Whit

Iain Banks

Language: English

Publisher: Little Brown

Published: Jan 1, 1995

Pages: 352

Description:

Isis Whit is no ordinary teenager. An innocent in the ways of the world, an ingenue when it comes to pop and fashion, she does however rejoice in the exalted status of Elect of God of the Luskentyrian Sect, a small but committed religious cult based near Stirling. A month before their four-yearly Festival of Love, during which members indulge vigorously in acts of carnal abandon, the Luskentyrians are thrown into crisis when their Guest of Honour renounces her faith and refuses to attend. Isis' standing in the Community, coupled with the fact that the apostate is her cousin Morag, swiftly marks her out as the person to venture out among the Unsaved and bring the fallen one back to the fold But her mission through the spiritual barrenness of Nineties Britain - with its 'herbal cigarettes', compact discs and neo-facist thugs - is soon made even more treacherous. It appears that not only has Morag embraced the ways of the Unsaved with spectacular abandon, but for some reason she seems to be actively avoiding Isis, whose own hallowed status among the brethren undergoes a radical about-turn as her pillar of faith slowly crumbles from within.

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.

Isis Whit is no ordinary teenager. An innocent in the ways of the world, an ingenue when it comes to pop and fashion, she does however rejoice in the exalted status of Elect of God of the Luskentyrian Sect, a small but committed religious cult based near Stirling. A month before their four-yearly Festival of Love, during which members indulge vigorously in acts of carnal abandon, the Luskentyrians are thrown into crisis when their Guest of Honour renounces her faith and refuses to attend. Isis' standing in the Community, coupled with the fact that the apostate is her cousin Morag, swiftly marks her out as the person to venture out among the Unsaved and bring the fallen one back to the fold But her mission through the spiritual barrenness of Nineties Britain - with its 'herbal cigarettes', compact discs and neo-facist thugs - is soon made even more treacherous. It appears that not only has Morag embraced the ways of the Unsaved with spectacular abandon, but for some reason she seems to be actively avoiding Isis, whose own hallowed status among the brethren undergoes a radical about-turn as her pillar of faith slowly crumbles from within.