see corrupt people in power making the same costly mistakes over and over again on the backs of the poor. Particularly moving is a scene near the end involving his father as a child and his grandfather, who'd served in the first World War, hoping that his young son wouldn't have to serve in another human catastrophe.
Over all, I enjoyed it and will return to it for a reminder of Springbank, Gran Reserva, and Grange (wine), all of which he so beautifully described that I must give them a try myself.
As far as a fiction writer getting a publishing deal of a memoir, getting one that funds a trip around Scotland to visit all of its distilleries and taste different years, blends, expressions (for research, of course), is a pretty sweet way to do it. Admittedly, I've never read any of Banks' previous works - I'd actually purchased this book on a whim about 3-4 years ago when I was getting into whiskeys, but he has a fun way of writing that is personable while occasionally interjecting beautiful imagery of the Scottish landscape. His anecdotes of his friends, childhood, rants are fun asides you can see yourself having with a friendly stranger, while enjoying a scotch.
When I first started the book, I was in agony over the descriptions of the roads and his cars. As someone who rarely drives, it was not a topic I was interested in and I wanted to get to the whiskey already! One very informative review of the whiskey making process later and after describing several visits and several tastings, in which he was generous in his descriptions of all of them, your mind starts to wander and I began to have an interest in Scottish roads. (Note for the editor: a map! A map! My kingdom for a map! You have a pronunciation guide in the back so this book is not only for Scots so having maps indicating where in the world is Iain Banks would have been very helpful).
Near the last third, one feels familiar with how distilleries work and the reviews of the distilleries and drinks, though well-written, start to fade, as do the descriptions of roads. One looks forward to the next anecdote of his life or updates on the then-current political situation. It's odd writing this review in 2020 when Trump has idiotically ran like a blind infant into Iran and reading Banks in 2003 decrying Bush and Blair for the Iraq War in its earlier stages. It's disheartening to see corrupt people in power making the same costly mistakes over and over again on the backs of the poor. Particularly moving is a scene near the end involving his father as a child and his grandfather, who'd served in the first World War, hoping that his young son wouldn't have to serve in another human catastrophe.
Over all, I enjoyed it and will return to it for a reminder of Springbank, Gran Reserva, and Grange (wine), all of which he so beautifully described that I must give them a try myself.