If you've read my other reviews you'll realise that I'm an old-fashioned type. I like a book to be well-written, of course, however I also like it to have a story. At the risk of being banished from literary society I confess to liking (shudder) "plot".

The Bridge doesn't have one. So I should hate it. Yet somehow it works.

The book begins with the narrator (dubbed "Orr", though his real name is left as an exercise for the reader) involved in a car crash. On a bridge. He passes out...

...and awakes on The Bridge. More precisely, he is fished out of the sea with no memory and with a large, steering wheel shaped mark on his chest.

The Bridge is a strange, self-contained world. Thousands of people live in each of its sections and there are many sections. The Bridge stretches between the Kingdom and the City, both of which are so far away that no-one has ever seen them. No-one seems to know anything about the history or purpose of the Bridge.

The rest of the book follows Orr as he explores the Bridge and learns more about its society. The whole thing has a dreamlike feel. There's something very Kafkaesque about Orr's total inability to discover anything about what is really going on. The authorities have even managed to lose the local library!

Interspersed with Orr's experiences on the Bridge are his dreams within this possible dream. These give Banks the opportunity to play with many different genres and much additional imagery. One of the best is the Glaswegian barbarian who has a pompous familiar stuck on his shoulder. Does Banks intend this to be a representation of the id? Or is it just a bit of fun?

As the book nears the end, we get to see more and more of Orr's pre-Bridge life through flashback. This is the less successful part of the book. The two strands ultimately merge together in a competent if uninspired ending.

So what is the Bridge? Is it real? Of course. Is it just a dream? Of course. Is it social commentary? Of course. Is the Bridge a metaphor for life? Of course. Is it all a big joke? Of course. All of these and more. In the hands of a lesser author the mishmash of themes, styles and ideas would be disastrous. Banks somehow blends all of these elements in to a satisfying whole.

As I said earlier, The Bridge ultimately lacks any real plot or point. The ending is little more than an adequate answer to the question "how do I get out of this?" When you reach the end you realise you haven't actually arrived anywhere.

But what a great journey!

PS: For those who don't know, the eponymous Bridge is based on the Forth bridge on the outskirts of Edinburgh. If you've ever stood on that shore, stoned off your face and staring at the bridge looming up through the mist... you'll understand.