Complicity
Encyclopedia
Complicity is a novel
by Scottish author Iain Banks
. It was published in 1993.
on a Scottish newspaper called The Caledonian, which resembles The Scotsman
, and a serial murderer whose identity is a mystery. The passages dealing with the journalist are written in the first person
, and those dealing with the murderer in the second person
, so the novel presents, in alternate chapters, an unusual example of an unreliable narrator
. The events take place mostly in and around Edinburgh
.
habit, living in Edinburgh. He also smokes
cigarette
s and cannabis
, drinks copious amounts of alcohol
, plays computer games, and has adventurous sex with a married woman, Yvonne. He regrets his addictions
and misdemeanours and tries half-heartedly to give them up occasionally.
He reflects on his awful experience of witnessing the aftermath of the massacre at the 'Highway of Death
' in the Gulf War
, and covers the deployment of HMS Vanguard
, Britain's first Trident
nuclear missile submarine
.
He thinks he has a scoop when he receives anonymous phone calls about a series of mysterious deaths. Suddenly he has mysterious deaths of his own to worry about, when an editorial
he wrote years before comes back to haunt him. In it, he suggested that certain named capitalist
and right-wing public figures would be better hate-figures than the conventional ones of foreign leaders or domestic criminals. It seems someone is killing off the people on his list, one by one. The description of the murders (which are ingeniously sadistic
) is done in a fairly detailed manner.
Under suspicion by the police, Colley finds himself involved doubly in the bizarre murders when the killer is revealed. At the end of the book, Colley is diagnosed with lung cancer
(a downbeat ending omitted in the film adaptation
).
except without the happy ending and redeeming air of cheerfulness". The Wasp Factory is of course quite a macabre book itself.
Complicity has been compared with Tam o' Shanter
in its portrayal of the human, and particularly Scottish, attitude to sin
and transgression. The themes of violence
and substance abuse
in the book, along with the grim ending, seem to point to Banks' growing pacifism
.
Cameron Colley strongly resembles Ken Nott in Banks' later book Dead Air
.
Significant sections of the novel are written in second-person narrative
.
(or Retribution in some markets) based on the novel was filmed in 2000.
The two computer games Cameron plays are Despot (which strongly resembles Civilization
) and Xerium, an invented spaceship game.
An extract from the book was published in the Spring 1993 edition of the magazine Granta
(#43) Best of Young British Novelists 2, ISBN 0-14-014059-X with the title Under Ice.
There are scenes set during Colley's time at university. The description of the university campus make it clear that the University in question is the University of Stirling in Scotland, where the author was an undergraduate.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Scottish author Iain Banks
Iain Banks
Iain Banks is a Scottish writer. He writes mainstream fiction under the name Iain Banks, and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, including the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies...
. It was published in 1993.
Plot introduction
Its two main characters are Cameron Colley, a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
on a Scottish newspaper called The Caledonian, which resembles The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
, and a serial murderer whose identity is a mystery. The passages dealing with the journalist are written in the first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
, and those dealing with the murderer in the second person
Second-person narrative
The second-person narrative is a narrative mode in which the protagonist or another main character is referred to by employment of second-person personal pronouns and other kinds of addressing forms, for example the English second-person pronoun "you"....
, so the novel presents, in alternate chapters, an unusual example of an unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
. The events take place mostly in and around Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Plot summary
Colley is a "Gonzo journalist" with an amphetamineAmphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
habit, living in Edinburgh. He also smokes
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s and cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, drinks copious amounts of alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
, plays computer games, and has adventurous sex with a married woman, Yvonne. He regrets his addictions
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
and misdemeanours and tries half-heartedly to give them up occasionally.
He reflects on his awful experience of witnessing the aftermath of the massacre at the 'Highway of Death
Highway of Death
The Highway of Death refers to a six-lane highway between Kuwait and Iraq, officially known as Highway 80. It runs from Kuwait City to the border town of Safwan and then on to Basra....
' in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, and covers the deployment of HMS Vanguard
HMS Vanguard (S28)
The eleventh HMS Vanguard of the Royal Navy is the lead boat of her class of Trident ballistic missile-armed submarines. The submarine is based at HMNB Clyde, Faslane....
, Britain's first Trident
Trident missile
The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile equipped with multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles . The Fleet Ballistic Missile is armed with nuclear warheads and is launched from nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines . Trident missiles are carried by fourteen...
nuclear missile submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
.
He thinks he has a scoop when he receives anonymous phone calls about a series of mysterious deaths. Suddenly he has mysterious deaths of his own to worry about, when an editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
he wrote years before comes back to haunt him. In it, he suggested that certain named capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and right-wing public figures would be better hate-figures than the conventional ones of foreign leaders or domestic criminals. It seems someone is killing off the people on his list, one by one. The description of the murders (which are ingeniously sadistic
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
) is done in a fairly detailed manner.
Under suspicion by the police, Colley finds himself involved doubly in the bizarre murders when the killer is revealed. At the end of the book, Colley is diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
(a downbeat ending omitted in the film adaptation
Complicity (film)
Complicity is a 2000 film based on the novel Complicity by Iain Banks. The screenplay was written by Bryan Elsley. It was directed by Gavin Millar...
).
Literary significance & criticism
Banks has claimed in an interview that Complicity is "[a] bit like The Wasp FactoryThe Wasp Factory
The Wasp Factory was the first novel by Scottish writer Iain Banks. It was published in 1984.-Overview:It is written from a first person perspective, told by sixteen-year-old eunuch Frank Cauldhame, describing his childhood and all that remains of it...
except without the happy ending and redeeming air of cheerfulness". The Wasp Factory is of course quite a macabre book itself.
Complicity has been compared with Tam o' Shanter
Tam o' Shanter (Burns poem)
"Tam o' Shanter" is a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1790. Many consider it to be one of the best examples of the narrative poem in modern European literature....
in its portrayal of the human, and particularly Scottish, attitude to sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
and transgression. The themes of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
and substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
in the book, along with the grim ending, seem to point to Banks' growing pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
.
Cameron Colley strongly resembles Ken Nott in Banks' later book Dead Air
Dead Air
Dead Air is a novel by the Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 2002.-Plot introduction:The book revolves around the life of Ken Nott, a radio DJ on a London station called Capital Live!-Plot summary:...
.
Significant sections of the novel are written in second-person narrative
Second-person narrative
The second-person narrative is a narrative mode in which the protagonist or another main character is referred to by employment of second-person personal pronouns and other kinds of addressing forms, for example the English second-person pronoun "you"....
.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A motion picture called ComplicityComplicity (film)
Complicity is a 2000 film based on the novel Complicity by Iain Banks. The screenplay was written by Bryan Elsley. It was directed by Gavin Millar...
(or Retribution in some markets) based on the novel was filmed in 2000.
Trivia
At the turn off to Strathspeld early in the story, Colley passes through the village of Gilmerton where in the late 1980s and early 1990s three identical Fiat 126s were parked.The two computer games Cameron plays are Despot (which strongly resembles Civilization
Civilization (computer game)
Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based strategy "4X"-type strategy video game created by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley for MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time": it begins in 4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires...
) and Xerium, an invented spaceship game.
An extract from the book was published in the Spring 1993 edition of the magazine Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
(#43) Best of Young British Novelists 2, ISBN 0-14-014059-X with the title Under Ice.
There are scenes set during Colley's time at university. The description of the university campus make it clear that the University in question is the University of Stirling in Scotland, where the author was an undergraduate.