The Bridge - Iain Banks

Iain Banks is my favourite author. I have never encountered any other writer with such a diverse talent, whose novels chnage in genre from out and out science fiction, to romance, to thriller, and in the case of 'The Bridge', psychological science fiction. Published in 1984, 'The Bridge' was written by Banks as a homage to the great Scottish author and painter Alasdair Gray. The novel is, in fact, based loosely upon Gray's monumental work 'Lanark', a book that is heralded as the greatest Scottish novel of all time (arguably!). Now, 'The Bridge' is admittedly a difficult and complex novel to grasp. Without giving too much away, although if you read ...  Read the complete review

An early Iain Banks which reveals the way he puts his novels together, or at least the way he used to. This is, undoubtably, a 'clever' book and I don't mean that in the derogatory way I would usually, there are concepts involved with the telling of this tale that are complex and involved and require taking away and thinking about, not necessarily conciously but you will find yourself going, 'oh yeah that could mean...' or 'maybe he was talking about this as well'. The plot is that there is a man who was in a road accident and, in the real world, is in a coma. He is dwelling in a world within his own head, the world of the bridge ...  Read the complete review

Iain Banks was born in Dunfermline, Fife, in Scotland in 1954 and was educated at Stirling University where he read English Literature, Philosophy and Psychology. He moved to London and lived in the south of England until 1988. The Bridge was written in 1986 after the success of the Wasp Factory. Orr, the otherwise unnamed main character of the novel, is a successful Scottish engineer who's fed up with his life. His work doesn't really interest him anymore; years of alcohol abuse and smoking marijuana has dulled his life; his girlfriend has other lovers (he also has lover, but he would rather his lover remained dedicated to him). Then one evening he ...  Read the complete review

I have to confess that Iain (M) Banks is one of my favourite writers. For those who don't know, he writes under the name of Iain Banks for fiction novels and Iain M Banks for his science fiction. He is adept at both genres. This title however somehow manages to straddle both genres very well indeed. The book revolves around a man who wakes up on the foundation of a huge “bridge”, which disappears to the horizon in both directions. He doesn’t remember anything, he doesn’t know his name or how he got there. At first he is treated very well by a doctor, and is given nice clothes to wear and a place to live. Very soon ...  Read the complete review

This is pure hype of course, but it is the most remarkable novel I have ever had the privilege to read. I doubt it will ever rank in the top 100 novels ever written, but I connected with it right away and it was one hell of a yarn relayed in a superb flowing style. the story opens with what seems like some kind of narrative. The voice is that of some bloke who is trapped in a strabge world. There are strong Orwellian overtones and there is a certain coldness to the environment. Our host appears to be receiving some kind of special treatment on what is eentially a huge living bridge. Things quickly move on and the reader starts to rewalise what is ...  Read the complete review