DISTURBING!!!!! So very, very DISTURBING and yet what a fascinating great read.

I read this book as a buddy read with my good friend Leeanne. I suggest you view her excellent review of this book as well. What led me to this book was in fact other reviews. However, I have to admit those reviews did not prepare me for what I read.

One good friend (Peter) tried to warn me multiple times about it packing a very unusual punch. But for some reason, I knew something bad was coming but I did not expect this. I so wrongly went into this read with a preconceived notion that it would be a more of an in your face horror type novel. I don't know why I had that preconceived notion. And trust me, there are a lot of parts about this book that are in your face.

Yet, what really impressed me is the amount of work that went into it and how it so excelled as a psychological thriller. This book was one long nerve wracking ride. It was carefully and cleverly weaved and quite quite twisted.

Frank is our narrator and he is 16. He and his father live on an island. Frank acts like maybe a 6/7 year old hell bent on defending that island from who knows what. He has what he calls these south poles which are like look out posts. He believes he relates to them, connecting to them and seeing through their eyes as the poles actually have dead animal heads on them. Through them, he can oversee everything happening with regard to the island.

Very early on, one can easily see that Frank has mental health issues. He has a brother Eric who escapes from a sanitarium and is on his way home they believe. A local police officer comes to the island to warn the father that his son has escaped and to call if he arrives. Eric is a few years older than Frank.

Eric the escapee is quite the character. He likes to burn and kill dogs. He likes to eat them as well after setting fire to them. He is one crazy whack a doodle. And yet, when we learn of the why's behind his craziness towards the end of the book, it becomes kind of understandable.

So what I just described is crazy right? Yet this book has quite a bit of humour in it as well and thank God for that as you can definitely use it. Eric starts calling the house and though the father never interacts with Eric, the conversations between Eric and Frank are both at times so disturbing but also at times just had me laughing. Banks (the author) does a great job here.

I should also point out that Banks is one heck of a writer. Using a lot of detail in his writing, he slowly and methodically brings things out. This was hard to get used to at first for me. During the first 75 pages or so, it was hard. But you have to remember the type of book I thought I was getting into – that in your face horror type. And as I read more and more and saw that it was anything but, I grew accustomed to what I was reading and was able to appreciate both the style and the substance of the novel.

So if you go into it with nothing preconceived, it may work out way better for you! Note though it does have my #1 pet peeve – long chapters but for the most part I was so engaged that they didn't really bother me.

The Wasp Factory itself is mentioned early but not fully explained for a while. There is a chapter titled after the book and it reveals a lot. At first, it is alluded to and I thought it would be an actual factory of some sort. Yet it is alluded to in a way that it communicates or conveys things to Frank in a way that he can use the information drawn from the Factory for various things like defending the island. When you get to the self titled chapter, it is wild and just another confirmation that mental health issues are clearly at play with Frank.

Again, Frank acts like a child warrior defending his kingdom, the island. He regularly goes to war with the animals on the island and one seen has him battling a killer rabbit. Again, so sad and yet funny at a different level. For those who dislike animal abuse, be forewarned. Understand though, that I despise it as well but I know it is a factual thing for the truly deviant. Animal abuse and killing is often a precursor prior to acting out and killing humans so I understand it being written about though clearly I am not condoning it.

And I guess it's as good as time as any to mention that there are several child killings in this book as well as child abuse. Yet again, with my warped mind, some of the child killings were done in a comical way, I thought. So the book is very clever and often when I thought it was going to go somewhere or in some direction, I was oh so very wrong. My great buddy read partner felt the same. My notes with regard to this book have me looking like quite the fool.

The ending is quite the shocker. Though not every question is answered, it just leaves you hanging and you kind of feel sad about what's happened. This was my first book by Ian Banks. My edition showed six more of his novels on the inside front cover and nine more on the back inside cover. I was so glad to see it as I am now a fan and will be reading more of his novels.

So if you like psychological thrillers, dial this one up. I honestly think it's one of the better ones I read. Yet be forewarned that it is so DISTURBING, so very, very DISTURBING and due to some of that content I rate it a four star review. Tread carefully here

DNF at 31% - my first ever DNF! I've read some really bad books before, but this one takes the prize.

I actually can't say it's a bad book because, to do that, I would have to at least understand what I was reading, which I didn’t in this case.

All I know is that it involves the protagonist killing a bunch of animals, and there are poles and dunes involved. It felt like I missed two pages for every page I read.

