Whit
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Picked up at Baker's Delight in Dominion Road, Auckland, New Zealand in the Book Crossings corner, but it hadn't been registered.
I've read this book before, and look forward to reading it again.
I've read this book before, and look forward to reading it again.
Here be SPOILERS!
Isis is a 19-year-old member of an obscure Scottish religious cult, who is sent to London to find her cousin Morag, who has sent a letter renouncing her faith. Getting to London isn't easy as the cult isn't allowed to use most forms of technology. Isis starts by floating down a river to Edinburgh. In London, she discovers that Morag, unknown to the cult, is a porn star. She does very well at tracking her, but doesn't actually get to see her.
The nature and origins of the cult are slowly revealed during the book. Isis' grandfather founded it in the late 1940's after he is rescued in a storm by two Indian sisters on the Scottish Islands. The key text of the cult has been written by the grandfather after a series of visions, and has been frequently revised. His polygamous relationship with the sisters has produced many of the cult members. He was born on the 29th of February, and so was his son (since deceased), and Isis, and this special birthday makes her his appointed successor. Every three years, nine months before the 29th of February, there's a love Festival with the aim of a pregnancy to culminate on the next special date.
Back at the cult headquarters, Isis finds she has been framed with the theft of the cult's sacred ointment. She tries to explain her innocence to her grandfather, but he attempts to have sex with her, and she is then blamed for attempting to seduce him. A bit of detective work shows that her brother is trying to discredit her, and become the next leader even though he doesn't have the special birth date.
An uncle takes her away before she can refute the charges against her, but she gets him drunk and arranges to meet with Morag. Morag explains that while she is a porn star, she hasn't renounced her faith and never wrote a letter saying so. That letter was an excuse by Isis' brother to get her out of the way for a while.
Isis finds her grandmother, who left the cult when she was a child, and gets the truth about the cult's foundations - the grandfather had stolen a large sum of money from the army, but the sisters hid it from him because they knew he wouldn't stay with them if they returned it to him. The grandmother has visions, the grandfather is a pure fraud. With the grandmother and Morag, she returns to the cult with the evidence she needs to wrest control from her brother. She doesn't actually present the evidence she has about her grandfather's past, which would destroy the cult, she just lets him know she has it to keep him in line.
This is a great book, considerably more mainstream than most of Iain Banks' novels, and therefore a good introduction to his work. It's quite fascinating to learn of the history behind the cult and of its workings. Isis is perhaps a little more resourceful than I can believe, since she is also so naive. I read this when it was first published - about 1997, and really enjoyed re-reading it.
Isis is a 19-year-old member of an obscure Scottish religious cult, who is sent to London to find her cousin Morag, who has sent a letter renouncing her faith. Getting to London isn't easy as the cult isn't allowed to use most forms of technology. Isis starts by floating down a river to Edinburgh. In London, she discovers that Morag, unknown to the cult, is a porn star. She does very well at tracking her, but doesn't actually get to see her.
The nature and origins of the cult are slowly revealed during the book. Isis' grandfather founded it in the late 1940's after he is rescued in a storm by two Indian sisters on the Scottish Islands. The key text of the cult has been written by the grandfather after a series of visions, and has been frequently revised. His polygamous relationship with the sisters has produced many of the cult members. He was born on the 29th of February, and so was his son (since deceased), and Isis, and this special birthday makes her his appointed successor. Every three years, nine months before the 29th of February, there's a love Festival with the aim of a pregnancy to culminate on the next special date.
Back at the cult headquarters, Isis finds she has been framed with the theft of the cult's sacred ointment. She tries to explain her innocence to her grandfather, but he attempts to have sex with her, and she is then blamed for attempting to seduce him. A bit of detective work shows that her brother is trying to discredit her, and become the next leader even though he doesn't have the special birth date.
An uncle takes her away before she can refute the charges against her, but she gets him drunk and arranges to meet with Morag. Morag explains that while she is a porn star, she hasn't renounced her faith and never wrote a letter saying so. That letter was an excuse by Isis' brother to get her out of the way for a while.
Isis finds her grandmother, who left the cult when she was a child, and gets the truth about the cult's foundations - the grandfather had stolen a large sum of money from the army, but the sisters hid it from him because they knew he wouldn't stay with them if they returned it to him. The grandmother has visions, the grandfather is a pure fraud. With the grandmother and Morag, she returns to the cult with the evidence she needs to wrest control from her brother. She doesn't actually present the evidence she has about her grandfather's past, which would destroy the cult, she just lets him know she has it to keep him in line.
This is a great book, considerably more mainstream than most of Iain Banks' novels, and therefore a good introduction to his work. It's quite fascinating to learn of the history behind the cult and of its workings. Isis is perhaps a little more resourceful than I can believe, since she is also so naive. I read this when it was first published - about 1997, and really enjoyed re-reading it.
Journal Entry 3 by gadfium at Bakers Delight store in Auckland, Auckland Province New Zealand on Friday, February 20, 2004
Released on Friday, February 20, 2004 at Bakers Delight store, 290 Dominion Rd in Auckland, Auckland New Zealand.
