Ah... Iain Banks. This book was first published in 1994 and went straight on my Christmas present list. I hadn't read any of his work for a while and thought I'd pick this book up again after discussing it on Tonto's Creative Writing course over the summer. Banks is an absolute master - This book is a fine example of how to switch point of view from first person to second person and also one of the most unsettling openings to a novel you'll read in a long time. I prefer to see his books in the old black and white covers, although with this version, you can pick it up for one pence! That's right... a single English penny! Complicity is a stunting exploration of the morality of greed, corruption and violence, venturing fearlessly into the darker recesses of human purpose. Add to that some sex, mystery, S&M, computery stuff, some more corruption and murder and you're back in the familiar world of Iain Banks.
Music - Hit Parade by Paul Weller
All the die hard fans have been complaining about this box set. It hasn't got any demos, alternative versions or unreleased tracks on it. So what? It's a four disc set of practically everything Weller has done from The Jam to The Style Council to the Paul Weller Movement and plain old Paul Weller.
Weller is more popular now than he's ever been, attracting a whole new generation of listeners through his influence over all these new indie kid guitar bands and maybe this set is just what a new listener needs. It's just a shame he invited some of them on stage at the BBC Electric Proms recently to murder some of his most dearly-held classic tunes. If you're one of the die hards... you know you'll buy it at some point, even if it's just for the booklet included. Hit Parade could be sub-headed: Every decent Weller track you need without having to buy albums or find and download off the net.
Film - Yellow Submarine by The Beatles
It'll cost you an arm and a leg on Amazon, but every household should have one.
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