The Steep Approach to Garbadale

By: Iain Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The Wopuld family built their fortune on a board game called Empire, now a wildly successful computer game. So successful, in fact, that the American Spraint Corp wants to buy the Wopulds out. Alban, who has been evading the family tentacles for the last few years, thinks Spraint should be treated with suspicion, but he also has other things on his mind. What drove his mother to take her own life? And is he yet over Sophie, his teenage love, who'll be present at the forthcoming family gathering - part birthday party, part Extraordinary General Meeting - in their highland castle?

©2007 Iain Banks (P)2007 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The most imaginative British novelist of his generation." (The Times)

the steep approach to garbadale

very british, very funny and intelligent. beautiful reallife charcters and a swinging end
- pleasure to listen to, especially the scottish parts.

Quality

Great Narration, great story. It´s clever and unpretentious. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would heartily recommend it.The narration is superb.

A non SF story by Iain Banks.

Where does The Steep Approach to Garbadale rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top. It's a good story. The actor reading it does a very good job. It's an enjoyable listen.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Steep Approach to Garbadale?

Tough question to answer.

Have you listened to any of Peter Kenny’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I think I have, but I'm not sure. He's very good.

Who was the most memorable character of The Steep Approach to Garbadale and why?

I listened to the story about a month ago. The lead character is the most memorable, but it's told from his pont of view, so that's no shock.

Well performed

The book is entertaining, if a little self-indulgent in parts. It provides a funny insight into families born into money and the family firm. It's not a book I expected from Iain Banks, so don't go looking for sci-fi.

A recurring theme is unrequited love, and the message seems to be that one can delude oneself for a long time about the qualities of a past love. It is clever in that even while the characters are claiming to not have certain character flaws, they are in fact demonstrating them.

The narrator is excellent - he has really thought about how to best perform the book. The audio quality is also among the best on audible.

NOT BAD

I HAVE READ ALL OF BANKS FICTION AND WISH MORE WAS AVAILABLE ON AUDIO ESP. AUDIBLE.
THIS WAS ENTERTAINING, BUT IT READ A LITTLE BETTER THAN WHEN I LISTENED TO IT. CHECK IT OUT.

Female Voices Mixed Success

Sometimes I felt the characterization of the women's voices worked, at other times though, particularly for the younger female voices, it really didn't work at all.

Entirely enjoyable. More AudioBooks by Iain Banks?

A great story line with enjoyable reading. This kept me listening non-stop ... then I started it over to listen a second time. Great character development.
But why aren't there more Iain Banks books recorded on Audible.com???

Banks read by Kenny - a superb combination

What made the experience of listening to The Steep Approach to Garbadale the most enjoyable?

I've listened to a number of Bank's books read by Peter Kenny and all have been excellent. This book has an engaging plot and characters that seem genuine.

Who was your favorite character and why?

They were all excellent.

What about Peter Kenny’s performance did you like?

Kenny has a very clear speaking voice that is well modulated.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some scenes in the book were very amusing, particularly Alban's awkward teenage experiences with his cousin.

Any additional comments?

More Banks / Kenny combinations please.

One of my favorites

I'm a huge fan of Iain Banks, and Garbadale plays right to what I like about so many of his books. Here we have the story about a big, weird Scottish family with secrets stretching back many years.

This is not my favorite of his novels but if you like others I don't think it will disappoint.

Really wonderful

Any additional comments?

Alban -- a sweet but broken, a wonderfully flawed and human character -- is in a war of attrition with his grandmother, the mater familias of large, wealthy family/business. At the age of 35, he is forced to come to terms with his life and his family. A great story, full of pitch perfect detail and dialog -- some passages are surprisingly, laugh-out-loud funny. Kenny does a great job with different UK accents, subtly positioning each character in terms of age, class and personality (his American and mid-Atlantic accents are kind of grating).