The Wasp Factory

[shortysweetp]

I currently read The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks and was wondering if anyone else has? and what was thought of the book

[mister_noel_y2k]

i really liked the blurb on the back and was slightly disappointed while reading it that it wasnt as extreme as i thought it was. but then again if it were it would have just been one of those trashy novels trying to shock the reader rather than tell a decent story. and a decent story it was! very gothic, the metaphor of the wasp factory was good and the twist at the end was completely unexpected. as for the murders...well im sure its all symbolic but i think the idea is that you can change your path in life any time you want rather than let the past determine your future. i think so anyway, i havent really looked at the book in such detail, but yeah it was a good read, entertaining and such like.
i think my favourite parts were the conversations frank had with his mad brother. that and maybe the second murder with the bomb. what i didnt like was the loooong overdrawn chapter entitled the wasp factory, i think it was chapter 8, that just seemed too dull, trying to be too literary. and despite the fact that i liked the book i doubt id read another of banks's books in the near future, so i guess its an ok book rather than a great one in the end.


:banana:

[shortysweetp]

i would have to agree. and i wouldnt read another book unless someone gave it to me or let me borrow it. wouldnt spend money on it thats for sure

[Scheherazade]

Just finished reading The Wasp Factory. Like Noel, I was expecting more violence, more gore but I think we should give credit to the author. In theory, everything is there to make it a gory story; however, Banks covers it with his efficient writing and manages not to be repulsive.

I was quite surprised with ending though it all made sense as soon as Frank found the hormones etc. I am not sure if I am so keen on the 'wasp factory' metaphor; it is too grotesque for the message it is trying to give and unnecessarily so.

Did anyone else think that Eric might be imagery or maybe split personality initially?

[mister_noel_y2k]

Did anyone else think that Eric might be imagery or maybe split personality initially?


no, i don't think the wasp factory was that kind of book. having said that i expected more from the character when he finally did arrive as opposed to just screaming and trying to burn the house down.

[Scheherazade]

I am not sure what you mean by 'that kind of book' but I thought it would be quite ordinary in a book in which the main character admits to killing his brother and cousins for no apparent reason when he was a child, shows no remorse in general for any of his actions and, most importantly, believes that he gets messages from the Wasp Factory as to what he should do or what will happen.

I also thought that Eric's arrival was a let down; especially considering that throughout the story the things have been gearing up for his arrival. I would have liked to some kind of confrontation with the father and brother.

[mister_noel_y2k]

what i mean by "that kind of book" is that it wasn't the kind to mess around with your perceptions to the point that you questioned the validity of what you were hearing from frank. if banks had gone for that angle then the whole story would be questionable, for example, did frank really kill those kids? (not that he did really anyway) or is it all in frank's mind? is he just a troubled narrator sitting in a loony bin, a la the tell tale heart by poe? i think by choosing the more linear path, banks gets the reader's trust and then doesn't abuse it by any cheap "jekyll and hyde" cliches at the end and really surprises the reader at the end (or at least I was surprised).

[Scheherazade]

You don't think Frank really killed those kids? Do you think he was merely 'daydreaming'? I have never considered that possiblity while reading, to be honest.

I read this book pretty quickly but I find myself thinking about it quite often now. I think Banks is a good writer and might try to read some of his other books just to see what sort of books he has written. The Wasp Factory is his first book and also in BBC's Big Read list.

[atiguhya padma]

I thought The Wasp Factory was an excellent debut novel. I've read a lot of his stuff. The Bridge, Feersum Endjinn, Consider Phlebas and Crow Road are probably his best. Walking on Glass was good too. But he has done some stuff that I find really tedious, like Canal Dreams and some of his SF stuff. I think many critics prefer his SF work, but quite honestly, I don't think much of it can compare with his other work.

[Lord Lucan]

I believe that Walking on glass was a better read than The Wasp Factory.... A little bit more accessable. But on the whole I strongly recommend The Bridge which i reckon was a masterpiece. His writing was very much styled on Kafka and I loved the way he wrote in phonetics whenever a glasgow accent was present.

The storyline was great and it kept you guessing as to what exactly was going, on up to the end.

Brilliant.

[Scheherazade]

What were your impressions of The Wasp Factory re. Eric and Frank? The murders? The ending? The father?

[LavendarEyes]

'The Wasp Factory'
Iain Banks

I just want to talk about this novel.

1.Frank is crazy. ---kill animals, kill three of his cousins
2.Frank's father is crazy. ---- denaturalize Frank, stupid measures
3.Eric is crazy. ---burn dogs, disturb kids with maggot, try to kill his brother and father

When I read this book, I felt so sad and disgusting that I almost puke. I felt sad for that deformed kid. What a poor guy! I just didn't know what the author try to warn us. I could hardly feel anything positive in this book.

On the other hand, I really admired his talent of depicting details.

--- Quotes ---
Each of us, in our own personal Factory, may believe we have stumbled down one corridor, and that our fate is sealed and certain (dream or nightmare, humdrum or bizarre, good or bad), but a word, a glance, a slip - anything can change that, alter it entirely, and our marble hall becomes a gutter, or our rat-maze a golden path. Our destination is the same in the end, but our journey - part chosen, part determined- is different for us all, and changes even as we live and grow. I thought one door had snicked shut behind me years ago; in fact I was still crawling about the face. Now the door closes, and my journey begins.
------------

[Scheherazade]

Review thread: http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27566&highlight=factory

[papayahed]

For a little while there I had the suspicion that Jaime was imaginary.