Tag: iain banks

Review: Espedair Street by Iain Banks

On By Beth JonesIn Book ReviewLeave a comment

Storygraph | Bookshop.org

Daniel Weir used to be a famous – not to say infamous – rock star. Maybe still is. At thirty-one he has been both a brilliant failure and a dull success. He’s made a lot of mistakes that have paid off and a lot of smart moves he’ll regret forever (however long that turns out to be). Daniel Weir has gone from rags to riches and back, and managed to hold onto them both, though not much else. His friends all seem to be dead, fed up with him or just disgusted – and who can blame them? And now Daniel Weir is all alone. As he contemplates his life, Daniel realises he only has two the past and the future. He knows how bad the past has been. But the future – well, the future is something else.

After reading The Wasp Factory, I really didn’t know what the experience of Espedair Street was going to be. The same friend who lent me The Wasp Factory also lent me Espedair Street, and this book is a comfort book of his. I really related to that throughout the book, and I found it quickly became a comfort for me as well.

Although a very different story to the darkness of The Wasp Factory, I went into this straight after finishing it and could see Banks’ writing carrying over in these pages. Musical biopics (and biopics in general) are not something that I generally pick up, but this was such a fascinating study of a life and I really enjoy books that span longer periods of time and reflect on life, as this one does.

I found this book quite calming and lovely in a way, and it feels so quiet somehow. It has the same day-to-day narrative as The Wasp Factory, but evidently with very different focuses. I think the focus of smaller, quieter aspects of Daniel’s life is what made it so comforting for me. I could see it playing in my head, and the fact this book doesn’t have an adaptation is honestly insane.

Although this is a fiction book, it feels, and could so easily be, real. I think that’s one of the biggest joys of this book and is why it feels so real and relatable. The ending of the story made me hug the book to my chest after I finished it. It was a delight.

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

On By Beth JonesIn Book ReviewLeave a comment

Storygraph | Bookshop.org

Frank – no ordinary sixteen-year-old – lives with his father outside a remote Scottish village. Their life is, to say the least, unconventional. Frank’s mother abandoned them years ago: his elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital; and his father measures out his eccentricities on an imperial scale. Frank has turned to strange acts of violence to vent his frustrations. In the bizarre daily rituals there is some solace. But when news comes of Eric’s escape from the hospital Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother’s inevitable return – an event that explodes the mysteries of the past and changes Frank utterly.

This book is one of those books you put down after finishing it and say, out loud to yourself, what the f**k did I just read.

I’d never read an Iain Banks book, and this was not necessarily one I’d have picked up for myself. However, I recently borrowed a few of my friends most-loved books, and this is one of the books he lent to me.

This book is clever, it is visceral, it is dark and twisting and twisted, and I honestly do not think it will ever leave me. It’s been a week or so since I finished this book, and it probably pops into my head at least once a day. Although most of this story is the day to day life of a teenager, it is the life of a rather messed up teenager. It focuses on some very difficult and hard topics, and is not one for the faint of heart.

However, there is something so compelling about this book. Despite the dark themes, I constantly wanted to pick it up while I was reading it. Although this one doesn’t necessarily read as a thriller or mystery, there is this constant feeling of walking up a mountain and knowing there will be something incredible at the top. There’s a sense of such intrigue to this story and the payoff is just brilliant.

Yes, this book is dark and shocking and twisted and I cannot say I necessarily found it an ‘enjoyable’ read. It is disgusting and it gets under your skin. But it is undeniably, one of the cleverest books I have ever read, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. For that, it was definitely a 5 star read for me.

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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