The Steep Approach to Garbadale is Iain Bank’s first non-SF novel in quite a few years – indeed Dead Air was published back in 2002. I’d say that the novel it’s most like is The Crow Road which is probably my favourite Banks novel to date. In place of The Crow Road’s Prentice, we have Alban who starts the novel having nothing to do with his extended family who are rich thanks to a board game (and latterly computer game) called Empire! which I’m sure isn’t supposed to be remotely similar to Risk.
But there’s a family gathering brewing at the eponymous matriarchal home at Garbadale in the Highlands, and Alban becomes enmeshed in the family’s affairs with the proposed sale of the family firm to an American giant. Should the sale go ahead? What’s the truth behind the suicide of Alban’s mother? Is there any future in his abruptly cut-off relationship with Sophie? And what of his new mathematical genius girlfriend VG?
Obviously I’m not going to answer any of these questions here! That’d spoil the story, and very readable it is too. Banks really is on familiar territory with the various aunts, cousins, parents and so-on; almost to the extent that a family tree would have been usefully printed at the front of the book.
The book is very dialogue heavy, and of course you’re rooting for Alban who really is much like Prentice before him in that he’s about the only rational member of a completely mad family. Highly recommended.