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Шаги по стеклу
«Шаги по стеклу» — второй роман одного из самых выдающихся писателей современной Британии. Произведение ничуть не менее яркое, чем «Осиная Фабрика», вызвавшая бурю восторга и негодования. Три плана действия — романтический, параноидальный и умозрительно-фантастический — неумолимо сближаются, порождая парадоксальную развязку.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1985
110 people are currently reading
2839 people want to read
About the author
Iain Banks
40 books4,867 followersThis author also published science fiction under the pseudonym Iain M. Banks.
Banks's father was an officer in the Admiralty and his mother was once a professional ice skater. Iain Banks was educated at the University of Stirling where he studied English Literature, Philosophy and Psychology. He moved to London and lived in the south of England until 1988 when he returned to Scotland, living in Edinburgh and then Fife.
Banks met his wife Annie in London, before the release of his first book. They married in Hawaii in 1982. However, he announced in early 2007 that, after 25 years together, they had separated. He lived most recently in North Queensferry, a town on the north side of the Firth of Forth near the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge.
As with his friend Ken MacLeod (another Scottish writer of technical and social science fiction) a strong awareness of left-wing history shows in his writings. The argument that an economy of abundance renders anarchy and adhocracy viable (or even inevitable) attracts many as an interesting potential experiment, were it ever to become testable. He was a signatory to the Declaration of Calton Hill, which calls for Scottish independence.
In late 2004, Banks was a prominent member of a group of British politicians and media figures who campaigned to have Prime Minister Tony Blair impeached following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In protest he cut up his passport and posted it to 10 Downing Street. In an interview in Socialist Review he claimed he did this after he "abandoned the idea of crashing my Land Rover through the gates of Fife dockyard, after spotting the guys armed with machine guns." He related his concerns about the invasion of Iraq in his book Raw Spirit, and the principal protagonist (Alban McGill) in the novel The Steep Approach to Garbadale confronts another character with arguments in a similar vein.
Interviewed on Mark Lawson's BBC Four series, first broadcast in the UK on 14 November 2006, Banks explained why his novels are published under two different names. His parents wished to name him Iain Menzies Banks but his father made a mistake when registering the birth and he was officially registered as Iain Banks. Despite this he continued to use his unofficial middle name and it was as Iain M. Banks that he submitted The Wasp Factory for publication. However, his editor asked if he would mind dropping the 'M' as it appeared "too fussy". The editor was also concerned about possible confusion with Rosie M. Banks, a minor character in some of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels who is a romantic novelist. After his first three mainstream novels his publishers agreed to publish his first SF novel, Consider Phlebas. To distinguish between the mainstream and SF novels, Banks suggested the return of the 'M', although at one stage he considered John B. Macallan as his SF pseudonym, the name deriving from his favourite whiskies: Johnnie Walker Black Label and The Macallan single malt.
His latest book was a science fiction (SF) novel in the Culture series, called The Hydrogen Sonata, published in 2012.
Author Iain M. Banks revealed in April 2013 that he had late-stage cancer. He died the following June.
The Scottish writer posted a message on his official website saying his next novel The Quarry, due to be published later this year*, would be his last.
* The Quarry was published in June 2013.
Banks's father was an officer in the Admiralty and his mother was once a professional ice skater. Iain Banks was educated at the University of Stirling where he studied English Literature, Philosophy and Psychology. He moved to London and lived in the south of England until 1988 when he returned to Scotland, living in Edinburgh and then Fife.
Banks met his wife Annie in London, before the release of his first book. They married in Hawaii in 1982. However, he announced in early 2007 that, after 25 years together, they had separated. He lived most recently in North Queensferry, a town on the north side of the Firth of Forth near the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge.
As with his friend Ken MacLeod (another Scottish writer of technical and social science fiction) a strong awareness of left-wing history shows in his writings. The argument that an economy of abundance renders anarchy and adhocracy viable (or even inevitable) attracts many as an interesting potential experiment, were it ever to become testable. He was a signatory to the Declaration of Calton Hill, which calls for Scottish independence.
In late 2004, Banks was a prominent member of a group of British politicians and media figures who campaigned to have Prime Minister Tony Blair impeached following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In protest he cut up his passport and posted it to 10 Downing Street. In an interview in Socialist Review he claimed he did this after he "abandoned the idea of crashing my Land Rover through the gates of Fife dockyard, after spotting the guys armed with machine guns." He related his concerns about the invasion of Iraq in his book Raw Spirit, and the principal protagonist (Alban McGill) in the novel The Steep Approach to Garbadale confronts another character with arguments in a similar vein.
Interviewed on Mark Lawson's BBC Four series, first broadcast in the UK on 14 November 2006, Banks explained why his novels are published under two different names. His parents wished to name him Iain Menzies Banks but his father made a mistake when registering the birth and he was officially registered as Iain Banks. Despite this he continued to use his unofficial middle name and it was as Iain M. Banks that he submitted The Wasp Factory for publication. However, his editor asked if he would mind dropping the 'M' as it appeared "too fussy". The editor was also concerned about possible confusion with Rosie M. Banks, a minor character in some of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels who is a romantic novelist. After his first three mainstream novels his publishers agreed to publish his first SF novel, Consider Phlebas. To distinguish between the mainstream and SF novels, Banks suggested the return of the 'M', although at one stage he considered John B. Macallan as his SF pseudonym, the name deriving from his favourite whiskies: Johnnie Walker Black Label and The Macallan single malt.
His latest book was a science fiction (SF) novel in the Culture series, called The Hydrogen Sonata, published in 2012.
Author Iain M. Banks revealed in April 2013 that he had late-stage cancer. He died the following June.
The Scottish writer posted a message on his official website saying his next novel The Quarry, due to be published later this year*, would be his last.
* The Quarry was published in June 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 317 reviews
February 20, 2024
10th book for 2024. 2nd book for Banks bookclub.
I have joined a bookclub here in Berlin aiming to chronologically read through Banks opus over the coming years. While have read most of the Iain M. Banks books I have only read a couple of the Iain minus-M. Banks books. It's going to be fun re-reading his Culture novels, and finally getting around to reading his non-scifi corpus.
This one created quite a difference of opinions: one camp loathing the book and openly wondering why they ever wanted to join such an undertaking; other's admiring it—if not necessarily loving it.
It's early Banks, but his voice is very present. The book itself is composed of three separate novellas, interwoven together, with some weak linkages between them. Some of our group were keen to find a single coherent narrative, which I personally felt was a fool's errand. The book is a book about stories, in particular the stories we inhabit (this was literally true for the third scifi story whose protagonists lived in a castle made up of books). But none of the stories told are necessary true in some extrinsic sense—certainly not in the sense the characters understand them. The young Graham Park, is immersed in a love story, that turns out to be false in so many ways, finishes the book depressed but thinking he knows what is going on, but doesn't; the second story with Steven Grout, involves a man who could be paranoid schizophrenic or could be a intergalactic warrior trapped inside the body of a London road worker—who can say?; in the final story a couple of quasi-lovers are trapped playing nonsense games in a castle made of books, while trying to solve an impossible riddle in order to escape—all while a red crow encourages them to accept their fate and die rather than fail and end up living the stories of other people's lives forever.
I like the ambition of the book, more than its execution, but it was still a fun/short read.
4-stars.
I have joined a bookclub here in Berlin aiming to chronologically read through Banks opus over the coming years. While have read most of the Iain M. Banks books I have only read a couple of the Iain minus-M. Banks books. It's going to be fun re-reading his Culture novels, and finally getting around to reading his non-scifi corpus.
This one created quite a difference of opinions: one camp loathing the book and openly wondering why they ever wanted to join such an undertaking; other's admiring it—if not necessarily loving it.
It's early Banks, but his voice is very present. The book itself is composed of three separate novellas, interwoven together, with some weak linkages between them. Some of our group were keen to find a single coherent narrative, which I personally felt was a fool's errand. The book is a book about stories, in particular the stories we inhabit (this was literally true for the third scifi story whose protagonists lived in a castle made up of books). But none of the stories told are necessary true in some extrinsic sense—certainly not in the sense the characters understand them. The young Graham Park, is immersed in a love story, that turns out to be false in so many ways, finishes the book depressed but thinking he knows what is going on, but doesn't; the second story with Steven Grout, involves a man who could be paranoid schizophrenic or could be a intergalactic warrior trapped inside the body of a London road worker—who can say?; in the final story a couple of quasi-lovers are trapped playing nonsense games in a castle made of books, while trying to solve an impossible riddle in order to escape—all while a red crow encourages them to accept their fate and die rather than fail and end up living the stories of other people's lives forever.
I like the ambition of the book, more than its execution, but it was still a fun/short read.
4-stars.
June 23, 2010
When things are bad there is always hope. At least that’s what we’re told. We grow up believing that hope is one of the single most important emotions a human can feel. It is connected to the human spirit, and we are told that hope is what allows that spirit to rise above those things that would destroy us. But is it possible that there is something flawed in that equation? Could it be that the human spirit is actually found in the antithesis of hope?
I think it is. I think the human spirit is found in despair, and that it is despair which gives humanity the impetus to overcome. Iain Banks seems to share my opinion, at least he does in Walking on Glass.