The story seemed so disjointed and confusing. I found myself constantly having to go back and reread paragraphs, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The writing style didn't help either. It was overly complicated and filled with jargon and technical terms that I had no hope of understanding.

Maybe it's just not the right book for me, but I'm really disappointed that I had to give up on it. I was looking forward to reading something good, but instead, I got this mess.

I guess I'll have to keep looking for that perfect book that will keep me engaged from start to finish.

One of the most revolting books that was supposed to be iconic but just wasn't. Or maybe it was, but no, it really wasn't.

Why would anyone forcibly change the sex of their child? Dressing a boy as a girl and giving a girl hormones to make her a boy? What for? Just for the hell of it? To get rid of femininity?

They do a lot of crazy things just for the sake of it, like hiding a snake in a prosthetic leg.

I think it's about 2.5 stars. And I'm not going to round it up.

Q: IT ALWAYS annoyed me that Eric went crazy. (c)

Q: That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again. (c)

Q: Paul was a distant puppet, jerking and leaping and throwing back his arms and whacking the bomb repeatedly on the side. (c)

Q: OFTEN I've thought of myself as a state; a country or, at the very least, a city. It used to seem to me that the different ways I felt sometimes about ideas, courses of action and so on were like the differing political moods that countries go through. It has always seemed to me that people vote in a new government not because they actually agree with their politics but just because they want a change. Somehow they think that things will be better under the new lot. Well, people are stupid, but it all seems to have more to do with mood, caprice and atmosphere than carefully thought-out arguments. I can feel the same sort of thing going on in my head. Sometimes the thoughts and feelings I had didn't really agree with each other, so I decided I must be lots of different people inside my brain. (c)

Q: The house stared out to sea, out to the night, and I went into it. (c)

They have a plethora of psycho ideas of all kinds:

Q: Whatever it was that disintegrated in Eric then, it was a weakness, a fundamental flaw that a real man should not have had. Women, I know from watching hundreds — maybe thousands — of films and television programmes, cannot withstand really major things happening to them; they get raped, or their loved one dies, and they go to pieces, go crazy and commit suicide, or just pine away until they die. Of course, I realise that not all of them will react that way, but obviously it's the rule, and the ones who don't obey it are in the minority. (c)

Q: I had the Skull, I had the Factory, and I had a vicarious feeling of manly satisfaction in the brilliant performance of Eric on the outside as, for my part, I slowly made myself unchallenged lord of the island and the lands about it. (c)

Q: I was proud; eunuch but unique; a fierce and noble presence in my lands, a crippled warrior, fallen prince… Now I find I was the fool all along. (c)

Q: My GREATEST ENEMIES are Women and the Sea. These things I hate. Women because they are weak and stupid and live in the shadow of men and are nothing compared to them, and the Sea because it has always frustrated me, destroying what I have built, washing away what I have left, wiping clean the marks I have made. And I'm not all that sure the Wind is blameless, either. (c)

Q: The catapult ought to be safe so long as nobody knew its name. That didn't help the Black Destroyer, certainly, but it died because I made a mistake, and my power is so strong that when it goes wrong, which is seldom but not never, even those things I have invested with great protective power become vulnerable. Again, in that head-state, I could feel anger that I could have made such a mistake, and a determination it wouldn't happen again. This was like a general who had lost a battle or some important territory being disciplined or shot. (c)

Q: I had to do something to even up the balance. I could feel it in my guts, in my bones; I had to. It was like an itch, something I had no way of resisting, like when I walk along a pavement in Porteneil and I accidentally scuff one heel on a paving stone. I have to scuff the other foot as well, with as near as possible the same weight, to feel good again. The same if I brush one arm against a wall or a lamp-post; I must brush the other one as well, soon, or at the very least scratch it with the other hand. In a whole range of ways like that I try to keep balanced, though I have no idea why. It is simply something that must be done; and, in the same way, I had to get rid of some woman, tip the scales back in the other direction. (c) An OCD killer. Brilliant... not.

