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Whit

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Whit

By: Iain Banks
Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
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About this listen

A little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing....

Innocent in the ways of the world, an ingenue when it comes to pop and fashion, the Elect of God of a small but committed Stirlingshire religious cult: Isis Whit is no ordinary teenager. When her cousin Morag - Guest of Honour at the Luskentyrian's four-yearly Festival of Love - disappears after renouncing her faith, Isis is marked out to venture among the Unsaved and bring the apostate back into the fold.

But the road to Babylondon (as Sister Angela puts it) is a treacherous one, particularly when Isis discovers that Morag appears to have embraced the ways of the Unsaved with spectacular abandon... Truth and falsehood; kinship and betrayal; 'herbal' cigarettes and compact discs - Whit is an exploration of the techno-ridden barrenness of modern Britain from a unique perspective.

©1995 Iain Banks (P)2013 Hachette Audio Classics Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant
I read Whit in hardback when it was first published. At the time I was a little disappointed by the story after the dark violence of Complicity. Now, years later, listening to this audiobook I can fully appreciate how good the novel is. This I believe is down to the brilliant performance and delivery of the novel. Well done!

Brilliantly delivered!

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My favourite author. Great story. Wonderful storytelling. The reader brought the characters alive. So good to hear an authentic Scottish accent.

Amazing narration!

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I read this book many years ago. I have enjoy every Iain Banks book I have read as you never quite know what to expect. I recommended this one to a friend of mine who does a show on local radio as a book worthy of a book group with plenty to talk about. She got plenty of great feedback. I thoroughly enjoyed Helen McAlpine’s narration. Some people have complained about certain characterisations but I think that is churlish. She takes us through the narrative in the first person with other characters dropping in and out. I particularly enjoyed the innocence of Isis and her trip to London - rubber tyre, travelling on a car freight train and back busing all on a hard board! Absolutely brilliant this version truly brought the book to life.

Absolutely brilliant

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I’ve read this book in paperback version at least three times and it remains to this day one of my favourite fiction books.

Iain Banks keeps true to his Scottish roots in this tale - a tale which reflects perfectly the time it was written; the mid-nineties. No internet (at least, widely available), CD players and VHS. Simpler times? Perhaps. Even more simpler for the main character of the story; a young and very naive woman named Isis Whit.

She sure does have a great story to tell…

This book was really well read and was a refreshing listen having read the paperback numerous times prior. You need to listen attentively as Banks’ leans heavily on descriptive anecdotes and musings; so pay attention, listen well, absorb and enjoy.

Great story, really well read

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This is one of my all time favourite books, and this narration is amazing and delightful. Well done!

Wonderful

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