Hope is worse than futile; it actually works against actions that are necessary to overcome obstacles. Those with hope are far less likely to improve their lot; they’re far more likely to be content hoping that things will get better. Those with hope are less likely take action for change; they’re more likely to be apathetic, hoping that change will just happen. Those with hope are less likely to see to the cause of a disease; they’re far more likely to be diverted by symptoms. And so on.
But those who despair, those who have nothing left to lose, those are the ones who will strive, who will take action, who will make change, who will see the disease and attack it, knowing full well they will never achieve their goals. They will combat their despair – knowing they have nothing to lose and any change will be significant – or they will die.
This is hidden within the stories of Graham Park, Steven Grout and Quiss, which make up Banks’ Walking on Glass. They must give up (or not) hope, recognize (or not) that hope is a waste of time and overcome (or not) their despair. And it is despair, not hope, that makes the difference. Banks delivers this message with the subtlety of an art forger hiding his name on a faked canvas, leaving his readers either gutted and despairing or baffled and disappointed.
It’s no wonder that Walking on Glass remains one of Banks’ least appreciated works. Very few of us have any stomach for despair, and even fewer have the stomach for a book that embraces despair. If you have the stomach, though, this is a story for you.
I think it is. I think the human spirit is found in despair, and that it is despair which gives humanity the impetus to overcome. Iain Banks seems to share my opinion, at least he does in Walking on Glass.
Hope is worse than futile; it actually works against actions that are necessary to overcome obstacles. Those with hope are far less likely to improve their lot; they’re far more likely to be content hoping that things will get better. Those with hope are less likely take action for change; they’re more likely to be apathetic, hoping that change will just happen. Those with hope are less likely to see to the cause of a disease; they’re far more likely to be diverted by symptoms. And so on.
But those who despair, those who have nothing left to lose, those are the ones who will strive, who will take action, who will make change, who will see the disease and attack it, knowing full well they will never achieve their goals. They will combat their despair – knowing they have nothing to lose and any change will be significant – or they will die.
This is hidden within the stories of Graham Park, Steven Grout and Quiss, which make up Banks’ Walking on Glass. They must give up (or not) hope, recognize (or not) that hope is a waste of time and overcome (or not) their despair. And it is despair, not hope, that makes the difference. Banks delivers this message with the subtlety of an art forger hiding his name on a faked canvas, leaving his readers either gutted and despairing or baffled and disappointed.
It’s no wonder that Walking on Glass remains one of Banks’ least appreciated works. Very few of us have any stomach for despair, and even fewer have the stomach for a book that embraces despair. If you have the stomach, though, this is a story for you.
February 21, 2024
pre-book club
The things we do for love (of book club). Easily the book I've hated most in a while. Cannot wait to keep going with my life after it (and after book club, I guess). More review later, if I can be bothered.
post-book club
I am not as fired up as I was yesterday, but my rating still stands (or it's 1.5/5 now). A lot of people liked this book and had interesting points to make about it. I think there was a lot of potential within this story, the way it's set up: three unrelated stories in sort of different genres (a melodramatic 'realistic' perspective, a sort of picaresque perspective and a straight up allegorical fantasy perspective) with tenuous connections between them. The only problem? They didn't cohere much, in theme or plot elements or anything, really. I felt like I was reading three separate stories the whole time and I was noticing that I was not excited whenever any of them would start. But I was super happy whenever the Graham Park perspective would end.
The Graham Park perspective was (to get dramatic here) HELL to read. It's basically the millionth narrative about a 19-year old boy who gets obsessed with this woman, Sara ffitch (correct spelling), and objectifies her and tries to fuck her. I have no problem feeling uncomfortable when reading, but this was just completely tedious to experience and I think my sense of omg, get over it already bled out into the other parts of the book! The one thing I liked about this perspective was that they kept talking about the canal and Camden Lock and everything, and I was there so it brought up some lovely memories.
Opening the Camden Lock pic
But then we come to another thing that bothered me about this perspective. I've now read three Iain Banks books, I liked Use of Weapons, but I'm noticing a trend! He seems to be way too into putting outrageous twists in his books, to a degree that feels unhealthy to me. And this one has a doozy that doesn't recontextualize what we've read so far, but completely undermines what has come before (I think Wasp Factory does this as well and it's annoying). There is so much damn ambiguity in the book that it devolves into a lack of clarity: of the characters, the emotional stakes, the themes. It feels absolutely slippery and frustrating. And I'm usually a fan of [well-written] ambiguity in fiction! I almost feel like I can't trust Banks and the things he sets up because of these shenanigans.
The 'picaresque' (maybe) thread is maybe the most engaging of the three, but I found it utterly unsatisfying as well. It's about this paranoid guy, Steven Grout, but I'm not sure I like the way Banks deals with possible mental illness. This was the 80s, when mental illness portrayals were used for shock value a lot more than now, but it also feels like a fictional mental illness, not one that's true to life.
And the third perspective is two people, Quiss and Ajaya, in this strange Castle, playing a bunch of familiar games but with wacky rules (Chinese Scrabble, one-dimensional chess, Tunnel - instead of bridge), that feels like a dump of tantalizing elements and ideas that doesn't feel like it coheres into anything. In the last chapter of this narrative thread we get a little discussion that tries to explain some things, to which my reaction was: well, I wish I could read a book that is about that, actually!
I could criticize a lot more, with spoiler tags, but my patience is kind of leaving me and I'd love to get on with some enjoyable reading. I don't need to 'like' the characters in a book, as long as I can understand them, but they felt flimsy and flat and untrustworthy in the way they were written. By the end I was fatigued with unpleasantness and tediousness of the tropes employed. A lot of people at book club found this book funny, but I think that in order to laugh, I need to feel at least a little bit engaged in the narrative, which didn't happen.
I will keep going with the Banks oeuvre - this specific book club is us reading through all of his work, in chronological order and I think it is an interesting project/ experiment, lead by one of my favorite people, who adores Banks's work. Supporting him and engaging with him in this thing he has a lot of passion for makes it all worthwhile!
Also, it was tough to write this review, because I'd read this Samuel R. Delany one beforehand. He is the best.
The things we do for love (of book club). Easily the book I've hated most in a while. Cannot wait to keep going with my life after it (and after book club, I guess). More review later, if I can be bothered.
post-book club
I am not as fired up as I was yesterday, but my rating still stands (or it's 1.5/5 now). A lot of people liked this book and had interesting points to make about it. I think there was a lot of potential within this story, the way it's set up: three unrelated stories in sort of different genres (a melodramatic 'realistic' perspective, a sort of picaresque perspective and a straight up allegorical fantasy perspective) with tenuous connections between them. The only problem? They didn't cohere much, in theme or plot elements or anything, really. I felt like I was reading three separate stories the whole time and I was noticing that I was not excited whenever any of them would start. But I was super happy whenever the Graham Park perspective would end.
The Graham Park perspective was (to get dramatic here) HELL to read. It's basically the millionth narrative about a 19-year old boy who gets obsessed with this woman, Sara ffitch (correct spelling), and objectifies her and tries to fuck her. I have no problem feeling uncomfortable when reading, but this was just completely tedious to experience and I think my sense of omg, get over it already bled out into the other parts of the book! The one thing I liked about this perspective was that they kept talking about the canal and Camden Lock and everything, and I was there so it brought up some lovely memories.
Opening the Camden Lock pic
But then we come to another thing that bothered me about this perspective. I've now read three Iain Banks books, I liked Use of Weapons, but I'm noticing a trend! He seems to be way too into putting outrageous twists in his books, to a degree that feels unhealthy to me. And this one has a doozy that doesn't recontextualize what we've read so far, but completely undermines what has come before (I think Wasp Factory does this as well and it's annoying). There is so much damn ambiguity in the book that it devolves into a lack of clarity: of the characters, the emotional stakes, the themes. It feels absolutely slippery and frustrating. And I'm usually a fan of [well-written] ambiguity in fiction! I almost feel like I can't trust Banks and the things he sets up because of these shenanigans.
The 'picaresque' (maybe) thread is maybe the most engaging of the three, but I found it utterly unsatisfying as well. It's about this paranoid guy, Steven Grout, but I'm not sure I like the way Banks deals with possible mental illness. This was the 80s, when mental illness portrayals were used for shock value a lot more than now, but it also feels like a fictional mental illness, not one that's true to life.
And the third perspective is two people, Quiss and Ajaya, in this strange Castle, playing a bunch of familiar games but with wacky rules (Chinese Scrabble, one-dimensional chess, Tunnel - instead of bridge), that feels like a dump of tantalizing elements and ideas that doesn't feel like it coheres into anything. In the last chapter of this narrative thread we get a little discussion that tries to explain some things, to which my reaction was: well, I wish I could read a book that is about that, actually!
I could criticize a lot more, with spoiler tags, but my patience is kind of leaving me and I'd love to get on with some enjoyable reading. I don't need to 'like' the characters in a book, as long as I can understand them, but they felt flimsy and flat and untrustworthy in the way they were written. By the end I was fatigued with unpleasantness and tediousness of the tropes employed. A lot of people at book club found this book funny, but I think that in order to laugh, I need to feel at least a little bit engaged in the narrative, which didn't happen.
