THE CROW ROAD

From its bravura opening onwards, THE CROW ROAD is justly regarded as an outstanding contemporary novel. ''It was the day my grandmother exploded. I sat in the crematorium, listening to my Uncle Hamish quietly snoring in harmony to Bach''s Mass in B Minor, and I reflected that it always seemed to be death that drew me back to Gallanach.'' Prentice McHoan has returned to the bosom of his complex but enduring Scottish family. Full of questions about the McHoan past, present and future, he is also deeply preoccupied: mainly with death, sex, drink, God and illegal substances.