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THE WASP FACTORY - Iain Banks (1984)


“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.” 

'The Wasp Factory' takes the reader on a slow and horrifying journey through the mind of a child psychopath. Frank is just sixteen years old, but has already killed his younger brother Paul, his friend Blyth, and his little cousin Esmerelda. We're told this from the outset of the novel, but we don't know how or why he killed them - this suspense is what will pull you into the book.

In fact, at times 'The Wasp Factory' does just feel like a long series of hooks and reveals, in an attempt to pull us deeper and deeper into the mystery. Frank constantly alludes to names and events, 'the Factory' or 'the reason why my brother went mad', but doesn't expand on them until later in the book. It's a very basic literary technique, and can occasionally feel like an easy plot device. To Banks' credit, every reveal is executed brilliantly, and each is more shocking and horrifying than the last. The reason why Frank's brother went mad, for instance, is particularly disturbing: I can't remember another book which left me quite so unsettled as that particular passage. However, the gaps between these moments can sometimes drag on, and the pace does suffer as a result. It sometimes feels like this book is a brilliant short story which has been stretched to the length of a novel. However, the reveals are so powerful that they're worth persevering for... even when you're tempted to stop reading.

What's more, the complex and entertaining characters make up in abundance for the occasional slowing of the plot. Frank, our protagonist, is particularly fascinating. He's completely assured of his own sanity, and draws us into his way of thinking through eloquent and even humorous arguments. But then suddenly we remember that he's killed three children, that he worships a Wasp Factory, that he decapitates sea gulls and displays them on sacrifice poles... and this leaves us feeling dirty and confused for having sympathised with his twisted logic. His father, meanwhile, is obsessed with memorising the weights and measurements of every item in the house; his brother tortures dogs, and scares children with handfuls of worms; and his best friend is a dwarf who likes to drink. Each of these characters is bizarre and frightening in their own special way, and yet somehow alluring. They feel almost like aliens - and we want to know more about them.

This is the real genius of 'The Wasp Factory'. Banks, in his preface to the novel, explains that he approached this novel like a work of science fiction: the tiny island of Frank and his father is treated like an alien planet, detached from the Scottish mainland, whilst their behaviour is so strange that they're like aliens themselves. This approach is unique in contemporary fiction, and the result is impressive. These are some of the most unique and memorable characters that I have ever encountered in a novel. The constant use of Scottish dialect only reinforced this impression. The language never feels confusing or heavy, but lends a real sense of difference to the entirety of the book.

Right at the end, there's also a final twist which completely flips the novel on its head. But I won't talk about that, as much as I'd like to. The ending to this book is absolutely phenomenal, and I don't want to cheapen that by spoiling what happens. 








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