I will keep going with the Banks oeuvre - this specific book club is us reading through all of his work, in chronological order and I think it is an interesting project/ experiment, lead by one of my favorite people, who adores Banks's work. Supporting him and engaging with him in this thing he has a lot of passion for makes it all worthwhile!
Also, it was tough to write this review, because I'd read this Samuel R. Delany one beforehand. He is the best.
February 5, 2009
Only for Banks completists. He was evidently dissatisfied with this book, and rewrote it as The Bridge. The second version is far superior, in fact arguably his best novel. The first is not more than so-so.
I did however like the hero's encounter with the irritating little imp. He wants to know how to get out of the labyrinth, and the imp says that it either tells the truth all the time, or lies all the time. The hero can't be bothered to construct the question that solves this tired old logical conundrum, and grabs the imp by the throat. "Tell me the way out," he says to it, "or I will throw you into this cauldron!" The imp is shocked by his blatant disregard for the rules of the game, but grudgingly acquiesces. Personally, I prefer this solution to the standard one.
I did however like the hero's encounter with the irritating little imp. He wants to know how to get out of the labyrinth, and the imp says that it either tells the truth all the time, or lies all the time. The hero can't be bothered to construct the question that solves this tired old logical conundrum, and grabs the imp by the throat. "Tell me the way out," he says to it, "or I will throw you into this cauldron!" The imp is shocked by his blatant disregard for the rules of the game, but grudgingly acquiesces. Personally, I prefer this solution to the standard one.
December 7, 2008
Walking on Glass is as underrated as it is brilliant. Iain Bank's enigmatic novel of artifice and the inherent failings of humanity has often left readers bemused and frustrated. This reviewer has little more to offer in terms of unlocking the complexities of this awesome book, save that part of Bank's brilliance is the way he never patronises his reader; choosing to tell his tale and allowing the books pervading theme of ambiguity to transcend from page to person.
It would be easy to dismiss Walking on Glass as three separate stories that are destined to collide, but in doing so one would negate the true symbiotic and symbolic facets that flow through the narrative.
Graham Park is a young man in love with Sarah ffinch, a mysterious, aloof woman he meets at a party. As he walks to meet her at her flat the story charts how Park met Sarah. And studies his growing, yet doomed, expectation.
The second character is Steven Grout a man with supposed delusions that he is trapped in a world that is not his, tormented by an enemy determined to keep him there.
And finally there is Quiss, a prisoner in a ramshackle castle; forced to fathom the rules to board games to win the right to answer the ultimate conundrum and set himself free.
Walking on Glass is a story of manipulation and isolation. It is a tale that challenges and teases human frailty; its characters trapped by their own sense of perplexity and weakness. Readers may find the lack of resolution unsettling, yet they will forever consider this a small price to pay for such an exhilarating read.
Superb!
It would be easy to dismiss Walking on Glass as three separate stories that are destined to collide, but in doing so one would negate the true symbiotic and symbolic facets that flow through the narrative.
Graham Park is a young man in love with Sarah ffinch, a mysterious, aloof woman he meets at a party. As he walks to meet her at her flat the story charts how Park met Sarah. And studies his growing, yet doomed, expectation.
The second character is Steven Grout a man with supposed delusions that he is trapped in a world that is not his, tormented by an enemy determined to keep him there.
And finally there is Quiss, a prisoner in a ramshackle castle; forced to fathom the rules to board games to win the right to answer the ultimate conundrum and set himself free.
Walking on Glass is a story of manipulation and isolation. It is a tale that challenges and teases human frailty; its characters trapped by their own sense of perplexity and weakness. Readers may find the lack of resolution unsettling, yet they will forever consider this a small price to pay for such an exhilarating read.
Superb!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2018
My first introduction to Banks.
The book follows three separate story lines:
Graham Park who is in love with a girl who he meets at a party.
Steven Grout a paranoid road mender.
Quiss, an imprisoned war criminal.
All three seemed to be completely separate, but Banks wonderfully weaves them together.
Highly enjoyable, I need to read more from this author.
The book follows three separate story lines:
Graham Park who is in love with a girl who he meets at a party.
Steven Grout a paranoid road mender.
Quiss, an imprisoned war criminal.
All three seemed to be completely separate, but Banks wonderfully weaves them together.
Highly enjoyable, I need to read more from this author.
June 8, 2013
This one's going to have me thinking for a while...
Banks' 'Walking on Glass' is the telling of three stories, the main theme of which seems to be with how the easiest of circumstances can make you... well, mad.
I know there are a lot of different takes on this book, but to me the characters of Graham, Grout and Quiss seem to represent different periods of time in a person's life, and with them the key themes of love, employment and age which, when the odds are against them, leave the respective characters feeling broken, and out of touch with reality.
It took a while to get into this book initially, and particularly the story of Quiss, which is over the top in its description of a science fiction setting, was difficult to get into at times. Still, as the three stories overlap one another, the reader finds themselves exploring the endless possibilities of what things actually mean, what is real and what is illusion, and 'Walking on Glass' does make for a fascinating read.
Still, it's not a happy ever after book - on the contrary can be very depressing in parts - and it's not a story with a definite conclusion, which has left many people frustrated, despite the blurb's promise for these characters' inevitable collision (which in retrospect is rather vague).
I can only suggest you read this book for yourself, and draw your own, but it's very much worth doing so - the possibilities are endless.
Banks' 'Walking on Glass' is the telling of three stories, the main theme of which seems to be with how the easiest of circumstances can make you... well, mad.
I know there are a lot of different takes on this book, but to me the characters of Graham, Grout and Quiss seem to represent different periods of time in a person's life, and with them the key themes of love, employment and age which, when the odds are against them, leave the respective characters feeling broken, and out of touch with reality.
It took a while to get into this book initially, and particularly the story of Quiss, which is over the top in its description of a science fiction setting, was difficult to get into at times. Still, as the three stories overlap one another, the reader finds themselves exploring the endless possibilities of what things actually mean, what is real and what is illusion, and 'Walking on Glass' does make for a fascinating read.
Still, it's not a happy ever after book - on the contrary can be very depressing in parts - and it's not a story with a definite conclusion, which has left many people frustrated, despite the blurb's promise for these characters' inevitable collision (which in retrospect is rather vague).
I can only suggest you read this book for yourself, and draw your own, but it's very much worth doing so - the possibilities are endless.
October 20, 2017
Iain (M.) Banks se caracteriza por ser un escritor cuyas tramas necesitan de una plena implicación por parte del lector. Le gusta jugar con la manera de narrar una historia, utilizando estructuras complejas, flashbacks, diferentes líneas argumentales que terminan confluyendo... Hay veces que le funciona mejor que otras; algunas de sus novelas me hubiesen gustado más si simplemente se hubiera dedicado a contar la historia linealmente. Esto no quiere decir que no me gusten los retos, los tour de force, ya que en muchas ocasiones logran un resultado más satisfactorio, creando un mecanismo mental tan perfecto que hace crecer la imaginación. Pero también es verdad que en ocasiones una de estas historias resulta tan enrevesada que termina por hartar al lector.
(O al aficionado al cine. Ahora me vienen unos ejemplos, el de las películas '21 gramos' y 'Babel', de González Iñarritu, que no me gustan nada; sin embargo, Nolan, con 'Origen' y 'Memento', ha logrado obras maestras.)
La historia de 'Pasos sobre cristal', son tres historias en realidad. En la primera tenemos a Graham, un joven artista que se dirige a casa de su amiga Sarah, acompañado de una carpeta con varios dibujos de ella. En segundo lugar está Steven Grout, un tipo verdaderamente extraño, que acaba de renunciar a su puesto de trabajo y que siempre va con casco, huyendo de sus Atormentadores. Y por último tenemos a Quiss y Ajayi, un hombre y una mujer, respectivamente, ya mayores, que están encerrados en un extraño castillo, algunas de cuyas paredes son de cristal, detrás de las cuáles hay peces luminiscentes, y donde pasan los días jugando a estrambóticos juegos de mesa con el fin de poder obtener la opción de responder a un acertijo, y así poder salir libres.
A lo largo de los diferentes capítulos, asistiremos tanto a los recuerdos previos de Graham para saber cómo ha llegado a enamorarse de Sarah, y de cómo es su amistad con el excéntrico de su amigo Slater; así como también profundizaremos en la particular mentalidad de Grout, y en los entresijos del castillo donde están Quiss y Ajayi. Y todo ello con una aparente independencia entre las historias, que acabarán confluyendo.
El libro me ha gustado bastante. Se trata de la segunda novela que publicó Banks tras su éxito con 'La fábrica de avispas', y no defrauda. Es una novela con mucha imaginación y muy bien escrita. Hay que leer a Iain Banks.
(O al aficionado al cine. Ahora me vienen unos ejemplos, el de las películas '21 gramos' y 'Babel', de González Iñarritu, que no me gustan nada; sin embargo, Nolan, con 'Origen' y 'Memento', ha logrado obras maestras.)
