Stonemouth
Fiction & Poetry, Modern & Contemporary Fiction | Paperback Published on: 03/01/2013
£8.99
Synopsis
'Utterly absorbing... addictive, funny and brilliantly observed' Daily Mail
Stewart Gilmour is back in Stonemouth, the estuary town north of Aberdeen that on a bleak day can seem to offer little more than sea-fog, gangsters, cheap drugs and a suspension bridge irresistible to suicides. After a five-year exile, Stewart's presence is required at the funeral of patriarch Joe Murston, even though the last time Stu saw the Murstons he was running for his life.
But Stonemouth is also home to the girl who still haunts his dreams....
Praise for Iain Banks:
'The most imaginative novelist of his generation' The Times
'His verve and talent will always be recognised, and his work will always find and enthral new readers' Ken MacLeod, Guardian
'His work was mordant, surreal, and fiercely intelligent' Neil Gaiman
'An exceptional wordsmith' Scotsman
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- ISBN: 9780349000206
- Number of pages: 448
- Weight: 360g
- Dimensions: 198 x 128 x 32 mm
Customer Reviews
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Industrial grade gorillas.
Beautifully paced writing - this book practically reads itself. Five years ago, after insulting the town's alpha family of industrial grade gorillas, Stewa... READ MORE
Good but not vintage Banks
I am an Iain Banks fan and so was really excited when given the chance to preview his latest book, and didn't even read the information about the book befo... READ MORE
Tough and tender.....
Iain Bank's hard hitting Scottish novels are of course bestsellers but I came to 'Stonemouth' having never read any of his previous gritty offerings.
Howev... READ MORE
Dark, harrowing, romantic and innately humorous
Stonemouth is a thriller, a coming-of-age novel, a romance and a great literary read. Banks manages to blend poetic skills within the entirely believable f... READ MORE
A little hard going in the beginning
I was expecting to love this book after seeing great reviews, but i actually found it a bit hard going in the beginning, I felt after reading the first 50 ... READ MORE
Stonemouth
With Stonemouth, Iain Banks goes back to Scotland and a non sci-fi storyline. He get the mind-set of a successful man going back to his home town exactly r... READ MORE
A very smooth read
Stewart Gilmour, 5 years away from his home town, returns home for the funeral of Joe Murston, the grandfather of former girlfriend Ellie. This is no simpl... READ MORE
An intriguing story
A great story, gradually revealing more of the history of the characters, and drawing you in to a world of small town gangsters, teenage friends growing ol... READ MORE
Pretentious, disappointing & unfulfilled potential
This is my personal opinion and you can disagree with it, but...
I was slightly more excited about this book as from some of his other recent fiction book... READ MORE
Small town Scotland
Stonemouth was the first Iain Banks novel I have read. It was a tale of youth, with a mystery incident that caused the main character, Stewart Gilmour, to ... READ MORE
A very good read
Stewart Gilmour returns to Stonemouth for a funeral, five years after he made a rather dramatic exit. He catches up with his parents, his friends, his ex, ... READ MORE
slow burner but well worth a read
Stu Gilmour wants to return home to pay his respects at the funeral of an old friend. This is a problem as last time he saw his home town was five years be... READ MORE
Like meeting an old friend
Before I received "Stonemouth" to review, I read another author's debut book. True, it was enjoyable - but settling down to read "Stonemouth" after that fe... READ MORE
Another excellent novel from Banks
From the furthest reaches of the galaxy to his home land of Scotland, Iain Banks never fails to capture the imagination.
Stonemouth brings Banks back down ... READ MORE
A 'must-read'
The wit and pace of this dark tragi-comedy leaves you breathless. In one breath you feel the main character's pain and pathos; the next you are giggling he... READ MORE
Stonemouth
If women have 'chick lit' then this could be the testosterone driven equivalent. It is a love story stripped of the romance and seen through the eyes of a ... READ MORE
All in a weekend
Stewart (Stu) has come back to his home town, for his ex fiancée's (Ellie) grandfather Joe's funeral.
5 years ago he was to marry Ellie, a week before thei... READ MORE
Stonemouth, fascinating story, very well written.
I enjoyed the description of the characters (I found them very realistic and could easily
relate to them) and the place (also easy to imagine from Iain Ban... READ MORE
Addictive!
Iain Banks is addictive and he has fuelled my addiction since 1985. Stonemouth is a full of beautifully drawn characters perfectly portrayed in time and pl... READ MORE
Brilliant
Stonemouth is Iain Banks' fourteenth work of fiction and in my opinion his best. As a fan of Iain's work The Crow Road was my favourite book to date, but S... READ MORE
Not too sure!
Had I not received a preview copy I would probably have given up on the book. I found it slightly unbelievable that there would be two crime families in on... READ MORE
Beautifully written easy read...
This is a brilliantly easy read. I’d not read any Iain Bank’s novels previously but I shall certainly be looking out for his work in the future if the othe... READ MORE
A storyteller at his best
Gripping narrative, believable story and I was 'there' the accents, manner of expression - totally in character.