Books - The Crow Road

I never seem to have the time to read at the moment, it not like I watch loads of telly or radio, it is just life is too busy and I spend a lot of time travelling, so it was nice to find an unabridged book in MP3 format that I been wanting to read for an age. The book in question is "The Crow Road" by Iain Banks which I first came across as a BBC television drama many years ago. 

It is a book that many argue is the best opening line of modern times "It was the day my grandmother exploded", so simple but instantly grabs your attention and takes you into the story to the point that you don't want to put it down. It is the writing of someone that has a skill and talent that most of us could only aspire to. The writer is the late Iain Banks who died recently and thankfully we are fortunate enough to be left with some of his wonderful writing to take into the mists of time.

The book follows the quest of Prentice McHoan as he tries to find out what happened to his Uncle Rory who disappeared eight years ago after finding some papers concerning a book he was writing called the "The Crow Road". This leads he attempt to solve the mystery the of the disappearance of his uncle. Along the way he must cope with estrangement from his father, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, and failure at his studies. Prentice's efforts to piece together Uncle Rory's fragmentary notes and the minimal clues surrounding his disappearance mirror his efforts to make sense of the world, love, and life in general.

It is a wonderful story and having seen the abridged BBC television drama I am really looking forward to listening to a reading of the work that inspired it, in the full. Personally I hope one day that many more good novels will be presented this way or that some device can be made that can read any book with feeling and understanding. Often peoples lives are to busy to read and there are so many distractions that being able plug yourself into a book and listen to a good story is the only way to enjoy a novel without the effort and time of reading, an art they is dying in the modern world.