La historia de 'Pasos sobre cristal', son tres historias en realidad. En la primera tenemos a Graham, un joven artista que se dirige a casa de su amiga Sarah, acompañado de una carpeta con varios dibujos de ella. En segundo lugar está Steven Grout, un tipo verdaderamente extraño, que acaba de renunciar a su puesto de trabajo y que siempre va con casco, huyendo de sus Atormentadores. Y por último tenemos a Quiss y Ajayi, un hombre y una mujer, respectivamente, ya mayores, que están encerrados en un extraño castillo, algunas de cuyas paredes son de cristal, detrás de las cuáles hay peces luminiscentes, y donde pasan los días jugando a estrambóticos juegos de mesa con el fin de poder obtener la opción de responder a un acertijo, y así poder salir libres.
A lo largo de los diferentes capítulos, asistiremos tanto a los recuerdos previos de Graham para saber cómo ha llegado a enamorarse de Sarah, y de cómo es su amistad con el excéntrico de su amigo Slater; así como también profundizaremos en la particular mentalidad de Grout, y en los entresijos del castillo donde están Quiss y Ajayi. Y todo ello con una aparente independencia entre las historias, que acabarán confluyendo.
El libro me ha gustado bastante. Se trata de la segunda novela que publicó Banks tras su éxito con 'La fábrica de avispas', y no defrauda. Es una novela con mucha imaginación y muy bien escrita. Hay que leer a Iain Banks.
November 2, 2021
I'm kind of in the middle of a Banks binge, trying to get a few of his non M books read (Iain Banks = fiction, Iain M. Banks = SciFi).
This is the first non M book that I think could have been an “M”. Walking on Glass has three stories that come together towards the end. The first story is about a man walking to the house of the woman he loves to tell her how he feels. Along the way he recalls moments he spent with her and how he felt at the time, he is walking on air. The second story is about a man that just quit his job before they could fire him. He knows they are out to get him. His tormentors are relentless. He has to avoid their microwave guns and the lasers in the axles of cars. He knows that if he tells what he knows they will lock him up (in a hospital) to keep him quiet. He is walking on eggshells. The third story is about a couple who have been locked in a castle until they either kill themselves, or until they can answer a riddle. To give an answer to the riddle they have to figure out the rules to a game and play it to it's conclusion, games like Chinese Scrabble or spotless dominoes. The riddle they need to answer is: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? They are walking on glass.
Iain Banks does a wonderful job of putting the reader inside the head of the characters, so you don't just feel for them you feel with them. Walking on Glass is on the dark side and contains adult situations and some suffering.
As I was reading I knew what it was like to be each of the characters. To be in love, to understand what it would be like to believe there are tormentors out to get you, or to be frustrated with trying to learn a game just so you can try to solve an impossible riddle.
Towards the end of the book there were times that the suffering was so intense that I felt physical pain and could not stop reading for fear that the pain would stay with me. The stories come together and the ending was perfection that left me completely satisfied and happy that I read this book.
This is the first non M book that I think could have been an “M”. Walking on Glass has three stories that come together towards the end. The first story is about a man walking to the house of the woman he loves to tell her how he feels. Along the way he recalls moments he spent with her and how he felt at the time, he is walking on air. The second story is about a man that just quit his job before they could fire him. He knows they are out to get him. His tormentors are relentless. He has to avoid their microwave guns and the lasers in the axles of cars. He knows that if he tells what he knows they will lock him up (in a hospital) to keep him quiet. He is walking on eggshells. The third story is about a couple who have been locked in a castle until they either kill themselves, or until they can answer a riddle. To give an answer to the riddle they have to figure out the rules to a game and play it to it's conclusion, games like Chinese Scrabble or spotless dominoes. The riddle they need to answer is: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? They are walking on glass.
Iain Banks does a wonderful job of putting the reader inside the head of the characters, so you don't just feel for them you feel with them. Walking on Glass is on the dark side and contains adult situations and some suffering.
As I was reading I knew what it was like to be each of the characters. To be in love, to understand what it would be like to believe there are tormentors out to get you, or to be frustrated with trying to learn a game just so you can try to solve an impossible riddle.
Towards the end of the book there were times that the suffering was so intense that I felt physical pain and could not stop reading for fear that the pain would stay with me. The stories come together and the ending was perfection that left me completely satisfied and happy that I read this book.
March 3, 2023
I really enjoyed Banks' second book much of the way through. Three distinctly different storylines (moving forward in a section each of each chapter) that connects and interweaves with each other in clever and mind provoking ways. I also found the resolutions shocking, good and reasonably ok, respectively. I cannot for the life of me see that they come together in a profound and meaningful way (as many reviewers noted) though. This would still have been ok, but the missing star here is due to the very ending that more than anything felt like the author got tired of writing and just stopped. I'd still recommend it and I'm going to read more, but I'm holding out hope for other books to work all the way through.
April 1, 2011
My introduction to Iain Banks was through his dazzling debut novel, The Wasp Factory. Then I read as much of his novels as I could find, including this one. I picked up Walking On Glass again recently and found the original sale receipt I’d used as a bookmark. It was twenty years old.
Time indeed changes everything. The first thing that struck me on rereading this novel was how amateur the writing seemed in parts – the amount of “telling” rather than “showing”, the lame dialogue, the overuse of metaphor, and characters that, for me, were either unconvincing or not worth caring about. While this is Banks’s second novel, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that parts of it, particularly the Graham and Stephen sections, may have been written a long time ago -- before even The Wasp Factory.
This novel is presented in three separate threads with three main characters, Graham, Stephen and Quiss. Graham meets Sara at a London party and is smitten. Stephen, also in London, has lost his job due to his mental health issues. Quiss exists in a castle-like prison in an alternate universe with a female companion, desperately trying to work out the solution to the puzzle that will grant their freedom.
For starters, Graham is too much of a wimp to be likeable. Should we have sympathy for his situation, that inability to talk to the attractive stranger? Sure, lots of us have been there. But does he do anything about it? No. Sara kisses him and he walks home with his head in the clouds. In the five hours(!) it takes him to walk home in the cold from Islington to Leyton, a fleet of number 38 buses (or N38 night buses) would have passed him, for a fare that was less than the price of a pint at the Baker’s Arms. Later, this distance doesn’t seem to be a problem and Graham comes and goes as if he lives around the corner.
Stephen’s mental problems? Well, I’d wager there was no research done -- Stephen’s “loony” behaviour doesn’t fit any identifiable mental illness, and it’s hard to imagine him having the self-control to be the voracious fantasy novel reader he’s portrayed to be.
The Quiss and Ajayi sections work quite well for me, however. The description of a minion’s “taking apart” by Quiss is particularly memorable, and I get the feeling sci-fi is where Banks’s preferences and ability truly lie.
But then we’re back to the two “mainstream” sections and annoying inconsistencies. The phonetic representation of Cockney, Scottish and Irish accents when Stephen goes to the park is particularly overdone and annoying, and in the case of the Irish accent, completely wrong.
And Banks’s ubiquitous love of the “Tom Swifties” is in full flow here. I opened my paperback version at pages 14 and 15. It included these beauties:
“…”, Graham interrupted
“…”, Slater said melodramatically
“…”, Slater laughed
“…”, Graham said contemptuously
“…”, Slater mused
“…”, Slater said dramatically
And this was a random page selection -- there’s probably worse.
For sure I’m going into the kind of detail that some reviewers might find over-the-top, but there is a point. For me, anything that causes me to do a double-take when I’m reading a story breaks the magic – that magic where narrative, dialogue, characters and effective description carry you away to fictive dreamland. I’m afraid that break happened once too often with Walking On Glass and I just couldn’t get into it.
Despite all this I like Banks as a writer. Unfortunately, I think Walking On Glass is, in perhaps a metaphor he might like, his equivalent of the difficult second album.
Time indeed changes everything. The first thing that struck me on rereading this novel was how amateur the writing seemed in parts – the amount of “telling” rather than “showing”, the lame dialogue, the overuse of metaphor, and characters that, for me, were either unconvincing or not worth caring about. While this is Banks’s second novel, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that parts of it, particularly the Graham and Stephen sections, may have been written a long time ago -- before even The Wasp Factory.
This novel is presented in three separate threads with three main characters, Graham, Stephen and Quiss. Graham meets Sara at a London party and is smitten. Stephen, also in London, has lost his job due to his mental health issues. Quiss exists in a castle-like prison in an alternate universe with a female companion, desperately trying to work out the solution to the puzzle that will grant their freedom.
For starters, Graham is too much of a wimp to be likeable. Should we have sympathy for his situation, that inability to talk to the attractive stranger? Sure, lots of us have been there. But does he do anything about it? No. Sara kisses him and he walks home with his head in the clouds. In the five hours(!) it takes him to walk home in the cold from Islington to Leyton, a fleet of number 38 buses (or N38 night buses) would have passed him, for a fare that was less than the price of a pint at the Baker’s Arms. Later, this distance doesn’t seem to be a problem and Graham comes and goes as if he lives around the corner.
Stephen’s mental problems? Well, I’d wager there was no research done -- Stephen’s “loony” behaviour doesn’t fit any identifiable mental illness, and it’s hard to imagine him having the self-control to be the voracious fantasy novel reader he’s portrayed to be.
The Quiss and Ajayi sections work quite well for me, however. The description of a minion’s “taking apart” by Quiss is particularly memorable, and I get the feeling sci-fi is where Banks’s preferences and ability truly lie.
