As a piece of writing, the wasp factory soars to the level of mediocrity. The wasp factory is the first novel by scottish writer iain banks, published in 1984. One nearly universal truth about fans of the horror genre is that we can handle almost anything fictional involving people, but wed prefer if animals were left alone. The principal plot motivation in iain bankss 1984 gothic novel the wasp factory is the threatened return of the narrators brother, eric cauldhame, from the asylum in which he has been incarcerated for some years. The wasp factory the blurb from the brilliant but grotesque novel the wasp factory by iain banks. I did start with wasp factory with some vague idea of reading in chronological order. Its arguably the most brutal and demented of his nonscifi books, although cruel violence is always present in both strands of his writing. He has no birth certificate and no national insurance card. The effect of secrets on both the secretkeeper and the ones secrets are kept from is a major theme that runs throughout the wasp factory. That was where i got all the old aerosols for the last war, not to mention several important parts of the wasp factory, including the face itself. The wasp factory is a incredibly disturbing book, and i loved every word.
In the ceremony i smeared the metal, rubber and plastic of the new device with earwax, snot, blood, urine, bellybutton fluff and toenail cheese, christened it by firing the empty sling at a wingless wasp crawling on the face of the factory, and also fired it at my bared foot, raising a bruise. Which is to say that the broad shape of bankss career is misleading. There are a few twists in the book, and one huge one which provides quite a shock, but this is a story about a murderer more than it is a story about murders. Ive read a couple of his books before, and im always drawn to him because hes a bit weird. It is, i suppose a sort of a coming of age story about sixteen year old frank cauldhame. I was therefor surprised to find that i had been given a real gem. Given the rather airy state of blurb inflation, some publishers have resorted to a twist on the conventional approach. I suspect that iain banks wasp factory character frank cauldhame was inspired by shirley jacksons merricat, as these two darkly memorable teenagers share a great many quirks the totems and protections to secure their respective fortresses, the obsessive superstitions that govern their daily lives and routines, their isolation. She loves reading but doesnt seem to have enough time between wanting to be a more disciplined writer, being the actual erratic writer she is, and working for dollars in a dungeon laboratory. But with the move to digital it could be that the blurb is a dying form, smothered by tweets and likes and the daily tsunami of digital noise. My latest literary and now crumbinfested conquest has been the crow road, by iain banks. The wasp factory is a creepy and oddly compelling book. I read it on the recommendation of elizabeth, and while i dont entirely regret reading it, i will repeat the blurb from the scotsman that appears on the back of my 1998 paperback edition.
The wasp factory provides a compelling and depraved glimpse into the mind of a deranged teenager. The wasp factory and we need to talk about kevin researchomatic. Barbour the wasp factory, by iain banks, has garnered many accolades since its initial release in 1984. Banks decided to try a more mainstream novel in the hopes that it would be more readily accepted, and wrote about a psychopathic teenager living on a remote scottish island. John mullan on the use of explanation as a device in iain bankss the wasp factory. The novel by iain banks, the wasp factory tells the story of 16yearold frank cauldhame. The wasp factory book by iain banks official publisher page.
Oct 10, 20 the wasp factory by iain banks publishers blurb. To say it was an eye opener is a bit of an understatement, but i loved it. Here is a strangely magnetic, darkly amusing man confined to a wheelchair and flanked by a pair of fierce, dangerous dogsan enigmatic benefactor, at once welcoming and intimidating. They are the first words of his i ever read and, at the age of thirteen, i knew i had to continue reading. I have had the wasp factory on my shelf for a long time, but id been too scared to read it. A novel and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle.
The wasp factory the wasp factory is a novel that focuses heavily on the power of gender. The wasp factory takes us to franks childhood and slowly reveals more about the reason for franks madness and why frank murdered 3 of his family members. The wasp factory ends with frances reconnecting with eric. The wasp factory was not supposed to be shocking, yet was found so. The controversy is a bit puzzling in retrospect, because there is little to object to in this novel, if youre familiar with genre horror. One reason the novel has such impact is because the world in which frank inhabits is simultaneously our world and a completely different one altogether. Having previously read and enjoyed the crow road and raw spirit, and having watched and read tributes to him at the time of his death, i wanted to read his first novel. The wasp factory by iain banks 1984 fell from fiction. The wasp factory, by iain banks, is one of the most repulsive and creepy novels ive ever read. The wasp factory and we need to talk about kevin name of the institute the wasp factory and we need to talk about kevin name of the the wasp factory the blurb from the brilliant but grotesque novel the wasp factory by iain banks. Frank and angus both keep secrets from one another, damaging the relationship they might have had as parent and child. The wasp factory was given to me with the warning, you have to read this. Its hard to tell whether iain banks is more well known for his science fiction books, or for his straightfiction books.
The wasp factory is a bit of an outlier in his mainstream work. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Analyzing the wasp factory and we need to talk about kevin. My main gripe with it is all the violence against animals. How could i possibly enjoy a book about a child who enjoys murdering children and torturing animals. And then i ran out to wh smith and bought the business as soon as it was released. One of the most brilliant first novels i have come across telegraph. The wasp factory by iain banks the polarizing literary debut by scottish author ian banks, the wasp factory is the bizarre, imaginative, disturbing, and darkly. Frank, no ordinary sixteenyearold, lives with his father outs. Anyone whos read the wasp factory will know this is quite the understatement at times. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the wasp factory by iain banks. Frank and angus both keep secrets from one another, damaging the.
