Iain Banks: The Wasp Factory

[feedpaper]

after reading into a thread i became curious and was wondering if anybody could maybe tell me what the wasp factory was about overall or give me alittle insight?

 

[Geenh]

I just finished reading the book a few weeks ago. It's strange, I'll give oyu that. It's about a teenager who has killed a few of his family members. The Wasp Factory is a device he's constructed in his attic. The kid is heavily into fantasy and imagination. He lives with his father, has an insane brother (interesting story as to what tips him over the edge) who has escaped from the asylum and is slowly wending his way back home, making phone calls along the way. It's a thin book and a quick and easy read. Give it a try. It has a bit of a twist at the end as well.

 

[Shaun]

It is a strange book, but well worth reading.

 

[Dyaus]

It is indeed a strange book but it gives you an insight on how an individual works out his role and relationships in the world. Through the actual wasp factory, he attempts to control everything around him but in the end, he discovers that life still has lots of surprises for him. I like the way Banks has developed the idea of gender roles and behaviour in this book.

It's a very slim book, which I heartily recommend reading. If you like his fiction, you might appreciate his other novels: not all of them are as "shocking"; in fact, he seems to alternate his style of writing from book to book.
Iain Banks also writes science fiction under the name of Iain M. Banks, so check it out, if you like.

 

[angerball]

I just finished this book, and found it freakishly wierd. The whole

Spoiler

animal mutilation/sacrifice thing, and his brother setting dogs on fire and eating them

is probably one of the most disturbing things I've read. Maybe because it was written in such a deadpan manner, as to sound completely plausible/realistic, and because Frank seems totally unmoved by these things he does.

I only just finished it 10 minutes ago, so I'm still kind of rolling things about in my head. It was a good read, but not as good as I anticipated, based on some of the reviews I had read. Not sure if it's so well known simply because of the "shock value" factor, or because people genuinely thought the story was good.

I was very surprised by the twist at the end. Had no idea that one was coming, but I think that using it as a justification for Frank's unusual (to say the least ) behaviour throughout his life is a bit weak

Spoiler

(ie. killing animals to prove he is "more than a man", because he is biologically a she)

. Also, I though the ending was unresolved. What happens to Eric????

All in all, I'd recommend the book. It's quite short - only about 240 pages - so can be finished in a couple of days.

I've seen a few mentions of this book here and there in other threads, but I'd be interested in any more specific comments.