The quarry is iain banks final novel, which was published posthumously in late june 20. You can imagine him going through the same turmoil as guy, one of the main characters who is dying of cancer. Endlessly creative, perhaps overly so ive had the algebraist on the shelf for quite a few years, patiently waiting its turn in the reading rotation. Iain banks, who died this month, was one of my favourite writers. After the publication and success of the wasp factory 1984, banks began to write on a fulltime basis. The quarry, by iain banks a funny, stupid, pointless, infuriating, glorious, humane, smart farewell. Iain banks s most popular book is the wasp factory.
Some have commented on the shallowness of the visiting characters. Iain banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, the wasp factory, in 1984. Everyone by now knows the circumstance that dictates this is iain bankss last book. He wrote mainstream fiction under the name iain banks, and science fiction as iain m.
He wrote mainstream fiction under the name iain banks and science fiction as iain m. On closer examination, it becomes obvious that the quarry 20 does not follow one particular spatial paradigm among the four models characteristic of banks s mainstream prose but rather fuses them all. Iain banks was educated at the university of stirling where he studied. The writer iain banks, who has died aged 59, had already prepared his many admirers for his death. Read the quarry by iain banks available from rakuten kobo.
It certainly isnt my most favourite book by iain m banks, but it works better than some of the other nonsf books that i have read. The main character, kit, faces the death of his father and the destruction of his childhood home, which will literally be swallowed up as the neighbouring quarry expands. Banks, including the initial of his adopted middle name menzies following the publication and success of the wasp factory 1984, banks began to write on a fulltime basis. Sunday express its the testimony of a writer refusing to go quietly, iain banks has got the last word. It is less well known that his first published work was the poem 041, in new writing scotland in 1983. Banks is no stranger to melancholy, but the story was mixed with a kind of optimism that you rarely see outside his scifi works. The wopuld family built its fortune on a board game called empire. To my shame, ive largely not read very many of these though i would recommend the. But most of all he wants to stop time and keep his father alive.
Publication of this novel was rushed forward after he revealed he had terminal cancer but. Sadly the quarry is the last book iain banks ever wrote, and it is certainly a very poignant read. Banks s relaxed fluency the direct, funny, unpretentious intelligence of his writing, which, along with his teeming imagination, made him perhaps britains bestloved major contemporary novelist. I have been reading iain banks and iain m banks books since his brilliant debut novels the wasp factory and consider phlebas and so it is with a rather sad frame of mind that i began to read the quarry his last non science fiction novel. The author, who died on 9 june 20, was in the advanced phases of terminal gall bladder cancer at the time the book was being prepared for publication. Banks claimed in an interview that complicity is a bit like the wasp factory except without the happy ending and redeeming air of cheerfulness. The quarry kindle edition by banks, iain m literature. Buy iain banks ebooks to read online or download in pdf or epub on your pc, tablet or mobile device. Banks s father was an officer in the admiralty and his mother was once a professional ice skater. Fastpaced, gripping and savagely funny, the quarry is a virtuoso performance whose soaring riffs on the inexhaustible marvel of human perception and rage against the dying of the light will stand among iain banks greatest work. Dark family secrets, a longlost love affair and a multimillion pound gaming business lie at the heart of iain banks s fabulous new novel. There was already a great deal of poignancy hanging around the quarry when iain banks announced two months ago that he had terminal. In a career spanning twentynine years, he wrote an impressive twentynine books including the science fiction culture books as iain m.
After the wasp factory from iain banks, this was my second novel which i have read. Like the poems that appeared within his novels, this was selected from the many he had written between 1973. William gibson there is now no british sf writer to whose work i look forward with greater keenness. Banks is a phenomenon writing pure science fiction of a peculiarly gnarly energy and elegance. Iain banks may have just missed seeing his last book on the shelves but he can rest safe in the knowledge that what he has bequeathed us is something very. Banks is most famous for his postscarcity aidominated culture space opera series, i suspect his nonculture novels often get less attention. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. The quarry kindle edition by banks, iain m download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Iain banks died last sunday, just before the publication of his final novel the quarry. This is the 28th and last novel by the inimitable iain banks, who died a fortnight ago at the age of 59. I finally got round to reading iain banks final book, the. Iain banks has 26 books on goodreads with 294322 ratings. The times poetic, humorous, baffling, terrifying, sexythe books of iain m. I wonder if iain banks own struggle with cancer was personified by the main characters father, who was at times cruel and very difficult not hard to understand, with the great challenges that he faced in his illness.
What he does know, however, is that his father, guy, is dying of cancer. The guardian the quarry is a satisfying end to a fine writing career. Iain banks 16 february 1954 9 june 20 was a scottish author. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. This author also published science fiction under the pseudonym iain m. The quarry, by iain banks a funny, stupid, pointless. Last month he talked to stuart kelly about writing, politics and all the things still left to do. The themes of violence and substance abuse in the book, along with the grim ending, seem to point to banks growing pacifism. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the quarry. The protagonist, a drug addicted guy working for some newspaper gets. He has since gained enormous popular and critical acclaim for both his mainstream and his science fiction novels which are published under the name iain m banks iain banks died in june 20.
The quarry ebook by iain banks 97814055142 rakuten kobo. It deals with an autistic youth, kit, and his father, guy, a misanthrope who is dying of cancer. Significant sections of the novel are written in secondperson narrative. Iain banks is celebrated as a novelist and science fiction writer. Banks s last novel, posthumously published in 20, eludes easy categorization. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Kindle edition published in 20, 1408703947 hardcover published in 20, 03498591 paperback published in 2014, kindle. Iain calls himself iain m banks on the cover of his science fiction novels and calls himself iain banks on his other books which are mostly thrillers. Fastpaced, gripping and savagely funny, the quarry is a virtuoso performance whose soaring riffs on the inexhaustible marvel of human perception and rage against the dying of the light will stand among iain banks. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. On closer examination, it becomes obvious that the quarry 20 does not follow one particular spatial paradigm among the four models characteristic of banks s mainstream prose but. I am sad that this is the last new book i will be able to read of iain banks. The quarry is an honorable finale to an exciting career. On 3 april he announced on his website that he had inoperable gall bladder cancer, giving him, at.