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Canal Dreams (Hardcover)

by Iain Banks (Author) "tic tic tic tic . . . Tiny noises of compression, sounding through her skull ..." (more)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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  • This item: Canal Dreams by Iain Banks

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown; New edition edition (5 Jul 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0316858579
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316858571
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13.6 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,226,075 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'Apocalyptic is the first word that springs to mind to describe this violent and powerful novel in which Banks once again demonstrates his extraordinary dark powers of imagination . . . impressive' THE TIMES Banks has a powerful literary presence, convincingly marrying fantasy and reality, Bond-like bravado and a weightier, more sadistic sense of human evil - FINANCIAL TIMES Short, compact and brilliantly crafted. - THE SCOTSMAN Canal Dreams is a terse and fluid novel...you turn the pages with simultaneous revulsion and fascination. - THE LIST


Product Description

Hisako Onoda, world famous cellist, refuses to fly. And so she travels to Europe as a passenger on a tanker bound through the Panama Canal. But Panama is a country whose politics are as volatile as the local freedom fighters. When Hisako's ship is captured, it is not long before the atmosphere is as flammable as an oxy-acetylene torch, and the tension as sharp as the spike on her cello...CANAL DREAMS is a novel of deceptive simplicity and dark, original power: stark psychological insights mesh with vividly realised scenarios in an ominous projection of global realpolitik. The result is yet another major landmark in the quite remarkable career of an outstanding modern novelist.
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite up to Banks's best, 11 May 2003
By Jonathan Waterlow - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Canal Dreams (Paperback)
It’s often easier to approach an Iain M. Banks novel than one without the middle initial. At least with the “M” present and correct you know what genre you’re going to be reading, whereas his so-called “mainstream” work seems to take place in every conceivable genre plus a few he has created for himself.

Unlike novels such as “The Bridge” or “Walking on Glass”, “Canal Dreams” is based completely in reality. Unlike “The Crow Road” or “Dead Air”, you’d be forgiven for forgetting this fact. The story concerns a famous Japanese cellist who becomes involved in a hostage situation on board a ship unable to escape from the Panama Canal. Essentially, this book is a thriller, but because it’s Iain Banks, you get the suspicion that there’s a lot more going on under the surface than you’re actually aware of. Which is often a good thing, but in this case I couldn’t really make head nor tail of it.

I suspect, though, that “Canal Dreams” was more a satirical take on politics at the time of its publication, making it – at least to a degree – a little irrelevant here and now. Of course, you can just read this as a thriller, but to get more from this book perhaps you need to be older than me. Well, that’s enough of my naysaying – “Canal Dreams” is a very clear, often shocking, illustration of the way life can treat you in very unexpected ways, and just how fragile our lives truly are. Banks keeps the events described realistic right up until the end… without giving away what happens, just bear in mind that the central character’s final actions are completely impossible.

There’s a great deal of tension felt when reading this book – Banks could (and does) do anything at any moment, which enhances the sense that life can and will throw anything your way whether you like it or not. High-octane is probably the best way to describe “Canal Dreams”, and in the end that’s probably all that can be fairly said of it. Simply put, this is an entertaining, well-written read, but intrinsically shallow compared to the more cerebral efforts usually on offer from Banks.

Worth a read, but don’t expect it to keep you thinking for long.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Dream a Little Dream, 1 May 2006
By Craobh Rua "Craobh Rua" (N. Ireland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Canal Dreams (Paperback)
Iain Banks first novel, The Wasp Factory, was published in 1984. In the years since, he's won critical acclaim, topped best-seller lists and has even written Science Fiction books under the cunning nom-de-plume 'Iain M. Banks'. He's also seen this book, "The Crow Road", adapted for television by the BBC in 1996. "Canal Dreams" is his fifth non sci-fi book and was first published in 1989.

