Iain Banks, a Scottish writer who is best known for his first novel “The Wasp Factory”, has, in my view, surpassed that landmark, in this more mature but, in many ways, shocking novel. It charts the childhood, youth and early adulthood until his thirties of Alban Wopuld. Its focus is on family life and the impact which early events can have on individuals, for better or for worse, for the rest of their lives. Banks examines the changing views and awareness of Wopuld and considers the psychological make-up of those who “have” and those who “have not”, and raises questions about what we might consider to be normal, abnormal, eccentric, odd or unacceptable. The novel is alive with a sense of guilt about origins and backgrounds and reveals the guilty secrets of the protagonists as the plot unfolds.
There is some wonderful characterisation in this novel, riveting description and a narrative which alternates between breath-taking pace, suspense and reflection. And permeating the chapters is a sense of foreboding.
I can recommend this skilfully crafted novel to boys and girls in S4, S5 and S6.
Thanks to Mr Gray, Principal at SMC for this review. If you would like to read the book, copies are available from the SMC library.
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