But then we’re back to the two “mainstream” sections and annoying inconsistencies. The phonetic representation of Cockney, Scottish and Irish accents when Stephen goes to the park is particularly overdone and annoying, and in the case of the Irish accent, completely wrong.
And Banks’s ubiquitous love of the “Tom Swifties” is in full flow here. I opened my paperback version at pages 14 and 15. It included these beauties:
“…”, Graham interrupted
“…”, Slater said melodramatically
“…”, Slater laughed
“…”, Graham said contemptuously
“…”, Slater mused
“…”, Slater said dramatically
And this was a random page selection -- there’s probably worse.
For sure I’m going into the kind of detail that some reviewers might find over-the-top, but there is a point. For me, anything that causes me to do a double-take when I’m reading a story breaks the magic – that magic where narrative, dialogue, characters and effective description carry you away to fictive dreamland. I’m afraid that break happened once too often with Walking On Glass and I just couldn’t get into it.
Despite all this I like Banks as a writer. Unfortunately, I think Walking On Glass is, in perhaps a metaphor he might like, his equivalent of the difficult second album.
November 2, 2023
Having been thoroughly engrossed by Iain Banks' celebrated science fiction novels, I embarked on my third foray into his mainstream works, choosing Walking on Glass. Once again, Banks did not disappoint.
From the outset, the novel draws you in with three distinct narrative threads, each meticulously woven with Banks' signature attention to detail. Characterization is, as always, a strong suit for Banks. Each character pulsates with life, sporting an intricate mix of flaws, redeeming qualities, and clear motivations, lending further credence to the engrossing world he's built.
True to form, Banks delivers a stunning twist as the story progresses, a hallmark of his writing. His ability to shock remains, for me, unparalleled.
However, what struck me most about Walking on Glass is its denouement. The final collision of its narrative threads leans heavily into the symbolic and metaphorical, prompting contemplation and demanding a reread to unravel the book's layered nuances. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who appreciate the craft of storytelling that forces introspection, it's a treat.
Walking on Glass is another testament to Iain Banks' narrative prowess. While the conclusion may veer more towards the abstract, it remains an essential read for any Banks aficionado or anyone with an appreciation for intricate, thought-provoking storytelling.
From the outset, the novel draws you in with three distinct narrative threads, each meticulously woven with Banks' signature attention to detail. Characterization is, as always, a strong suit for Banks. Each character pulsates with life, sporting an intricate mix of flaws, redeeming qualities, and clear motivations, lending further credence to the engrossing world he's built.
True to form, Banks delivers a stunning twist as the story progresses, a hallmark of his writing. His ability to shock remains, for me, unparalleled.
However, what struck me most about Walking on Glass is its denouement. The final collision of its narrative threads leans heavily into the symbolic and metaphorical, prompting contemplation and demanding a reread to unravel the book's layered nuances. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who appreciate the craft of storytelling that forces introspection, it's a treat.
Walking on Glass is another testament to Iain Banks' narrative prowess. While the conclusion may veer more towards the abstract, it remains an essential read for any Banks aficionado or anyone with an appreciation for intricate, thought-provoking storytelling.
September 19, 2017
*Eşekarısı Fabrikası rahatsiz edici bir kitaptı. Kanal Düşleri beni sarmadı ki ona rağmen başarılı bulduğum bir eserdi. Fakat Camda Yürümek herşeyden öte yazarın anlatımını güçlüce hissettiğim romanı oldu. Kronolojik olarak ikinci kitabı olmasının yanı sıra 'The Bridge'den önceki hazırlık turu olarak görülüyor. 'The Bridge' beklentim yükseklere uçtu.
**Quiss->Grout->Graham<-Grout<-Quiss döngülerin, örümcek ağlarının yaşanan herşeyin atılan bir adımın, edilen bir kelimenin, saliselik bir bakışın değiştireceği dokunacağı bir çok hayatın yanı sıra duyguların temelinde yatan ilkelliğin meydana getirdiği birlikteliğin aslında modern toplumda ki anlamsızlığına dair mükemmel bir düz yazıydı.
***Bu tarz hikayelerin bir araya toplandığı hikayelerde en önemli etken yazarın bu kesiştirmeleri yaparken zorlama olmadan yapması ve/veya okuruna bunu hissettirmemesi diye düşünüyorum. 'Camda Yürümek' i okurken bu tarz zorlama durumunu hissetmediğim gibi Banks bunu tabiri caizse tereyağından kıl çeker gibi halletmiş.
****Yine yeniden bir başka Banks'ta görüşmek dileğiyle.
**Quiss->Grout->Graham<-Grout<-Quiss döngülerin, örümcek ağlarının yaşanan herşeyin atılan bir adımın, edilen bir kelimenin, saliselik bir bakışın değiştireceği dokunacağı bir çok hayatın yanı sıra duyguların temelinde yatan ilkelliğin meydana getirdiği birlikteliğin aslında modern toplumda ki anlamsızlığına dair mükemmel bir düz yazıydı.
***Bu tarz hikayelerin bir araya toplandığı hikayelerde en önemli etken yazarın bu kesiştirmeleri yaparken zorlama olmadan yapması ve/veya okuruna bunu hissettirmemesi diye düşünüyorum. 'Camda Yürümek' i okurken bu tarz zorlama durumunu hissetmediğim gibi Banks bunu tabiri caizse tereyağından kıl çeker gibi halletmiş.
****Yine yeniden bir başka Banks'ta görüşmek dileğiyle.
January 26, 2024
Definitely the best of the books I have read so far by this author. Plot twist and also a lot of question marks, but it flows and is quite compelling. More speculative fiction than space opera, with interesting characters.
Decisamente il migliore dei libri che ho letto finora di questo autore. Plot twist e anche molti punti interrogativi, ma scorre ed é piuttosto avvincente. Piú speculative fiction che space opera, con personaggi interessanti.
Decisamente il migliore dei libri che ho letto finora di questo autore. Plot twist e anche molti punti interrogativi, ma scorre ed é piuttosto avvincente. Piú speculative fiction che space opera, con personaggi interessanti.
December 12, 2015
2.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
A man on his way to meet his lover, a man who believes himself to be a Warrior exiled to a mundane world, and two adversaries playing tabletop games in a surreal castle - all tied together in a complex literary novel.
I've read most of Iain Banks' SFF novels - complex, sophisticated, and intriguing. I previously read his literary novel A Song of Stone, and liked but wasn't overwhelmed by it. Still, his contemporary fiction was on sale, so I bought a number of books to explore. Walking on Glass is the first I've delved into.
The overall impression from Walking on Glass is that it's the product of a very talented writer who hasn't mastered the art of actual storytelling. The characters are broadly interesting (if dull in detail), and the settings are credible. For a long time, that's all there is, as Banks drags us slowly (and with increasing reluctance) along on a voyage with no clear ending. The surrealist/fantastic castle sequences are the book's saving grace - without them, we'd have only the non-engaging life of a paranoid and a dull, obvious infatuation told in flashbacks. The prose and the castle are the only thing that keeps us going.
As Banks takes the story further, he comes up with surprising flashes of ironic humor - all concentrated in the castle. If there had been more, or better distributed, the book would have been better for it. The outcome and manner of the infatuation are evident from nearly the start. The paranoid character is too obviously deluded for us to pick on Banks' would-be hints that maybe there's more to him.
The book moves along slowly but relentlessly, moving toward what we hope will be a clever, philosophical conclusion that ties all the viewpoints together. Everything points to that end. Unfortunately, in the closing pages, Banks throws most of that away to focus on an ending we could all see coming, but in which he inserts a jarring and tawdry twist ending that brings nothing to the story, and drops most of our goodwill in the gutter. It's sad. I wish I could say that he's instead wrapped the ending in layers of clever subtlety that I didn't understand. Unfortunately, he hasn't.
What we end up with is a dull and self-indulgent big-idea story the author didn't know how to finish. I can't recommend it, except as a sign of the prose skill Banks was later able to pair with full stories.
A man on his way to meet his lover, a man who believes himself to be a Warrior exiled to a mundane world, and two adversaries playing tabletop games in a surreal castle - all tied together in a complex literary novel.
I've read most of Iain Banks' SFF novels - complex, sophisticated, and intriguing. I previously read his literary novel A Song of Stone, and liked but wasn't overwhelmed by it. Still, his contemporary fiction was on sale, so I bought a number of books to explore. Walking on Glass is the first I've delved into.
The overall impression from Walking on Glass is that it's the product of a very talented writer who hasn't mastered the art of actual storytelling. The characters are broadly interesting (if dull in detail), and the settings are credible. For a long time, that's all there is, as Banks drags us slowly (and with increasing reluctance) along on a voyage with no clear ending. The surrealist/fantastic castle sequences are the book's saving grace - without them, we'd have only the non-engaging life of a paranoid and a dull, obvious infatuation told in flashbacks. The prose and the castle are the only thing that keeps us going.
As Banks takes the story further, he comes up with surprising flashes of ironic humor - all concentrated in the castle. If there had been more, or better distributed, the book would have been better for it. The outcome and manner of the infatuation are evident from nearly the start. The paranoid character is too obviously deluded for us to pick on Banks' would-be hints that maybe there's more to him.