This one would make a great diet aid (just try eating after reading this):

Q: Sometimes, when I have to make precious substances such as toenail cheese or belly-button fluff, I have to go without a shower or bath for days and days... (c)

The best scene was probably this one:

Q: They walked on either side of me and talked to each other, jabbering utter nonsense as though it was all so important, and I, with more brains than the two of them put together and information of the most vital nature, couldn't get a word out. There had to be a way. I tried to shake my head clear and take some more deep breaths. I steadied my pace. I thought very carefully about words and how you made them. I checked my tongue and tested my throat. I had to pull myself together. I had to communicate. I looked round as we crossed a road; I saw the sign for Union Street where it was fixed to a low wall. I turned to Jamie and then the girl, cleared my throat and said quite clearly: \\"I didn't know if you two ever shared or, indeed, still do share, for that matter, for all that I know, at least mutually between yourselves but at any rate not including me — the misconception I once perchanced to place upon the words contained upon yonder sign, but it is a fact that I thought the 'union' referred to in said nomenclature delineated an association of working people, and it did seem to me at the time to be quite a socialist thing for the town fathers to call a street; it struck me that all was not yet lost as regards the prospects for a possible peace or at the very least a cease-fire in the class war if such acknowledgements of the worth of trade unions could find their way on to such a venerable and important thoroughfare's sign, but I must admit I was disabused of this sadly over-optimistic notion when my father — God rest his sense of humour — informed me that it was the then recently confirmed union of the English and Scottish parliaments the local worthies — in common with hundreds of other town councils throughout what had until that point been an independent realm — were celebrating with such solemnity and permanence, doubtless with a view to the opportunities for profit which this early form of takeover bid offered.\\" The girl looked at Jamie. \\"Dud he say sumhin er?\\" \\"I thought he was just clearing his throat,\\" said Jamie. \\"Ah thought he said sumhin aboot bananas.\\" \\"Bananas?\\" Jamie said incredulously, looking at the girl. \\"Naw,\\" she said, looking at me and shaking her head. \\"Right enough.\\" So much for communication, I thought. Obviously both so drunk they didn't even understand correctly spoken English. (c) I'm not too sure that this guy's read enough to sound like that. I do think it's a built-in character glitch.

Some ideas actually were rather interesting to dissect. Sadly, they were drowned out by the wave of psycho-stuff going on:

Q: Inside this greater machine, things are not quite so cut and dried (or cut and pickled) as they have appeared in my experience. 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. (c)

Q: Believing in my great hurt, my literal cutting off from society's mainland, it seems to me that I took life in a sense too seriously, and the lives of others, for the same reason, too lightly. (с)

WHAATTT?! Never read anything like it! This is an extremely dark, macabre, insane, unsettling, and disturbing book. How on earth does one rate something of this nature? It surely can't be classified as enjoyable. But then, why couldn't I put the darn thing down? Why did I let myself be drawn into the violence, all the while trying to fathom what could possibly drive someone to do such sickening things? If I were to say that I thought this book was simply outstanding, what would that imply about me? Ah, damn it! Enough with the questions. I'm going to rate it 5* and worry about the state of my mental health later!

Iain Banks passed away from cancer in June 2013, at the age of 59. The Wasp Factory was the Scottish author's first novel and has since become his most renowned. In a 1997 poll of over 25,000 readers, it was listed as one of the top 100 books of the 20th century. It is also included in the 1,001 book challenge. When initially released, the book was met with a combination of acclaim and controversy due to its gruesome portrayal of violence. Banks, however, handled the controversy brilliantly by including a selection of both good and bad reviews on the inside cover. The Times Literary Supplement’s verdict, “A literary equivalent of the nastiest brand of juvenile delinquency”, was proudly displayed alongside The Financial Times’ “Macabre, bizarre, and impossible to put down”. A reviewer for the Irish Times wrote \\"It is incomprehensible that a publisher could have stooped to such levels of depravity\\".

The Wasp Factory is written from a first-person perspective, told by sixteen-year-old Frank Cauldhame. Frank is a psychopath with a penchant for violence and killing, mainly small animals, but he also killed three younger children before he was ten. As he describes it: \\"[…] That’s my score to date. Three. I haven’t killed anybody for years, and I don’t intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through.” Frank’s life is dominated by his strict adherence to personal rituals and totems, with the wasp factory, constructed from an old clock face, being the most significant. To Frank, the wasp factory serves as a guide through life. Frank has one surviving half-brother, Eric, who we are told is crazy after experiencing something very unpleasant while working in a hospital. It is Eric’s escape from the asylum that sets off the action of the novel.

This is a brilliant, caustic, and breathtaking novel that won't appeal to everyone. As is clear from the critics, this book has scared some people out of their wits, sickened others, and captured the fandom of a great many. In respect to the latter, the Wasp Factory recently made its debut at the Bregenz Festival in Austria and will be showing at the Royal Opera House in London in October 2013. Yes, you read that correctly; it has been transformed into gripping music theatre.

