arghh Banks. I love you and miss you. Many complain that these stories don't connect, or if they do it's superficially. I don't care. They rule. Especially the Graham story. ( )

Almost perfect. And where he didn't get it quite right on this one, he did next time, with The Bridge. ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2662529.html ( )

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. ( )

This is Iain Banks' second novel, and for me anyway, far more interesting than the much mentioned first novel 'The Wasp Factory', though not quite up there with 'The Bridge'. It is interesting to note that the author himself felt he had failed a little with this one because readers didn't quite 'get it'. I don't agree at all with this self criticism, after all, one of the major story lines in the book is about solving a difficult riddle, and that is exactly what the author left for us! A careful read of 'Walking on Glass' reveals the links between the seemingly disparate characters. This is the sort of story that reminds us that even a seemingly mundane life can contain amazing dimensions, horror, madness, and depth. Typically, Iain Banks can blow your mind on one page and then remind you it's all just a big joke on the next. A truly great writer who had his head in the clouds but his feet firmly planted on solid ground. ( )