A Song of Stone

Iain Banks first novel, "The Wasp Factory", was published in 1984. In the years since, he's won critical acclaim, topped best-seller lists and has even written Science Fiction books under the cunning nom-de-plume 'Iain M. Banks'. He's also seen this book, "The Crow Road", adapted for television by the BBC in 1996. "A Song of Stone" was first published in 1997. The book is set in the aftermath of what appears to have been a long and devastating war - though at no point is any indication of its causes, or even who was fighting. While the war itself may even be over - it's hard to tell, with no real communication between different parts of the country - it's left anarchy behind : food and fuel are scarce, while there are regular skirmishes between a number of roaming factions. The story is told by Abel, an aristocrat with a title - albeit, apparently, a minor one. As the book opens, he and his beloved Morgan are abandoning their castle - hoping to avoid the sort of people it would probably attract. Unfortunately, they are captured early in their journey by a band of partisans who - as Abel feared - viewed the couple's home as an excellent base of operations. Abel and Morgan are taken back to their home - now, as trapped by the castle's walls as they are protected by it. The book is told entirely from Abel's point of view - "I wonder at the lieutenant and the history of her men". Gradually, hints of his former life are given, much of it involving the development of his relationship with Morgan. Little, on the other hand, is told of the lieutenant or her men - even their real names are withheld. The language and style used is very descriptive at times, lyrical and nearly pretentious in places. For all his attempts to romanticise his thoughts, his feelings and his past, however, I found Abel to be an increasingly dislikeable character : for a member of the nobility, there was very little noble about him. In fact, as the book went on, I wasn't even convinced Morgan felt any real warmth towards him. For someone who hasn't read anything by Banks, I'm not sure I'd recommend this as a starting point - "Whit" and "The Crow Road" would possibly be a better introduction. However, "A Song of Stone" is certainly worth reading.

Iain Banks' novels are generally not full of bright happy sunshine and singing children (Consider Phelbas has to be the most depressing SF novel I've ever read) but even in the darkest stories there are islands of humors, snatches of dialogue that make you laugh out loud or absurdist situations that can't fail to bring a chuckle to your face. This novel has none of those things. It's just grimness personified, with the tone set right at the beginning and only going downhill from there. It takes place in some unspecified country at an unspecified time during a war for an unspecified cause. Two young lovers, a lord and lady of a castle, try to escape the country. Not too far out, they are captured by a band of soldiers led by a nameless lieutenant, who makes them go back to the castle. The jacket of the book makes it seem more plot centered than it actually is, from that point the book is nearly episodic in nature, with more examples of war and desolation and human darkness, finally ending really in the only way it can. There is absolutely nothing uplifting in this book, even the narrator (the young lord) is decadent and selfish and self-absorbed, and nobody else makes out much better. But for all the bad stuff going on in here, nothing is truly shocking, especially if you've read his other books . . . there are hints of weird relationships, acts of human brutality that in these days of access to world-wide news should be nothing surprising (the most brutal thing I saw was towards the end and involved a mill, frankly, I thought it was well done, really) . . . fortunately that's not really the point, at least as far as I can tell. What works the best here is Banks' writing, which is more fluid and poetic than of us books so far, rich in description and metaphor, yet it rarely becomes bogged down and wordy. It's a different style than he's used so far and it works brilliantly, giving the novel a dense and almost clastrophobic sense to it. In the end, though I'm not sure what you're left with . . . events escalate and go downhill, bad stuff happens and it all comes to a conclusion that you may or may not agree with. I didn't think it was bad as many others on the board, it was highly readable and once you get used to the dark tone it's really not that big a deal, and the prose is beyond excellent. However it shouldn't be anyone's first Banks book, or you're going to think he's this depressing writer out to shock people. I'm pretty sure there's a deeper message to this book somewhere but at some point it gets lost. So what you're left with is a well written very realistic novel that definitely won't give you a warm and fuzzy feeling when you're done. If you can stomach that (even the violence isn't that graphic) then you shouldn't have any problems. But he's done better, for sure. But you can't hit them all out of the park. Better luck next time.

I am an avid reader of books containing challenging ideas, and after five reads over a year I am still digesting "A Song of Stone". This book communicates the horror of the human experience better then anything I've read since "The Heart of Darkness". Banks uses a morbid and brooding tone similar to that of "The Wasp Factory" but does so with more maturity and greater lyrical precision. "A Song of Stone" is not for those readers who seek recreational escapism or morally clean and simple tales. Bank's ability to make the horrid both lovely and beautiful is his greatest strength as a writer and is probably the cause of negative reviews seen here. To enjoy this book requires you to be psychology prepared to enter a dark and occasionally monstrous world, and to allow some of your most taboo impulses to surface into conscience thought. I consider it to be a hell of a good time- definitely a book to own rather then borrow. "A Song of Stone" along with "The Bridge" is Banks at his best. Due to it's content, most people do not consider this "appropriate" reading - I feel that is exactly the reason it should be read.

I nearly gave up on this book six months ago. It was a tough read, and it took me a month of stops and starts to finish. Most of Banks' works are such a delight; this one is not. The story does not move well and the trappings of sex and violence are seemingly gratuitous. The writing is -- as usual for Banks -- nearly flawless and beyond reproach, but the ending is... well, not terribly satisfying. Now it is six months later, and I cannot forget the imagery. The work makes for a powerful commentary on human weakness. By weakness, I mean not our frailties, but our failings. Each of the book's characters is flawed, but I suspect that they are more real that way. I find myself just a bit changed from reading the book, and that is quite to the credit of Banks in my eyes. I think he aimed for a difficult and diffuse target with _Song of Stone_; maybe he missed by a bit, but the result was a book worth my time.

A book that will haunt you - but not destined to be as popular as his earlier efforts. But this book will make most readers think. Certainly one of the best books I have read, but not an entirely pleasant experience. Banks defies categorization, and continuously surprises his following. He takes his readers to a different place in a different way each time, particularly with his latter efforts, marking his maturity as an author. I yearn for the print of the next step in his evolution.