If you have a tolerance for violence and madness, I highly urge you to read this book. If for nothing else, the twist at the end is simply amazing.

Huh, what? Oh no – tell him I'm out. It's the guy who rang last week.

No, I don't want to speak to him, no---HI IAIN!! Great to hear from you. Yeah, yeah. How's it hanging? Yeah. So. What can we do you for today?

Well yes, you told me that last week. You've written a novel, great. Oh yes, ha ha, that's what we do here, we publish books. Yes but – you know, first novels are not that easy to sell. You have to have an angle.

What's that? You've got an angle? Great. Great. Listen, er ---- oh what? Your hero does what? He sacrifices animals? Yeah? Cool. Oh, and seagulls? He lives on an island – what, like Robinson Crusoe? Kind of like that? No? His what? His genitals? Eww – I think – and… oh, there's a dwarf? Yeah? Well, impotent, sacrifices animals, dwarf, yeah, that's kind of an angle I guess.

The - what? They drown in what? Urine? Urine? The – you know the ad campaign is not really forming in my mind right now I gotta be honest Iain, you know what I mean, I can't see the cover… yes… yes… the brother…mentally ill… drugs… torture --- Iain, wait, wait. Stop, please, just….

Look, I'm really sorry, and all. But you know I just can't really see this as being something we would be interested in just at the ------ oh. Right. He's gone. Wow. Man, I need a drink. Listen, if Iain Banks calls up again, I'm OUT, do you hear? OUT!

I had no prior knowledge about this book when I embarked on the journey of reading it. Banks had mentioned that he made the decision to write 'what he knew about' with the intention of getting published. As a result, I had anticipated a rather typical coming of age novel. However, I was most definitely taken aback. I had not expected all the insanity, the burning of animals, and the murders.

It was truly one of the most warped books I have ever come across. Banks somehow managed to evoke in me a simultaneous sense of disgust and sympathy towards the main character. It was a strange and powerful combination of emotions.

Yeah, in any case, I would highly recommend that you just go ahead and read it. Especially if you have a penchant for the disturbing and the unconventional. You never know what kind of twisted yet captivating experience awaits you within the pages of this book.

If a truly disgusting and dark tale is awarded 5 stars by someone who isn't even partial to gore, just imagine how powerful it must be.

Yes, this was indeed one of the most ingenious and dark stories that I have ever had the pleasure, or perhaps misfortune, of reading. The protagonist, Frank, or maybe it was his brother Eric, will surely not be forgotten anytime soon. And let's not forget his father, the isolated Scottish island where he resides, and the hapless fauna that have had the misfortune of becoming his prey.

This is a story about a very dysfunctional and completely mad family. It details how people and creatures are brutally killed, how ingenious torture methods are devised, and how otherwise brilliant minds are perverted and used to destroy both self and others.

The nature in this story is as wild and dark as the characters themselves.

I found myself completely immersed in the whole tale. I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next.

In fact, I plan to listen to the audio book sometime in the future just to be able to pick up on the finer details that only made sense in the end pages. This story has truly left a lasting impression on me.

This was a reread for me, as part of a round robin Postal Bookclub organized by Litsy. #LPMBC “Litsy Postal Markup Book Club.”

The idea is to choose a book, read and write in the margins, underline or circle things, put post in notes or whatever you feel like.

I’ve never written in my books before unless they were text books for college. I thought I’d balk, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. I’m also enjoying reading the others’ comments too.

If you haven’t read the book, don’t read on, even though I just referenced it, it may spoil things.

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I remembered the main shocker at the end, but I didn’t remember much else to be honest, so it was really satisfying reading it a second time to appreciate all the ironic and contradictory things that make up Frank Cauldhame.

Rereading this book has given me a new perspective. I notice details that I missed the first time around. The way the author builds the character of Frank is truly masterful. His actions and thoughts are both disturbing and fascinating.

The process of writing in the margins and sharing my thoughts with the other members of the book club has added another layer of enjoyment to the reading experience. It’s great to see how different people interpret the same story and pick up on different aspects.

I’m looking forward to seeing what the next book in the club will be and continuing this unique reading adventure.

The Wasp Factory was truly a disappointing read for me.

I had expected it to be a thrilling horror tale, perfect for the Halloween season. However, it failed to meet my expectations.

