The Crow Road is my favourite Iain Banks novel. For a long time, when I was reading his books, I told myself not to re-read them, because they’d never be as good, never have as much mystery to them the second time around, and I’d get bored. But there are so many little things to pick up on, like a good film, that I’ll probably really enjoy re-reading it again next week.
Our hero is a teenager called Prentice McHoan. He’s been through life like a lot of us - school, college, and now at Uni. His time there has let him get away from his family, which he was glad of, because, like most teenagers, he had fought with his father extensively and now they wouldn’t talk. Prentice is so stubborn that he won’t even accept the money his father, Kenneth, sends him, despite desperately needing it. At the start of the novel he has returned to his hometown of Gallanach (Scotland) for the funeral of his grandmother. She died by falling through the roof of their glass conservatory after trying to reaffix fallen lead slates to the roof of the house. This is pretty much representative of their family as a whole - they’re an eccentric lot. The problem with explaining the plot from here is that the book does not travel in a realistic time-line. A feature of Banks’ writing is that he only introduces background knowledge when it is needed. When something happens to Prentice in the story, such as his reunion with his childhood best friend and tom-boy Ashley, we learn of their past together. It makes the links for us, which some might argue is a bad thing, but it helps create more depth to a character, a feeling of deeper understanding because we also understand relevant sections of his past.
I suppose, sticking to the most basic reading I could make, Prentice is given a quest by his grandmother (before she dies). One of the many mysteries surrounding the McHoan family is what happened to Rory, Prentice’s uncle on his father’s side. He vanished one day after various personal tragedies, and it was never established whether he died, and if so whether he was killed or killed himself, or if he is still alive and staying somewhere else. Kenneth is convinced that Rory is still alive, and so Prentice, over a year of his life, tries to discover what really happened to him. Along the way he suffers from many personal problems, including poverty and further deaths of people close to him. I could explain what happens, but as always with Banks the end is a stunning climax, so I will let you read that for yourself. You will note I said ’’the most basic’’ summery. That is because Prentice’s life does not simply consist of looking for Rory. He has Uni, he has friends, lovers and enemies, poverty, and just plain normal life to get on with. The book is more the story of Prentice’s life than his quest, and so all these other things are explored. It is a look into the life of a student, all be it one with a funny family and a more defined goal in his life than most of us. But more than that too, it explores the relationships we have, the way we are raised and the world we live in. Prentice fell out with his father over a debate about the nature of God. You wouldn’t think religion would figure heavily in a book like this, but there is a very interesting chapter that explores the ideas. I do not know whether the views are those of Iain Banks himself, although I doubt it, but it gives the reader different perspectives to consider. It is also more balanced than most books with a teenage protagonist; we get to understand Kenneth and his motivations as a father as well as the reaction his actions provoke in his son.
There is also a rather liberal view of drug taking, which is interesting again because of Iain Banks’ own views on drugs. They do seem to be a theme in his novels, but when you look at the context, I suppose they aren’t. The characters do not seem to do drugs in either of the two stereotypical contexts - junkie or townie. They are not addicted to hard drugs, and nor are they posturing in front of their friends. It’s just something they do. Prentice’s obsession with an unattainable woman, Verity, also takes up a lot of the novel. Whilst it is clear to the reader that he has a love elsewhere, it is never clear to him. This is another of Banks’ humanising touches that I like. Some of the imagery Banks uses is quite stunning. I suppose it’s the advantage of living in Scotland and setting a novel there, there is a lot of natural beauty. Cairns, lochs, mountains, valleys and seas all feature. Indeed, there is not a lot of urban life in the novel, except for Prentice’s living in Glasgow. Even that is romanticised at the end by him moving into a classically decorated mansion (the justification for this is amazing, I’ll leave you to find out). Prentice uses trains a lot, and although I cannot justify this at all, I find that comforting. The characters have lives just as anyone I know, but they have them in beautiful, natural settings. The teenagers even have piss ups on beaches and get stoned on long walks across moors. It is a life I would love to live, and it is so well described I can see it strikingly vividly in my own head.
This book is a masterpiece. It has entertaining characters and situations, realistic relationships and problems, a solid and enthralling plot that can take a slow pace to allow description, beautiful descriptions and overall a sense of reality combined with a sense of wonder that leaves you enthralled. I would recommend it to you in a second, and possibly even buy you a copy .