The book's central character is Hisako Onoda, a world-famous cellist. As the book opens, Hisako is en-route from Japan to Europe, where she's due to perform in a series of concerts. However, as she's terrified of flying, she's making the journey by boat. Having travelled to Honolulu on the Gassam Maru, she then boarded the Nakodo - which was due to take her to Rotterdam via the Panama Canal. Unfortunately, due to `civil unrest' in the region - armed conflict between guerrilla fighters and government forces - the canal has been closed. Fro the moment, the Nakodo and two other ships are essentially trapped on Gat�n Lake. Although they are hoping for the all-clear to continue their journey soon, the conflict I, unfortunately, coming closer.

There are elements of a thriller to "Canal Dreams", but the strength of the book lies in telling Hisako's story. She is a very well-developed character, though her past in only gradually given away - the book jumps backwards and forwards, looking at some of the key events of Hisako's life. It's a method that may take a little getting used to - especially if you haven't read anything by Banks before. However, for me, I felt it really added to the enjoyment of the book. Hisako's travelling companions aren't so well developed, and little is told of their lives, thoughts or motivations. However, as "Canal Dreams" doesn't set out to tell their stories this really isn't a problem - and I would absolutely recommend this book.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Awkward thriller, 3 Nov 2005
By dogbarkssome (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Canal Dreams (Paperback)
Canal Dreams concerns a cello player scared of flying, who during a trip through the Panama Canal unwittingly ends up caught between revolutionaries and American special forces operatives. The basic scenario of this thriller is a good one, and the plight of the hostages stranded in the Panama Canal should result in a tense novel, but for some reason Canal Dreams never really comes to life. Probably the main culprit is the heroine Hisako, whose status as both a concert cellist and a martial artist able to kill with one strike is a little unlikely. Banks seems keen to explore what happens to people under extreme pressure – do they go meekly to their deaths or fight? It’s a good angle for a novel, but unfortunately due to her background Hisako is a very cold unemotional character who never really connects with the reader, and for all the pyrotechnics the action scenes never really come to life. Canal Dreams isn’t a bad book – there are plenty of nice moments in Banks writing to keep the pages turning, but compared to his other novels this is a rather flat and unengaging work. For Banks completists only.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Really disappointing
For a reasonably thin book, this was a heck of a slog!

"Canal Dreams" tells the story of Hisako Onoda, a world-famous cellist (as we are told many, many times) who... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peter Lee

2.0 out of 5 stars Canal Dreams
Iain Banks' mainstream work usually hinges on some aspect of unreality - psychosis, pseudo-history, the subconscious - and this one apparently centres on dreams, hense the title... Read more
Published 13 months ago by David Brookes

3.0 out of 5 stars Half-Dead
Banks churns out another novel. The story chugs along.

It seemed that all the components were there. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Talc Demon

2.0 out of 5 stars Banks writes a lefty version of "Rambo"
What was Banks thinking of when he cobbled together this adventure story (as it becomes in the finale)? Read more
Published on 27 Jul 2006 by Mr. Jonathan Headland

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Let me start by saying that I am a great fan of Iain (M) Bank's work. Though this is a better book than many out there it is poor by his standards. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2001 by simon_23

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich in depth of character...
I enjoyed this book, its main character draws on a number of emotions, and is portrayed in depth.

Some great twist made this an interesting read, only my second Iain Banks... Read more

Published on 25 May 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars a good read, but short
Banks' usual strange story-twists get cut a little short in this novel, however the characterization of Onada Hisako is superb, and the story does end with a bang! Read more
Published on 16 Sep 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Physically draining!
As with all of Iain Banks' novels, I sat straight down and started reading avidly. This is a very different novel at the start to his other works, at first I was thinking it a... Read more
Published on 29 April 1999

3.0 out of 5 stars A good novel... but has been known to write better
As a long time Iain (M) Banks fan I find this novel one of his weakest and also one of his most interesting. Read more
Published on 22 April 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars A bit of a mess
This is a very strange novel. I thought I was going to love it about half way in, and the book set up some potentially exciting scenarios and probed very well into the character... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 1999

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