Whit

or, Isis amongst the unsaved

de Iain Banks

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.