Walking on Glass (1985)

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. ( )

This book consists of alternate chapters of three separate stories. Graham is in love with the enigmatic Sara. Steven is paranoid. He thinks that he is really a warrior from another world trapped on earth and that 'they ' are out to get him. Quiss and Ajayi, formerly officers on opposite sides of an inter-galactic war, are imprisoned in a castle on an unknown planet, where they are forced to play endless impossible games until they guess the answer to a riddle.

At first the two real-world stories did not grab me but I was drawn in towards the end, once the links between them and the third science-fiction thread became clear.

I failed to guess the correct answer to the riddle. My three incorrect guesses were:
1) The end of the world
2) Stalemate (to link in with the game theme)
3) Nothing ( )

Complex and interesting enough to keep me reading but failed to come together enough to satisfy. Three disparate tales told that try to come together in the end. Don’t let this stop you reading his other science fiction which is top notch.