The Wasp Factory in Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Nov 04, 2010 Stacie rated it it was ok

Shelves: i-own, 1001books, kindle

This was a three most of the way through, but the ending was whack, losing a full star. I liked that I was WTF pretty much the whole time, but was hoping for a bit more.

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Apr 11, 2010 Arukiyomi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This is a rare book in that inside the front cover, the publisher has included some comments from reviews of the book. What makes them unique as far as I can tell is that this book has negative reviews. There are reviews telling us not to bother reading it, that it’s distasteful and not worth our efforts. I can only think that by mixing these in with those eulogising it, the publisher is attempting some form of reverse pyschology. Anyway, I was halfway through it before I realised, but even by t This is a rare book in that inside the front cover, the publisher has included some comments from reviews of the book. What makes them unique as far as I can tell is that this book has negative reviews. There are reviews telling us not to bother reading it, that it’s distasteful and not worth our efforts. I can only think that by mixing these in with those eulogising it, the publisher is attempting some form of reverse pyschology. Anyway, I was halfway through it before I realised, but even by that point, I understood the reason for the mixed reviews.

This is the story of a person who has created their own world within a world created for them by their father. It’s a claustrophobic novel told in the first person deep down in the thoughts of Frank, an obsessive who has punctuated his life with superstitious ritual. These rituals involve the death of large numbers of animal and insect life, often in gruesome ways. I can’t imagine any vegetarians liking this one.

Quite why Frank feels this is all necessary is never explained. It just is. Frank’s got a brother, Eric who is quite patently insane and has been shipped away somewhere. He escapes from this somewhere near the start of the novel and gradually gets closer to home as the novel progresses. The climax, when it comes, is a bit strange. In fact, the whole thing’s a bit strange.

Banks has included a twist at the end which isn’t too hard to anticipate and having delivered this, the novel limps to a brief and altogether premature end. Anyone frustrated by Banks’ decision not to explore the issues in a more humane way should read a novel which I will hide because knowing it would give away the twist. If you want to see the novel I’d recommend see my review on my blog at www.johnandsheena.co.uk/books

I didn’t think it was terrifically well-written. If you’re a fan of McEwan, you’d feel at home with the style. And it probes people’s psyche like McEwan does too. But I wasn’t overly keen on my first Iain Banks. Maybe I’ll like The Crow Road better. ...more

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Sep 27, 2018 Michelle rated it it was ok

Shelves: ebook, horror, 1001-books, wow-wtf

The rambling first-person daily diary of an outwardly-calm but troubled teen, Banks' slim novel was ultimately neither as shocking as the blurb/buzz indicated, nor as disturbingly gruesome as Banks occasionally gets in his sci-fi works. I'm more than fine with the latter (main characters drowning in sewage could be skipped any time), but the former made time in this book pass far more slowly than its scant 200 pages needed to.

On the back of the book and in the first few chapters, Frank breezily ...more

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Jul 06, 2008 Betsy rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, has-mystery, intense

I must start by saying that Fipp and I waited three years to read this book together. A friend came back from class one day and said everyone was discussing how crazy the book was. I thought I was in for twists and turns, confusion and who-done-it, trickery at its best. Instead people were calling it "crazy" because it is about a crazy person. He hurts animals and has killed people and has a weird life. Unfortunately nothing shocks me and in this book the author relies to heavily on the shock va ...more

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Jan 23, 2008 Danielle rated it really liked it

a surprisingly good, yet disturbing book. it read quickly and i liked how the author unravelled the backstory. it smacks a bit like lord of the flies, but sans piggy.

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