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"I had been making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped. I already knew something was going to happen; the Factory told me."
Those lines begin one of the most infamous of contemporary Scottish novels. The narrator, Frank Cauldhame, is a weird teenager who lives on a tiny island connected to mainland Scotland by a bridge. He maintains grisly Sacrifice Poles to serve as his early warning system and deterrent against anyone who might invade his territory.
Few novelists have ever burst onto the literary scene with as much controversy as Iain Banks in 1984. The Wasp Factory was reviled by many reviewers on account of its violence and sadism, but applauded by others as a new and Scottish voice--that is, a departure from the English literary tradition. The controversy is a bit puzzling in retrospect, because there is little to object to in this novel, if you're familiar with genre horror.
The Wasp Factory is distinguished by an authentically felt and deftly written first-person style, delicious dark humor, a sense of the surreal, and a serious examination of the psyche of a childhood psychopath. Most readers will find that they sympathize with and even like Frank, despite his three murders (each of which is hilarious in an Edward Gorey fashion). It's a classic of contemporary horror. --Fiona Webster --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Review
One of the most brilliant first novels I have come across. DAILY TELEGRAPH Read it if you dare. DAILY Express A brilliant book, barmy and barnacled with the grotesque. New Statesman A Gothic horror story of quite exceptional quality...macabre, bizarre and...quite impossible to put down FINANCIAL TIMES
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I HAD BEEN making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
I HAD BEEN making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Instant debut classic,
By
This review is from: The Wasp Factory (Paperback)
WOW...that's basically how I can sum up this book. It was awesome and completely exceeded my expectations. I have this habbit of reading one star reviews of books before I buy them. Reason being, it tends to lower my expectations just a little bit. In the case of 'The Wasp Factoy' there were a lot of mixed feelings, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was definitely better than I had imagined. For this being Banks' first novel I have to say he hit it outta the park. The way he describes things in such vivid detail makes you feel like you are there on the island with this disfunctional (small) family. If I start going into detail about the plot I could go on for pages, not only that, it's hard to describe the plot without giving away the ridiculously smart and shocking ending. In a nutshell it's about a killer without a conscience and I find it to be a very beautiful novel and plan to read it again in the near future. If you like surprise endings then you will love this book. Pick it up, you won't regret it!!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Twisted tale of making monsters,
By A Customer
This review is from: The WASP FACTORY: A NOVEL (Paperback)
I purchased this book based on how often it was recommended in the listmanias; I found this short novel both captivating and demented. The story is a first person narrative on a rather dysfunctional family located away from the general flow of humankind. The reader is presented with the thought processes and lifestyle of a sixteen year old murderer whose existence, beliefs and actions revolve around a childhood trauma; Banks does a fine, graphic, job of showing the results of that trauma. The story twists and turns, leaving you gaping at the end; the horror is in the believability that it exists. This is worth a reread just to see how Banks prepares the shocks and surprises. You'll definitely get the willies from this tale of madness.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Crass yet Captivating,
By Eternal Decree (Ontario) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wasp Factory (Hardcover)
I couldn't put it down, but I couldn't say that I loved it either. This is one of those rare books that finds a way to fascinate and disgust you at the same time. Banks's descriptions weren't as macabre as I was expecting, but I continually found myself thinking "what kind of twisted mind thought up this obscure story line?""The Wasp Factory" has a very unique feeling; as if you've just picked up at a random, although somewhat monumental, moment in "Frank's" life, and then end off almost as arbitrarily. Of course it has a continual story running through it (Eric) but almost everything that happens has little to do with furthering the plot in any way. You just get to know dysfunctional, but somehow likeable, Frank. All things considered I hardly know how many stars to give this book, and for that strange quality alone, it may just be worth reading.
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