The Crow Road is my favourite book. It might speak more to Scots – I don't know – but it's wonderful.
I also found "The Business" a very good book, that should be good for people starting to read him.
That was the one novel I could not stand of his - I almost thought it was written as a parody.
Interesting. I loved it too. Sadly, I've just trudged through Stonemouth and found it deadly dull.
...while I found Stonemouth quite compelling and stayed up way too late reading it more than one night.
I am a huge Banks fan, but I really didn't enjoy The Wasp Factory.
I think the Wasp Factory, although obviously well written, was mostly functional, it got Banks the recognition he deserved, and initiated his literary career. He did write other novels before it, which only got published afterwards, and at least during his first creative decade, was highly creative and very ambitious (Against A Dark Background, The Crow Road, etc. all very ambitious works).