Written in the first person, The Wasp Factory tells a few weeks of the disturbing life of Frank Cauldhame – a young man who has grown up on an isolated Scottish island with his estranged father. Life there is bizarre for Frank; basically, because his father never registered his birth so he doesn't technically exist! This means that Frank didn’t go to school, can’t get a job and has but a single friend. So what does Frank do? Kill, of course: the decapitated heads of dead animals adorn the island and watch for intruders; gerbils and mice are catapulted to watery graves in tribute to Old Saul; and then, of course, there are people. Frank’s brother is dead; his two cousins are dead . . .
But Frank’s time is too valuable for these pastimes alone and he walks the enlightened path of the Wasp Factory . . . Furthermore, his dog-burning brother has escaped from a lunatic asylum and has begun to make his destructive way home. Frank knows that he will need all of his power, all of his skills, if he is to meet his brother and stop him from going back.
The Good
The vivid darkness of Iain Banks’ imagination in The Wasp Factory is staggering and he has really managed to create a warped, scarily insane character that is both believable and relatable. In fact, his narrations of Frank’s thought processes is astounding and really make it clear why Frank does the things he does, along with what he is hoping to achieve by them. This had the odd effect of making me sympathise with Frank in some places, despite being utterly shocked and disgusted by what he was doing at the same time (which made the book extremely fun to read)!
Banks’ writing is also highly emotive and elicits strong responses (albeit negative ones) in many places in the book. In my experiences, this is quite a rare skill among authors and the last book I read that did this was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Just like in The Lovely Bones, the strong emotions stirred by The Wasp Factory helps to distinguish it from other novels and makes it well worth reading as it makes you confront issues that you normally wouldn't consider.
The Bad
The biggest problem with The Wasp Factory has to be its disturbing content! The book certainly isn't for the faint hearted and is filled with twisted moments of cruelty and violence that are as controversial as they are shocking. Scenes of animal cruelty are prominent throughout the book as well, which I actually found more upsetting than the murders.
My Thoughts
The Wasp Factory is the first book that I have read by Iain Banks, but it certainly won’t be the last. The author’s dark mind, skilful prose and blunt dialogue make for easy, gripping reading and I am keen to read his other works. Despite being greatly disturbing at times, I would definitely recommend giving The Wasp Factory a go. It will probably leave you a bit bewildered and slightly perturbed by its end and you won’t be exactly the same person as you were when you began it, but it is certainly a classic of modern day Gothic horror that has been written by a very talented author.
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