Just finished reading ‘The Steep Approach to Garbadale’ by Iain Banks. Like most of his novels and sci-fi works, it was highly competent and engaging. None of the stuff I’ve read by Banks I would consider a true literary classic, but each in their turn throws clear light on the human condition, and each one leaves the reader with a sense that they have been embraced by a true craftsman. If no one novel stands out as truly great, then taken as a whole, Iain Banks work is to be greatly admired and take collectively, Iain Banks is certainly amongst the great British writers of the contemporary era.

Banks came back onto my radar just before his untimely death, via an excellent public statement he made in support of the ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ campaign against the Israeli state’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land. He begins that statement by explaining:

‘I support the BDS campaign because, especially in our instantly connected world, an injustice committed against one, or against one group of people, is an injustice against all, against every one of us; a collective injury.’

The whole statement is worthy of our attention and I salute Banks for his unambiguous stance. Fired up by his affirmation of life and justice, coupled with the sobering news of his imminent demise, I rushed out to grab one of his recent novels. I was not disappointed.

‘Garbadale’ has an interesting plot. A wealthy Scottish family have grown even richer from the proceeds of a successful board game which became even more successful in its computer game form. The family recently sold a 25 per cent stake to an American corporation and everyone concerned did very nicely out of it. But the Yanks came back for more, this time wanting a total buyout. The family is somewhat torn; to surrender a family business to a faceless corporation, or to make the sale and live very comfortably for ever after. Banks uses this family dilemma to allow his central character to have a useful rant against American imperialism. It’s really Banks speaking out his views but it’s no less poignant for that. Alban, the main man puts it bluntly at the EGM:

‘Personally, I don’t think we should sell. Why do I think we shouldn’t sell? Purely because of the politics of it. Resist imperialism, whether it’s military or cultural.’ P352

There’s lots of other sound political sentiment that Bank’s gets out there via his leading protagonist. Alban is having one of those existential crises which we all get from time to time. Banks sums up Alban’s personal predicament as follows:

‘He wanted peace and love and all that shit for the whole fucking world and you’d imagine that sort of stuff would be fairly near the top of everyone’s wish list, but it was all going in the other direction, descending into madness and barbarism, reverting to a mind-numbing morality sapping set of cruel, mutually intolerant superstitions and authoritarianisms. Stupidity and viciousness were rewarded, illegality not just tolerated but encouraged, lying profoundly worked, and torture was justified even lauded. Meanwhile the whole world was warming up, getting ready to drown.’ P327

I reckon that’s a pretty fair description of where we are right at this present moment. Perhaps it comes across as a little didactic but I find the general sentiment impossible to disagree with. There is even better to come. Alban finds himself in a sharp polemic with one of those Christian born again fruit-cases from the good old US of A and puts the atheist case in no uncertain terms:

‘I was trying to explain to Tony here that, from where I stand, Judaism, Christianity and Islam don’t even look like separate religions, just different cults within the one big, mad, misogynist religion founded by a schizophrenic who heard voices telling him to kill his son. And I do indeed believe in evolution rather than magic. I take a pretty firm line on lightening not being divine thunderbolts too.’ P317

Once again this is Banks talking via his central character and for that he may be criticised. But whatever the literary merits of the book, it is so refreshing to hear these rational sentiments spelled out loud and clear. Three cheers for Iain Banks. He will be missed but his works will be cherished.