The book moves along slowly but relentlessly, moving toward what we hope will be a clever, philosophical conclusion that ties all the viewpoints together. Everything points to that end. Unfortunately, in the closing pages, Banks throws most of that away to focus on an ending we could all see coming, but in which he inserts a jarring and tawdry twist ending that brings nothing to the story, and drops most of our goodwill in the gutter. It's sad. I wish I could say that he's instead wrapped the ending in layers of clever subtlety that I didn't understand. Unfortunately, he hasn't.
What we end up with is a dull and self-indulgent big-idea story the author didn't know how to finish. I can't recommend it, except as a sign of the prose skill Banks was later able to pair with full stories.
March 14, 2011
I own nine Iain and Iain M. Banks novels, but the only one I have ever gotten around to reading is Walking on Glass. I'm not exactly sure why this has been the case, as I quite liked WOG and its clever, inventive tripartite plot. The Gormenghast flavorings of the most mysterious of the three story lines—a monstrously sprawling, labyrinthine castle (replete with stunted, chitterling servants), apparently erected in a wintry, occluded dimension in some null-zone of spacetime, which functions as a prison for two puzzle-competing inmates from opposite sides of some eternal Manichean war—was most to my liking, though another involving the chillingly amoral sexual games triangulated between a gay brother, naïf sister, and the latter's averagely-decent, sweetly-commitment-seeking boyfriend, served up the most brutal denouement. The third scenario—of an ultra-paranoid, disturbed individual fond of wearing hard hats and getting himself canned from work due to his delusional behavior—ties-in nicely with the others at the end, even if it didn't provide the interest level of its siblings.
So—very clever, well-written, unexpectedly cruel and cold when not comedic and witty, with an elliptical ending that required not a little puzzling over: then why haven't I more of Banks material under my belt? I don't honestly know—but every time I seriously reach for one of his novels, cluttered together on the shelf, my mind performs a slipstream maneuver and something else winds up selected. Did I somehow subconsciously expect more than was delivered? Did I perhaps—deep inside where the tacks remain scattered on a darkened hallway floor—not appreciate the somewhat abrupt, dangling conclusion? I cannot answer with certainty—but it seems a given that The Wasp Factory and Consider Phlebas have abandoned all hope of getting any of that love they've so often been tempted with.
So—very clever, well-written, unexpectedly cruel and cold when not comedic and witty, with an elliptical ending that required not a little puzzling over: then why haven't I more of Banks material under my belt? I don't honestly know—but every time I seriously reach for one of his novels, cluttered together on the shelf, my mind performs a slipstream maneuver and something else winds up selected. Did I somehow subconsciously expect more than was delivered? Did I perhaps—deep inside where the tacks remain scattered on a darkened hallway floor—not appreciate the somewhat abrupt, dangling conclusion? I cannot answer with certainty—but it seems a given that The Wasp Factory and Consider Phlebas have abandoned all hope of getting any of that love they've so often been tempted with.
January 5, 2026
Це було дуже гарне читання, сподобалось як зливаються всі три окремі історії в одну, Бенкс чудово пише і чудово заграє з читачем.
January 18, 2026
the author's second book for me, I will eagerly await the ukrainian edition of “Culture” and Consider Phlebas
January 29, 2024
“I’ve had more fun watching snails f*ck!”
I thought about it some more and deducted a star. Banks now has such a deficit of authorial goodwill to climb out of that only my friend’s love of his M. (sci-fi) works will convince me to read anything else by this person. I’m also glad to know Banks considers the book a failure so let’s see how The Bridge ends up being. Because right now, I’m feeling Banks hates his readers or at least holds them in serious contempt
1 star for the one thread I found even remotely compelling (Steve Grout) and ZERO stars for two other threads that are the mostly derivative, uninspired drivel. I think this book is about existential angst? I think it’s trying very very hard to be clever? At various points I felt Banks was attempting to evoke The Phantom Tollbooth, No Exit, Kafka, Dostoevsky and weirdly the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. This book is a mess and I guess by all these edits I’m just more mad about it the longer I think about it.
Mostly I got to read a lot about how beautiful and beguiling this unattainable woman is, before . If you feel like poor, ~artistic~ young Good Guys haven’t had their fair share of public discourse, this is the book for you.
I thought about it some more and deducted a star. Banks now has such a deficit of authorial goodwill to climb out of that only my friend’s love of his M. (sci-fi) works will convince me to read anything else by this person. I’m also glad to know Banks considers the book a failure so let’s see how The Bridge ends up being. Because right now, I’m feeling Banks hates his readers or at least holds them in serious contempt
1 star for the one thread I found even remotely compelling (Steve Grout) and ZERO stars for two other threads that are the mostly derivative, uninspired drivel. I think this book is about existential angst? I think it’s trying very very hard to be clever? At various points I felt Banks was attempting to evoke The Phantom Tollbooth, No Exit, Kafka, Dostoevsky and weirdly the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. This book is a mess and I guess by all these edits I’m just more mad about it the longer I think about it.
Mostly I got to read a lot about how beautiful and beguiling this unattainable woman is, before . If you feel like poor, ~artistic~ young Good Guys haven’t had their fair share of public discourse, this is the book for you.
January 20, 2025
A tantalising piece of fiction delivered as three seemingly unconnected stories that converge rapidly towards the end to present a dilemma that is almost existentialist in nature. This book is demanding in the sense that it is not just a story to read, it is one made to think and discuss, trying to ponder what's the hidden meaning beyond the three interconnecting stories.
Let me start with the basics.
We have three storylines, which are told in alternation: Graham's, Steven's, Quiss/Ajayi's. There are similarities and differences between the three of them:
- Graham's story happens in the real world, in London 1983 near Islington. He's travelling from his university to the house of a love interest, Sara. Each chapter is named as the street he's travelling... which means the plot is seemingly short. One quirk is that, as Graham walks, he notices things in those streets and remembers (aka, flashbacks) how he met Sara and everything that happened up to then. He's not really paying attention to the present, though.
- Steven's story also happens in the real world, in London 1983 near Islington. He is a paranoid 38-years-old who believes he is an exile from The Wars, and has a lot of conspiracy theories. His story begins when he resigns at work, and through each chapter he's walking towards the pub; the chapters are named with the names of the people he meets on his way. Just like Graham, Steve thinkgs a lot about past events or the fiction he's created due to his paranoia.
- Quiss and Ajayi's story is different. The PoV alternates loosely between them, but basically this is a scifi-ish story. They're veterans of the Theurapeutic Wars exiled into a very odd castle. There, they need to figure out the rules of specific board games and win them to gain a chance at solving a riddle-like question. Each chapter is named as the board game they're playing. Curiously, they're both quite bored and so Ajayi spends her time reading, and Quiss ventures through the castle.
They are all narrated in third person but close to the characters. Likewise, the narrators tend to 'wander' alongside the characters' thoughts which makes it very interesting.
Now, something to note, is that I think this is a story meant to be puzzled together by the reader. The stories connect quite strongly in my opinion, but that connection is not that explicit in terms of plot--it is explicit in terms of theme, and so the reader is expected to think and analyse the true meaning of the book's allegory, which seams tenuously scattered through some quotations.
Non-Spoilery Hints
"Walking on glass" is, to some extent, the connecting metaphor.
- Graham is walking on a metaphorical glass floor, because Sara has been teasing him a lot. She's dating a biker fling Stock, is divorcing from her husband, lives in a friend's apartment, and teases Graham relentlessly. She gives him just enough to keep him hooked, and Graham (even in the first chapter) is clearly infatuated, having crafted this whole reality of how he's going to work as an artist and support her.
- Steve has crafted a metaphorical glass floor by himself, it seems, by yielding to his paranoia an all the conspiracy theories he's crafted. He even collects Evidence in an Evidence Box, and lives in a world of lies--he's an exile from the Wars between Good and Evil, he's being tormented by Tormentors who attack him with a covert Microwave Gun, the cars shoot lasers from the wheels to catch him, he has to wear a hard hat to prevent damage... you get the gist.
- Quiss and Ajayi's is different. They are literally walking on glass because the castle's floors are made of glass, but they also know very little about the castle itself, and so they each has different theories as to what is there. Quiss crafts a metaphorical reality by trying to uncover the castle's secrets, while Ajayi reads all the books available in the castle.
There is a subtle commentary about how each of us create a fictional reality based on our biases, expectations, hopes, dreams, abilities, social class, perceptions of others, desires... and how an individual's fictional reality (which does not imply paranoia; Graham's love-teasing game with Sara is a personal fiction) does not always match someone's else or reality itself.
The Spoilery Theme
Although to some extent the book seems to point out to existential nihilism (the philosophical theory that life has no objective meaning or purpose).
Let me explain this in spoilers.
Conclusion
It's a very interesting read, however (and to my opinion) Banks was too vague with the intended meaning. I found an article in which Banks commented that Walking on Glass: "didn't do exactly what it set out to do and I think you have failed to an extent if the reader can't understand what you’re saying"... which adds to my idea of the theme being vague. Can we trust that quote? Not really.
Overall, it reminded by of Christopher Priest's The Affirmation, and Gene Wolfe's The Fifth Head of Cerberus.
There are also a few in-book references to Douglas Adams' The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Nearly Definitive Edition, which I have not read. It did seem pretty important, so I'm quite sure that I'll come back to Walking on Glass after reading Adams' book.
