Many, many years ago, when I was doing my A Level English, I had one of those rare teachers who inspire you. Back then (as now) I spent a lot of time writing stories and I used to submit them as part of my coursework whenever I could. One day, the teacher asked me if I'd ever read any Iain Banks. From the sort of (slightly weird, character based) fiction I wrote, he thought Banks would be an author I'd appreciate. He recommended I start not with the obvious choice, Banks' controversial debut The Wasp Factory, but with his latest, The Bridge, a novel with one of the most striking and memorable opening scenes I've ever read. After that, I was hooked.
I've stuck with Iain Banks ever since, and though I've not loved all his books - and I could never get into his sci-fi work as Iain M. Banks - he's remained a favourite for the last 23 years. And every now and then, he comes out with a real belter...
Stonemouth revisits many familiar Banks themes and tropes. It tells of a young man returning to his Scottish family home after leaving under a cloud some years back (similar to The Crow Road), involves some very real yet very threatening local gangsters (Dead Air) and prominently features a bridge from the opening scene on. At heart it's a mystery novel - not so much a whodunit? as a whatdidhedo? - about a romance gone wrong. Like many of Banks' stories, the plot hinges on the effects of an everyday item used to devastating effects. If Dead Air made us extra cautious about using a mobile phone while drunk, Stonemouth warns us of the danger of disposable instant cameras at weddings.
Stonemouth is a gripping, funny, emotional and scary novel - it's Iain Banks back on top form. Read it.
