Darren
Iain writes some very twisted stuff, doesn't he!
If "Wasp Factory" is your first Banks novel, try one of his others. I particularly enjoyed "Espedair Street", the tale of a rock star who has fallen from grace and lives in a church in Glasgow.
"The Bridge" is another dark, twisted story. But my favourite is "The Business", see the website write up. It certainly fired my imagination, it is one of my all-time fave novels.
Now the dross of Da Vinci is out the way I can get back to some proper reading.
Next on the list:
Charles Bukowski "Ham on Rye" - Never read a thing by him before so I'll see how it goes.
Will Self "Dr Mukti and Other Tales of Woe" - Love Will Self even if the dictionary has to come out occasionally.]
Gary
"Indulgent" is a good word to describe a lot of Steinbeck, his language is fantastic. I also like Tortilla Flat and especially Cannery Row, they are great and IMO better than Wayward Bus. Grapes of Wrath is his finest but don't expect it to be indulgent or happy.
I can't get on with Hemingway though, OTOH, even though both are men writing for men about men in a man's world.
The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Ideas and Integrities - Buckminster Fuller. Nice re-press of a book long out of print, and no less relevant in terms of the metaphorical challenges he poses 'designers' nearly 50years later. I enjoyed it as a student, and appreciate it even more now.