The Crow Road by Iain Banks.

Isn’t odd how the fates align sometimes?

Apparently it is twenty five years since this book was first published. My consciousness told me that the BBC dramatisation had starred Strictly Come Dancing Winner Joe McFadden as the erstwhile Prentice , our young anti-Hero, so when I took a quick pass at it on a You Tube, I realised that outgoing time lord Peter Capaldi also starred! I vaguely remembered

This is my first book by Banks and I was more than prepared to dislike it just because of the hype surrounding his books, but then I thought on.. if there is enough hoopla about a book’s quarter century anniversary that the good Folks at Netgalley reissue it, it has to be given a fair shot.

I found it a thoroughly engaging story! As a confirmed Sassenach I thought Mr Banks offers us a truly authentic Scottish Voice. The majesty of the Scottish landscape, juxtaposed against a family saga of a most singular nature. This is a complex and densely packed story of two generations of brothers and the close circle of friends and acquaintances that orbit them.

There are mysteries and secrets abounding and the timeline jumps around more than a kilted highlander dancing a reel, but it it was amusing, heart breaking and revealing. Love in all it’s forms is examined, faith and mysticism appraised and sibling rivalry and jealousies of many kinds unearthed throughout the course of the story.

I have read that the sudden insertion of a Murder Mystery in the last third of the book seemed incongruous to some readers, but for me it was just another facet to an already cleverly constructed tale, specifically designed to confound and keep the reader guessing about the fate of good old Uncle Rory!


The elements if taken in isolation would seem bizarre, but in combination are genius. I am a convert!

Brilliantly and cleverly written. I was hooked and laughed the whole way through. This book was a pleasure to read. The writing style is unique and tells the story in an unforgettable way.

The Crow Road (reissued) was an enjoyable read. It seems its author, Ian Banks, at his brilliant best. He captures not only the landscape but the language of Scotland, his homeland.

Couldn't read on time due to a broken e reader. My sincere apologies to the author and publisher for this.

This was a reread to tie in with the new 25th anniversary edition. It's still marvellous, a wonderful evocation of early manhood and looking for one's place in the world, wrapped up in an eccentric family saga and murder mystery. It's Scottish to the core, but also completely universal.

A family saga, which for the last few chapters turns into a murder mystery.
A book about a well off Scottish family and a very well off Scottish family.
Mainly narrated by Prentice, a student at university, but often jumping between characters & times.
Not sure if it’s because I was reading on a kindle (and I was reading an ARC), but it was a complete pain every time the book jumped to another character, because there was nothing to indicate which character was now ‘speaking’. That I could have dealt with, but also, you didn’t know when they were speaking from - present, as a teenager, as a child...
As a consequence, this wasn’t a book I devoured or was particularly eager to read. It was a trudge.
There are some very funny parts, hence still 3 stars, and I loved the character Kenneth. I loved every time he was narrating & his children’s stories.
Prentice was just too much of a wet lettuce. And Ash - what was she thinking at the end!
All the drinking & hangover scenes just seemed cliche (although credit here, this book was written 25 years ago, so maybe when first released, these last pages wouldn’t have seemed so tired).
Wouldn’t recommend. Has put me off reading more by this author (I enjoyed The Wasp Factory), but not a memorable book.

The book starts with my favourite first line of any book I have read
'It was the day my grandmother exploded'. I had previously seen this as a TV mini series many moons ago and cannot understand why I haven't ever read any of Bank's work. The book starts with a death yet there is no sadness there with the dark humourous storytelling from our protagonist Prentice McHoan. It almost feels like a comedy of errors with so very funny laugh out loud moments, that cut through the dreary subject matter being described. Whether it is death or humour, Banks writes with a cheerful melancholy making the book a brilliant read. There are some cringe moments in the book Prentice having relations with his uncles girlfriend, that he considered to be his aunt growing up being one of them. Religion and class differences is also played out in a way that is reminiscent of 'upstairs downstairs 'culture from decades previous which makes for an interesting read. However I will say you do need to keep a close eye on characters. Banks jumps generations frequently and there is no forewarning it will just be a new paragraph. I advise to look up a family tree and keep it close at hand as it helped me immensely. The story flows easily enough with the spectre of uncle Rory occasionally popping up from time to time. We see insights from Rory personally as well as from others and even through his work that Prentice becomes enthralled in. We see our protagonist trying to work out his place in life , his relationships and with the death of a loved one his stance on religion wavering also. This never really felt like a murder mystery that it turned into which makes the ending even more shocking and sad. Overall I enjoyed the book, particularly the descriptions and side stories that are intertwined in the book through different time jumps. Prentice is also a brilliant narrator - his character likable but with the realism of being floored makes him somebody you would like to befriend.

