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‘One of the best opening lines of any novel’ Guardian
‘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, and I reflected that it always seemed to be death that drew me back to Gallanach.’
Prentice McHoan has returned to the bosom of his complex but enduring Scottish family. Full of questions about the McHoan past, present and future, he is also deeply preoccupied: mainly with death, sex, drink, God and illegal substances…
Praise for Iain Banks:
‘The most imaginative novelist of his generation’ The Times
‘His verve and talent will always be recognised, and his work will always find and enthral new readers’ Ken MacLeod, Guardian
‘His work was mordant, surreal, and fiercely intelligent’ Neil Gaiman
‘An exceptional wordsmith’ Scotsman
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Reviews
Magnificent... a poignant, very funny study of life growing up in Bank's native Scotland. At times as wonderfully light and colourful as its setting the west coast of Scotland and as darkly comic as The Wasp Factory
Banks has woven a warm and funny story, rich with characters and adventures. An utterly enchanting piece of fiction... it marks a return to his brilliant best
Tight with detail and closer observation and creates a strong sense of a particular period of growing up
Banks keeps death in its place, under the boot of wit which knows that the most significant romance can blossom whilst your youngest brother is up to the elbow in Sugar Smacks looking for the plastic toy
Prentice is a most engaging narrator, self-deprecating, funny and hopelessly self-deceiving
The tense horror of the book...is done with considerable imaginative subtlety and a fine touch....This is as fine and ambitious a novel as any from a Scottish writer since the 1960s. It is also unquestionable Bank's best work to date
Menacing, dark and very funny
Riveting... exhilarating... its pace, development, intensity and, above all, its hip and sexy humour never allow it to flag. Banks reinforces his credentials as one of the most able, energetic and stimulating writers in the UK
One of the best opening lines of any novel... a warm, witty and ultimately very poignant book
His masterpiece... it's got a beating heart, and you want to keep reading
What makes Banks a significant novelist is the love and effort that go into his works, and his acute sense of the ways in which people can suffer... this is Banks's finest novel
This substantial novel indicates a restless author very firmly in the driver's seat, back on what appears to be a Scottish route with intriguing potential destinations