Let me start with the basics.
We have three storylines, which are told in alternation: Graham's, Steven's, Quiss/Ajayi's. There are similarities and differences between the three of them:
- Graham's story happens in the real world, in London 1983 near Islington. He's travelling from his university to the house of a love interest, Sara. Each chapter is named as the street he's travelling... which means the plot is seemingly short. One quirk is that, as Graham walks, he notices things in those streets and remembers (aka, flashbacks) how he met Sara and everything that happened up to then. He's not really paying attention to the present, though.
- Steven's story also happens in the real world, in London 1983 near Islington. He is a paranoid 38-years-old who believes he is an exile from The Wars, and has a lot of conspiracy theories. His story begins when he resigns at work, and through each chapter he's walking towards the pub; the chapters are named with the names of the people he meets on his way. Just like Graham, Steve thinkgs a lot about past events or the fiction he's created due to his paranoia.
- Quiss and Ajayi's story is different. The PoV alternates loosely between them, but basically this is a scifi-ish story. They're veterans of the Theurapeutic Wars exiled into a very odd castle. There, they need to figure out the rules of specific board games and win them to gain a chance at solving a riddle-like question. Each chapter is named as the board game they're playing. Curiously, they're both quite bored and so Ajayi spends her time reading, and Quiss ventures through the castle.
They are all narrated in third person but close to the characters. Likewise, the narrators tend to 'wander' alongside the characters' thoughts which makes it very interesting.
Now, something to note, is that I think this is a story meant to be puzzled together by the reader. The stories connect quite strongly in my opinion, but that connection is not that explicit in terms of plot--it is explicit in terms of theme, and so the reader is expected to think and analyse the true meaning of the book's allegory, which seams tenuously scattered through some quotations.
Non-Spoilery Hints
"Walking on glass" is, to some extent, the connecting metaphor.
- Graham is walking on a metaphorical glass floor, because Sara has been teasing him a lot. She's dating a biker fling Stock, is divorcing from her husband, lives in a friend's apartment, and teases Graham relentlessly. She gives him just enough to keep him hooked, and Graham (even in the first chapter) is clearly infatuated, having crafted this whole reality of how he's going to work as an artist and support her.
- Steve has crafted a metaphorical glass floor by himself, it seems, by yielding to his paranoia an all the conspiracy theories he's crafted. He even collects Evidence in an Evidence Box, and lives in a world of lies--he's an exile from the Wars between Good and Evil, he's being tormented by Tormentors who attack him with a covert Microwave Gun, the cars shoot lasers from the wheels to catch him, he has to wear a hard hat to prevent damage... you get the gist.
- Quiss and Ajayi's is different. They are literally walking on glass because the castle's floors are made of glass, but they also know very little about the castle itself, and so they each has different theories as to what is there. Quiss crafts a metaphorical reality by trying to uncover the castle's secrets, while Ajayi reads all the books available in the castle.
There is a subtle commentary about how each of us create a fictional reality based on our biases, expectations, hopes, dreams, abilities, social class, perceptions of others, desires... and how an individual's fictional reality (which does not imply paranoia; Graham's love-teasing game with Sara is a personal fiction) does not always match someone's else or reality itself.
The Spoilery Theme
"What the hell was the point of trying to rationally to analyse what was fundamentally irrational? [...] [L]ife was basically absurd, unfair and–ultimately—pointless"
Although to some extent the book seems to point out to existential nihilism (the philosophical theory that life has no objective meaning or purpose).
Let me explain this in spoilers.
Conclusion
It's a very interesting read, however (and to my opinion) Banks was too vague with the intended meaning. I found an article in which Banks commented that Walking on Glass: "didn't do exactly what it set out to do and I think you have failed to an extent if the reader can't understand what you’re saying"... which adds to my idea of the theme being vague. Can we trust that quote? Not really.
Overall, it reminded by of Christopher Priest's The Affirmation, and Gene Wolfe's The Fifth Head of Cerberus.
There are also a few in-book references to Douglas Adams' The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Nearly Definitive Edition, which I have not read. It did seem pretty important, so I'm quite sure that I'll come back to Walking on Glass after reading Adams' book.
August 14, 2021
I've been enjoying Iain M. Banks Culture series of Sci-Fi novels since I discovered them a few years back. Banks also wrote fiction, with a number of works. I'd previously read The Wasp Factory, his first novel, and enjoyed. Walking On Glass was his 2nd published novel. What to say about it?
Well, let's start with a brief synopsis. The story follows three main characters. First you have Graham Park, an art student. He is in love with Sara ffitch, although he doesn't know her feelings. The story follows him as he walks to her apartment and remembers how they met and their encounters. Secondly, you have Steven Grant. Steven believes he's being attacked with microwaves by The Tormentors. He's just been sacked / quit his job working on a road crew in London and we follow him as well as he goes to unemployment, his apartment, plots his revenge, and see his encounters with various people. Thirdly we meet Quiss. This is a strange interlude. While the first two people seem to be living in London and are relatively normal, Quiss's story seems to move into the fantasy realm. He is prisoner in a castle with another person, Ajayi, who fought on different sides in the Therapeutic Wars. (Yup, that's what they were called) Both committed some 'crime' and are now at this castle (it seems to be on Earth?) and must play strange games that take forever to complete and then must answer a question to be released. Quiss wanders the castle during breaks in the games. He finds a room with holes in the ceiling and when you stick your head in, you are inside another person's soul/ body?
So that's the basics. There is more of course.
What to think of the story? Well, it's definitely unique. I didn't feel attached to any of the particular characters, except maybe Ajayi. She is lovely, intelligent, inquisitive but has to deal with the grump, irascible Quiss. Graham is wishy - washy. Can't state his feelings. (Maybe I relate more than I know). Steven is angry at everything, afraid he's being attacked, poisoned by microwaves. Quiss is a grumpy man. Oh I liked the cigar - smoking red crow that harasses Quiss and Ajayi. He's neat.
How are these main 3 characters and their stories related? Is there a connection? There are links, some more obvious than others. There is a possible very tenuous link between the two prisoners and Steven much later in the story. It'll be interesting to see if you see it and if you agree. Do these links between characters affect the others lives. I don't think so but I may be wrong.
Is each person's life / issues resolved? Personally I think you're left hanging for the most part, except maybe in Steven's case, but I don't know if that is unsatisfying. Everything is left a bit tenuous, nebulous but I don't feel necessarily that the main 3 end up totally dissatisfied, even if their stories don't have happy endings.
At the least, it's an interesting different story and worth checking out. Banks unfortunately died in 2013 at the age of 59. The world will miss his creative writing and story-telling. I'm glad I still have more of his books to discover. (3.5 stars)
Well, let's start with a brief synopsis. The story follows three main characters. First you have Graham Park, an art student. He is in love with Sara ffitch, although he doesn't know her feelings. The story follows him as he walks to her apartment and remembers how they met and their encounters. Secondly, you have Steven Grant. Steven believes he's being attacked with microwaves by The Tormentors. He's just been sacked / quit his job working on a road crew in London and we follow him as well as he goes to unemployment, his apartment, plots his revenge, and see his encounters with various people. Thirdly we meet Quiss. This is a strange interlude. While the first two people seem to be living in London and are relatively normal, Quiss's story seems to move into the fantasy realm. He is prisoner in a castle with another person, Ajayi, who fought on different sides in the Therapeutic Wars. (Yup, that's what they were called) Both committed some 'crime' and are now at this castle (it seems to be on Earth?) and must play strange games that take forever to complete and then must answer a question to be released. Quiss wanders the castle during breaks in the games. He finds a room with holes in the ceiling and when you stick your head in, you are inside another person's soul/ body?
So that's the basics. There is more of course.
What to think of the story? Well, it's definitely unique. I didn't feel attached to any of the particular characters, except maybe Ajayi. She is lovely, intelligent, inquisitive but has to deal with the grump, irascible Quiss. Graham is wishy - washy. Can't state his feelings. (Maybe I relate more than I know). Steven is angry at everything, afraid he's being attacked, poisoned by microwaves. Quiss is a grumpy man. Oh I liked the cigar - smoking red crow that harasses Quiss and Ajayi. He's neat.
How are these main 3 characters and their stories related? Is there a connection? There are links, some more obvious than others. There is a possible very tenuous link between the two prisoners and Steven much later in the story. It'll be interesting to see if you see it and if you agree. Do these links between characters affect the others lives. I don't think so but I may be wrong.
Is each person's life / issues resolved? Personally I think you're left hanging for the most part, except maybe in Steven's case, but I don't know if that is unsatisfying. Everything is left a bit tenuous, nebulous but I don't feel necessarily that the main 3 end up totally dissatisfied, even if their stories don't have happy endings.
At the least, it's an interesting different story and worth checking out. Banks unfortunately died in 2013 at the age of 59. The world will miss his creative writing and story-telling. I'm glad I still have more of his books to discover. (3.5 stars)
February 15, 2024
There are a few things I found effective and interesting in this book: the insecurity of being young and enamored with someone older and intimidating, being trapped inside a paranoid mind, a few moments of absurdity and humor.
But those in no way make up for the cringey characterizations, especially of the “enigmatic tease” Sara ffitch (btw what is up with that name?) and “embarrassingly homosexual” Slater, the complete lack of coherence between the three storylines, or the inexplicable and unnecessarily tawdry twist.