Had it not been a short story, I would not have bothered to waste my time finishing it.

There were several aspects that I really disliked about it. To start with, when the author felt the need to describe a character's actions in the bathroom, it came across as vulgar and uncouth.

The excessive swearing also detracted from the overall quality of the story. For either of these reasons alone, I may be reluctant to pick up the author's future works.

I simply couldn't relate to any of the characters in the story. In fact, I didn't like a single one of them.

The inclusion of animal cruelty was a major turnoff for me. Additionally, some of the human deaths were almost humorous to me, as they seemed more like something that could happen in a cartoon rather than in real life.

The big reveal at the end was perhaps the only redeeming quality, and it might be the reason for all the praise on the jacket cover.

While some people may actually enjoy this story, it simply wasn't to my taste.

4.5 stars

This book is a real page-turner, despite its rather disturbing themes of brutality towards animals and murder. You'll find yourself completely engrossed from start to finish, unable to put it down. The plot is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. And speaking of the end, whatever you do, don't read the last sentence of the book! It is truly a spoiler that will ruin the entire experience for you. I never would have guessed the ending in a million years. It's one of those books that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it. If you're looking for a thrilling and thought-provoking read, this book is definitely worth checking out. Just be prepared for some intense and uncomfortable moments along the way.

In 1984, when the novel was published, what was shocking then does not seem as shocking today.

The Wasp Factory is the second book by Iain Banks that I have read, with the first one being "Consider Phlebas" (where the middle name has an M). Personally, I prefer "Phlebas" as science fiction/fantasy is more to my liking.

That being said, The Wasp Factory is far from a conventional mainstream book and is rather gothic. I find the murder scenes extremely creative, and the twist at the end is quite astonishing.

However, I also notice that some of the chapters are a bit dull, with the protagonist wandering around, spending time with his dwarf, and getting drunk, among other things.

Overall, while The Wasp Factory has its亮点, it also has some areas that could be improved upon.

A gentle coming-of-age tale is set in rustic Scotland. It vividly depicts the charming misadventures of a precocious lad and his idiosyncratic older brother as they strive to understand themselves and each other.

However, this is not your typical light-hearted story. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. It's hard, and by "hard," I mean as hard as the Marquis de Sade is hard. This is not a book for the faint of heart. If you cannot stomach depictions of animal torture or the murder of children, then do not read this. It was difficult for me to get through at times, and I've read some rather terrible things.

But surprisingly, this is not a completely bleak book. Perhaps it's because of the narrator, young Frank. He is a sadistic creature, yet his perspective is often self-deprecatingly wry or amusingly pedantic. He may be an affectless sociopath who channels his monstrous emotions into bizarre rituals and vicious traps, but he is also a sensitively-wrought kid with many problems. What makes this book so unique is the tension between the horrors illustrated and the traditional vehicle in which they are expressed. It is, in many ways, a kind of Young Adult novel, albeit one filled with grotesquerie. The protagonist struggles to move beyond his outsider status, to connect with others, to understand his distant father and his "problematic" older brother. Frank's cruelties coexist with a cold-blooded version of typical teenage angst, angst that revolves around familial relations, gender, and finding a place in the world. The ending resolves some truly dreadful plotlines in a truly dreadful manner, yet it also parallels the typically transformative Young Adult ending in which the hero comes to understand himself and is able to move forward with his life. Clever, Banks, very clever!

The narrative is crafted as a Chinese box of layered (and revolting) mysteries, but it is also designed as a more subtle trap for the unsuspecting reader. Look at you, you just found some sympathy for a remorseless little psycho! The personal problems he has to grapple with are indeed quite heavy for a kid to handle, right? And you felt a bit of happiness at his eventual self-discovery, didn't you? Well, you should be ashamed, sicko!

The writing is clean, clear, and precise, and the tone is surprisingly upbeat. The protagonist's thoughts have a quiet yearning and naiveté to them that makes even his most horrific plans and rationalizations seem almost understated, almost innocent. The deadpan humor also alleviates some of the viciousness of the very dark activities portrayed. The dissection of gender was fascinating, and the use of the wasp factory itself goes beyond that of a torture maze, becoming a metaphor and a parallel for the fates of each of the characters. Overall, it's a disturbing but very enriching experience.

This is a rather unique book. If you like it, you might want to seek out Jack Vance's Bad Ronald, which is also dryly and ironically concerned with the deadly fantasy life of a youthful, psychotic outsider.