Frank talks with the factory, asks its advice and even makes sacrifices for it rats, gulls, dragonflies. I cant promise youre going to like it, but its very memorable. Theres nothing to force you, having been warned, to read it. I didnt know what to expect, but it certainly wasnt that. Before the publication of the wasp factory, banks had written several science fiction novels that had not been accepted for publication. Jul 18, 2008 iain banks speaks to john mullan about his novel the wasp factory and takes questions from the audience at the guardian book club. I havent actually read any of banks nonsf, apart from the below, but if its as good as his sf, well, its definitely worth a look. Review of the wasp factory by iain banks navigating the. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. What is the socialhistorical context of this novel, and how does this attract readers. The wasp factory was written almost 30 years ago by iain banks, who sadly died in 20. One of those books that are just so hard to put down.
Within the novel, males are characterized as skilled, cunning, smart, and powerful. On losing iain banks three monkeys online magazine. Before the publication of the wasp factory, banks had written several. In 20, the composer ben frost and librettist david pountney devised an unconventional opera piece inspired by the 1984 psychological horror novel the wasp factory. The polarizing literary debut by scottish author ian banks, the wasp factory is the bizarre, imaginative, disturbing, and darkly comic look into the mind of a child psychopath. Kate is a senior executive officer in a powerful and massively discreet transglobal organization. The wasp factory is a 1984 novel written by iain banks. The book has appeared on a number of greatest horror lists and in a poll was even named one of the top 100 novels of the century.
In the wasp factory, frank cauldhame critiques social institutions. Ada and harriet dont know what to expect when they meet their new guardian, mr. Two years after i killed blyth i murdered my young brother paul, for quite different reasons than id disposed of blyth, and then a year after that i did for my young. From the outset, i was reminded of the wasp factory by iain banks. His later novel complicity, which was supposed to shock, caused no such ripples.
I read the blurb on the back and wasnt impressed, but sat down to read my new book with little expectation. I suppose i would call the wasp factory a thriller of sorts, but mostly because of the thrills of revulsion i got whenever a particularly gruesome scene forced its way into my imagination. Through much of this impressive first novel, almost up until the awkward and misguided finale, young scottish writer banks achieves that fine british balancebetween horrific content on the one hand. Should i keep reading iain m banks after the wasp factory. I think perhaps it was your preconceptions that tripped you up. Iain banks debut novel, the wasp factory, caused a storm of controversy when it was first published in 1984 and became an immediate classic.
Dec 29, 2009 the wasp factory, by iain banks, is one of the most repulsive and creepy novels ive ever read. The wasp factory, the bridge, complicity and all the rest, every time i read an iain banks book i felt as though my mind had been blown by the guys genius. Since reading this book i have also read th wasp factory, which i also enjoyed, but not quite as much as the crow road. The wasp factory is a bizarre, unsettling, and highly original gothic novel that has at its heart a quest for identity under the most outrageous circumstances. For me that would be the negatives writ large on iain banks the wasp factory each one slating the depraved mind of the author spot on for his readership. This is the blurb on the back of iain banks the wasp factory. The wasp factory essays are academic essays for citation. The character of the business seems, even to her, to be vague to the point of invisibility.
The wasp factory the wasp factory, by iain banks, is one of the most repulsive and creepy novels ive ever read. Yes, the wasp factory has a lot of disturbing images of a psychotic youth committing violence on people and animals. Abandoned by his mother and left to his own devices by his father, francis cauldhame grows up on a remote scottish. The the wasp factory community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. He lives on an island unnamed off the cost of scotland with his father, angus. Dec 27, 2016 in 20, the composer ben frost and librettist david pountney devised an unconventional opera piece inspired by the 1984 psychological horror novel the wasp factory. It tells the story of frank cauldhame, your average sixteen yearold murdererous sociopath who lives with his highly secretive father on an isolated island in north east scotland. The wasp factory, by iain banks, has garnered many accolades since its initial release in 1984. Today i started my second banks, walking on glass, and from the date it appears i have accidentally moved on to his second novel. His first science fiction novel, consider phlebas, came out in 1987. Oct, 1997 given the rather airy state of blurb inflation, some publishers have resorted to a twist on the conventional approach. Jun 27, 20 the wasp factory was written almost 30 years ago by iain banks, who sadly died in 20.
Its one of his better books, a usual entry point into the culture series. Why admitting weakness makes people like you more quartz. But drafts of phlebas and the next two culture novels, player of games and use of weapons, all predate the wasp factory. Other people have mentioned that the wasp factory is a bit of an outlier. Disappointed having read wasp factory and steep rise was looking forward to exploring all iain banks catalogue but crow road i find cliches, same characters with different names as steep rise and unlike that novel i just didnt believe or care about the characters in crow road. This study guide consists of approximately 32 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the wasp factory.
So a few days ago while at my local library i noticed the wasp factory by him and made the assumption that it was a part of the culture series, spoiler alert. It probably isnt the cult classic its reputation would have you believe, but it is worth reading, if only for the embarrassed, squirming, guilty giggles. Frank cauldhame captures wasps and uses them to provide answers and predictions in the secret wasp factory he. The wasp factory by ben frost released in 2016 via bedroom community. The wasp factory 1984 contributed by markus oppolzer. Jun 21, 20 i suppose i would call the wasp factory a thriller of sorts, but mostly because of the thrills of revulsion i got whenever a particularly gruesome scene forced its way into my imagination.
Maybe the crassly explicit language, the obscenity of the plot were thought to strike an agreeably avantgarde note. I hadnt been to the dump for a while, and it was about time i went to see what the good folk of porteneil had thrown out. Jul 18, 2008 the wasp factory was not supposed to be shocking, yet was found so. The wasp factory is a bizarre, imaginative, disturbing, and darkly comic look into the mind of a child psychopath one of the most infamous of contemporary. Two years after i killed blyth i murdered my younger brother paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than id disposed of blyth, and then a year after that i did for my young cousin esmerelda, more or less. The wasp factory and 0 related entities entities finder. It is a novel that associates masculine power and feminine weakness to animality.
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