A book group read. Overall, a great read, quite a hoot. On the downside, I found the timeline difficult to follow, sometimes not sure at first who was talking. It would also have been useful to have a family tree, as that was somewhat complicated.
A bit rambling at times, but some great dark humour moments (although, sometimes I felt that the one liners were just not what a person would actually say, except maybe a stand up comedian)
The intrigue was well maintained, the various relationships diverse and complex.
I actually don’t know how I would classify this book, as the humour takes the seriousness from the thriller or murder mystery.
Looking forward to our BG meeting next week ( )

I was reading 'The Crow Road' on Peterborough station when a random man asked me whether I'd read [b:The Wasp Factory|567678|The Wasp Factory|Iain Banks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1434940562s/567678.jpg|3205295]. I replied with total honesty: “Yes, and I hated it.” This appeared to amuse him. My experiences with Ian Banks novels have varied wildly. His writing is always accomplished; he is undoubtedly a craftsman with words. His characters and themes, however, are not always to my taste. I enjoyed 'The Crow Road', a family saga with a mystery in the last few chapters. Prentice the narrator was largely sympathetic and his family were appealingly vivid and odd. Banks certainly fleshes out a convincingly eccentric set of relatives. Indeed, as I read I contemplated the foibles, fallings-out, and fiascos in my own family from a novelistic angle. The McHoan family experience a great deal more drama than mine is accustomed to, but this is told in a naturalistic manner so doesn't seem excessive or forced. The family relationships are delicately drawn and convincing. I did wonder how normal it was that the whole family drank such a lot, though. Maybe my close family are unusually abstemious? The depiction of intergenerational and political differences were a lot easier to relate to.

The whole book is also a love letter to Scotland, which was perhaps my favourite aspect. The landscapes are beautifully evoked and many scenes take place during journeys by car or train and other interstitial moments. I found the narrative moving and involving, sometimes even profound. Although this isn't my favourite Banks novel (currently [b:Transition|6436659|Transition|Iain M. Banks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425502839s/6436659.jpg|6626240]), it's definitely one that I appreciated. ( )

Excellent story about family & secrets & grief. I love a story that can put grief in the silent moments.
Notable humanity and the humor. I enjoyed the recurrence of ballast as motif. Was the mystery necessary? It was certainly a change in tone, but also needed for earlier insights. ( )

I found The Crow Road by Iain Banks a very enjoyable read. The author skilfully mixes multi-generational family drama with a mystery that threads throughout the book. Prentice McHoan is the young man who relays the story. He is in his early twenties, a student at university in Glasgow, who loves to party. The memorable opening of the book finds Prentice at his family home in Gallanach for the funeral of his grandmother, but he finds himself thinking about his Uncle Rory, a travel writer who disappeared eight years earlier, many in the family believe that Rory has died, calling it “away on the Crow Road”.

From here the book jumps around between the generations of three families, the McHoans, the Urvills and the Watts. These families have been entwined by both friendships, careers and marriages through the years and as we learn of the past and the present we are introduced to some interesting characters that the author has developed with sly humor and intelligence. We learn to care about them through the wildly funny or, at times, deeply tragic incidences that have occurred through the years.

The Crow Road is a coming-of-age, mystery combination whose setting in Scotland brings the story to life. I was a little confused at the beginning of the book when the author jumped between times and characters, but the individual voices were so well developed that I soon felt comfortable with this format. The book evoked feelings of warmth, sadness, and humor and this, along with some fascinating plot twists made The Crow Road a memorable read. ( )

He's away the Crow Road. ( )