But those in no way make up for the cringey characterizations, especially of the “enigmatic tease” Sara ffitch (btw what is up with that name?) and “embarrassingly homosexual” Slater, the complete lack of coherence between the three storylines, or the inexplicable and unnecessarily tawdry twist.
October 12, 2024
Kolme näennäisesti täysin erillistä tarinaa, jotka lopuksi kuitenkin nivoutuvat jollain tasolla yhteen. Koska kirjailija ei ole tässä teoksessa käyttänyt nimessään M-välikirjainta, niin kyseessä on enemmän mainstreamia puhtaan scifin sijaan. Scifi-elementtejäkin löytyy, mutta niiden lopullinen määrä riippuu lukijan tulkinnasta. Arvostan Banksia kirjailijana kovasti, mutta tämä ei imaissut mukaansa niin hyvin kuin useat hänen myöhemmät kirjansa. Kirjan loppupuoli ja juonten yhteen vetäminen on kyllä hyvinkin kekseliäs ja yllättäväkin.
February 5, 2024
What?
Pain, misery, suffering, betrayal, incest, motorbikes, paranoia, conspiracy theories, Intergalactic mind transference and board games.
Very dark and quite depressing.
Pain, misery, suffering, betrayal, incest, motorbikes, paranoia, conspiracy theories, Intergalactic mind transference and board games.
Very dark and quite depressing.
October 13, 2022
Отличный роман!
August 27, 2024
The only thing I can say that it was a really interesting experience. Not sure but I might get back to this book later because I have a strong feeling that I have missed smth.
I like four parts out of six, the beginning and climaxs were really promising, but the ending and the resolution feels as a sort of disappointment. The connection between the plot lines seems to be rather weak and kind of contrived. All the story seems incomplete.
I've got references to Kafka, but they are too shallow (in my opinion). And I believe there are more references to other authors who I probably haven't read and maybe that's why I've missed the point. And I think that's why a lot of people hate postmodernism since the plot and the idea lie far beyond the novel, and it makes it impossible to perceive the meaning separately. It's just something to think about.
I like four parts out of six, the beginning and climaxs were really promising, but the ending and the resolution feels as a sort of disappointment. The connection between the plot lines seems to be rather weak and kind of contrived. All the story seems incomplete.
I've got references to Kafka, but they are too shallow (in my opinion). And I believe there are more references to other authors who I probably haven't read and maybe that's why I've missed the point. And I think that's why a lot of people hate postmodernism since the plot and the idea lie far beyond the novel, and it makes it impossible to perceive the meaning separately. It's just something to think about.
March 3, 2013
This was Iain Banks' 2nd published novel (1985), after 'The Wasp Factory.'
It's really 3 separate stories, which are only-sort-of interconnected. That is, there are some references, recurring motifs, etc, but I didn't think they reflected on one another as much as they could have. Even Banks has, said, reportedly, the book "didn’t do exactly what it set out to do and I think you have failed to an extent if the reader can’t understand what you’re saying."
I don't think it was incomprehensible, I just think that at this point Banks was not quite as adept at playing with structure as he has since become. Still, I have not yet read a Banks book that I didn't really really like, and this is not an exception.
The stories are:
In 1980s, UK, art student Graham is introduced to the enigmatic Sara ffitch by his eccentric best friend, Slater. He instantly falls for her, hard, and moons after her with such a mad crush that the reader can just tell that it's probably unrequited and not all will turn out well.... especially since Sara's rumored to be seeing a tough biker dude...
In the same time and place, a paranoid schizophrenic, Steven Grout, is having a hard time with his life. His odd way of looking at things and lack of self control have just lost him his job - again. He believes he's really a warrior in some Interplanetary conflict, and is searching for the Way Out in sci-fi novels - but it's hard when he constantly has to try to avoid Microwave Guns and more mundane trials.
In another place altogether, a surreal castle outside of time, two actual warriors are being punished for their conduct in the 'Therapeutic Wars.' In a decaying castle made of books and lit by bioluminescent fish, trapped in elderly bodies, the former enemies are forced to play bizarre, random games and to try to answer a nonsensical riddle.
It's really 3 separate stories, which are only-sort-of interconnected. That is, there are some references, recurring motifs, etc, but I didn't think they reflected on one another as much as they could have. Even Banks has, said, reportedly, the book "didn’t do exactly what it set out to do and I think you have failed to an extent if the reader can’t understand what you’re saying."
I don't think it was incomprehensible, I just think that at this point Banks was not quite as adept at playing with structure as he has since become. Still, I have not yet read a Banks book that I didn't really really like, and this is not an exception.
The stories are:
In 1980s, UK, art student Graham is introduced to the enigmatic Sara ffitch by his eccentric best friend, Slater. He instantly falls for her, hard, and moons after her with such a mad crush that the reader can just tell that it's probably unrequited and not all will turn out well.... especially since Sara's rumored to be seeing a tough biker dude...
In the same time and place, a paranoid schizophrenic, Steven Grout, is having a hard time with his life. His odd way of looking at things and lack of self control have just lost him his job - again. He believes he's really a warrior in some Interplanetary conflict, and is searching for the Way Out in sci-fi novels - but it's hard when he constantly has to try to avoid Microwave Guns and more mundane trials.
In another place altogether, a surreal castle outside of time, two actual warriors are being punished for their conduct in the 'Therapeutic Wars.' In a decaying castle made of books and lit by bioluminescent fish, trapped in elderly bodies, the former enemies are forced to play bizarre, random games and to try to answer a nonsensical riddle.
September 6, 2008
an early novel by Iain Banks
short plot description: we follow three seemingly unrelated stories. Graham Park is head-over-heels in love but the object of his affections keeps him at arms length. Steven Grout is suffering from paranoid delusions and thinks he is an alien participant of a galactic war exiled to and kept on Earth by "Them". Quiss and Ajayi were on opposing sides in the "Therapeutic Wars" but are exiled to a castle for doing something wrong. They can only escape when they find the correct answer to a riddle but to actually get to answer the riddle they are forced to play unknown games with unknown rules.
my thoughts: not his best work, neither in the fiction nor the SciFi field. The characters feel only half-formed, as do the ideas expressed in the plot. Some plot turns are almost painfully obvious from the start, some parts didn't make sense do me though this was my second reading of the book.
The most interesting part for me was the Castle were Quiss and Ajayi are imprisoned, a wonderful and intriguing place.
The ending of the book is open to interpretation (I came up with three so far) but I'm not sure if that was Banks intent...
my advice: if you are new to Banks put this back in the shelf, he has written better books. This is more interesting from historical point of view, to see how Banks developed over the years.
short plot description: we follow three seemingly unrelated stories. Graham Park is head-over-heels in love but the object of his affections keeps him at arms length. Steven Grout is suffering from paranoid delusions and thinks he is an alien participant of a galactic war exiled to and kept on Earth by "Them". Quiss and Ajayi were on opposing sides in the "Therapeutic Wars" but are exiled to a castle for doing something wrong. They can only escape when they find the correct answer to a riddle but to actually get to answer the riddle they are forced to play unknown games with unknown rules.
my thoughts: not his best work, neither in the fiction nor the SciFi field. The characters feel only half-formed, as do the ideas expressed in the plot. Some plot turns are almost painfully obvious from the start, some parts didn't make sense do me though this was my second reading of the book.
The most interesting part for me was the Castle were Quiss and Ajayi are imprisoned, a wonderful and intriguing place.
The ending of the book is open to interpretation (I came up with three so far) but I'm not sure if that was Banks intent...
my advice: if you are new to Banks put this back in the shelf, he has written better books. This is more interesting from historical point of view, to see how Banks developed over the years.
October 30, 2013
I really wanted to like this book, as I love Iain Banks, but I was left feeling a bit nonplussed at the end. I liked the three-strand story, and the depiction of the characters within them were great - Grout's paranoid mental state, Graham's blinkered love (the surprise conclusion of this is great too), and Quiss and Ajaya's bleak situation. The bizzare other world was also wonderfully created and I could really visualize the castle and its inhabitants.
But, I just didn't get it. Perhaps it needs a second read, perhaps things were just left undone purposely, but really I didn't see how they all fit together. It felt like the fantasy story line was sort of shoe-horned into Grout's mental state as an after-thought; it felt ill thought through and left me feeling unsatisfied. Apparently, Banks was totally satisfied with this novel either, so am going to go on and read more....
But, I just didn't get it. Perhaps it needs a second read, perhaps things were just left undone purposely, but really I didn't see how they all fit together. It felt like the fantasy story line was sort of shoe-horned into Grout's mental state as an after-thought; it felt ill thought through and left me feeling unsatisfied. Apparently, Banks was totally satisfied with this novel either, so am going to go on and read more....
September 2, 2018
Part science fiction or all in your head? All I know is I really liked it.
While some connections in the three storylines may be quite obvious, others leave it up to your own inventiveness far more.
The book is well-executed and has plot twists and open questions enough to see past the obvious plot devices.
While some connections in the three storylines may be quite obvious, others leave it up to your own inventiveness far more.
The book is well-executed and has plot twists and open questions enough to see past the obvious plot devices.
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