I knew of this and had seen the dramatisation on TV years ago (famously highlighting what was to be some of the best actors of their generation), but never read the book. What a treat I had missed there .. this is by no means a quick read, and has its own cadence that repays careful savouring of both plot and language - the wee twists of language are a hoot, and you genuinely want to kick Prentice in the pants to get over himself at various points ... having also only seen it years ago I'd long since forgotten the plot and particular people's angles .. suffice to say that you genuinely want to know how it all disentangles...
A superb novel, thriller, perhaps slightly gothic read about coming of age for Scots of a certain generation .. Read and enjoy.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Not sure whether I was in the mood for this genre of book or just found it very confusing.

I only read the first few pages as I quickly realised that this is not a book I enjoy reading at the present time. This is in no way a criticism of the book/author as I am sure it will be enjoyed by many people. I think it is a reissue from of an old book and I had this 'deja-vu' feeling that I did read it many years ago

I first read this book some years ago and being a fan of Iain Banks work was happy to be given the encouragement to read it again.
From the opening sentence, which is startling in itself, the book is a roller-coaster ride. The jumping backwards in time gets annoying and at times makes the book difficult to follow. Despite that the book is well written and I couldn't stop reading.

This book tells the story of Prentice and his family mostly through narration by Prentice.

The can get a little confusing at times so it is a book you want to concentrate on to get the best from the intricacies of the story.

The book was first published in 1992 and the story is set in the 80s/90s era and there is an amount of local language that might be a little difficult to follow if you are unfamiliar with the Scottish phrases but if you persevere, you will pick up the gist of what they mean.

The story is poignant with a good dose of humour thrown in and well worth a read.

First of all, very many thanks for the opportunity provided by NetGalley and the publisher to be introduced to Iain Banks’s work. I’ve generally passed by his books and not been sufficiently inspired by the synopses or reviews to persevere. And the first chapters got close to confirming my original prejudices, but my goodness - how the book hooks you and will not let you go. By 50% or so I was absolutely drawn into what was in many ways a fairly ordinary story of the intersecting lives of different families on the west coast of Scotland. But the beauty of the writing and the carefully drawn characters worked a dazzling magic on the ordinariness of the lives described that meant that every new page offered new perspectives on the central character and his various forebears and the friends and relatives that came and went within the story. A true masterwork by a master of his craft. Highly recommended!

This is still an amazing read, and such a classic now. I enjoyed re-reading it, which doesn't always happen when you go back to a book you read many years ago. If you haven't yet, you really should read this.

It’s been 25 years since the release of the book that has been widely described as Banks’ best work, and an anniversary edition was released late last year. The Crow Road covers some pretty big themes – love, death, religion, drugs and fractured families being just a few of them. Prentice McHoan returns home for his grandmother’s funeral and soon gets drawn into trying to solve the mystery of his Uncle Rory’s disappearance. It’s a dark, intense novel and far from an easy read, but the wit and sheer beauty of the writing could well make it one of your all-time favourites.

A beautifully written and amusing novel. One has to adjust to the sudden shift in time and space during the narrative but that was my only criticism. The mystery of Uncle Rory finally put to rest although his killer was never really brought to book. I was surprised the potential arson discovery didn’t move Prentice to disclose what he knew to the police, if he had he may have brought to justice not only the arsonist but the killer of Rory and possibly Fiona Urvill. Lachlan Watt finally got his eye for an aye in bedding Fiona with Fergus getting an aerial eyeful as his wife was crying, “Aye, aye, aye”! The novel concludes with Prentice and Ashley practising their Morse couplets to the rhythm method. More fun than the last time I bashed a key at a costguard station!

Thanks Netgalley & Abacus for a copy of this great work in exchange for an honest review.. I guess the use of the word 'great' tells you which side this review falls.
It's really simple if you like Iain Banks work you'll love this book - it is in my humble opinion a modern classic. If you don't know his work I urge you to persist you will be rewarded. You can read the blurb for a an insight into the story and plot. Go out buy it and then go hunting for more of the author's works. Five stars all day.

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.

<i>”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…”</i> 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 tweet-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.

This is not my normal sort of read but was given the chance in exchange for a review and I'm so glad I agreed to read it. It's such a good read.

The Crow Road tells the story of Prentice and his family. It jumps around a bit so took me a little while to follow but once I understood, I really enjoyed it. Some of the language and descriptions were a bit much for me but fitted with who was telling the story. The story features a missing uncle and I quickly figured out what had happened but it was only a small part of The story.

Oh I love Prentice so much. He's not your typical main character. He's got many flaws and messes up a lot but you can't help but love him. He's so real and he goes through so much. I loved the ending too it just finished the book perfectly.

Disappointingly uninteresting family saga that reads a bit dated despite not being that old a novel. Forgettable, dreary characters. Weak sauce!