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Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
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Wasp Factory (original 1984; edition 1986)

by Iain Banks

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
7,0592001,294 (3.76)1 / 518
Fiction. Horror. Literature. Humor (Fiction.) HTML: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.
Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least:

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.

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

It was just a stage I was going through.
… (more)
Member:kierto
Title:Wasp Factory
Authors:Iain Banks
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Work Information

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (1984)

  1. 152
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (taz_)
    taz_: I suspect that Iain Banks' "Wasp Factory" character Frank Cauldhame was inspired by Shirley Jackson's 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 and cloistered pathology, their eccentric families and dark secrets. Be warned, though, that "The Wasp Factory" is a far more explicit and grisly tale than the eerily genteel "Castle" and certainly won't appeal to all fans of the latter.… (more)
  2. 74
    Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (arthurfrayn)
  3. 30
    God's Own Country by Ross Raisin (Clurb, chrisharpe)
  4. 41
    Lord of the Flies by William Golding (SqueakyChu)
    SqueakyChu: children being creepy
  5. 31
    Complicity by Iain Banks (heidijane)
  6. 20
    The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe (hubies)
  7. 43
    Geek Love by Katherine Dunn (wandering_star)
    wandering_star: Grotesqueries, family life and sibling rivalry.
  8. 00
    Tan dulce, tan amargo by Roberto Carrasco (nosoyretro)
  9. 00
    The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches by Gaétan Soucy (hubies)
  10. 12
    The Bridge by Iain Banks (xtien)
    xtien: Banks's debut novel.
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» See also 518 mentions

English (195)  Spanish (2)  Swedish (1)  Italian (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (200)
Showing 1-5 of 195 (next | show all)
My first Scottish book. Sadly, not good. The setting and characters definitely worked. However, the entire story is dull and worthless. Another one of those "waiting" stories. The main character does a bunch of similar random tasks all day, but nothing happens. The last third of the book clarifies that the only thing that is really important is that the brother is coming. Is that sufficient for the story? Absolutely not. I would recommend someone abridging the book down to a very short, 20-page story. It still would not be very good, but short stories generally do not have that requirement.
Will still read an Iain Banks science-fiction book, because they are highly recommend. ( )
  MXMLLN | Jan 12, 2024 |
This isn't really my kinda book. I don't generally like books that are "snapshot of a period of time in someone's life" types of stories, which is what this one is. Also, not so enjoyable reading about torturing animals and killing children. No thanks. ( )
  PurplOttr | Dec 1, 2023 |
Boys own story with several gratuitous murders of infant siblings and relatives thrown in. The book ends with a plot reversal that defeats credulity. But I give it three stars for the real enjoyment I derived from sharing Frank's imaginative world and obsessive involvement in his craft and the attention to detail in descriptions of the things he makes and destroys before the plot derails itself in the final pages. ( )
  Pauntley | Jul 28, 2023 |
who ever recommended this book to me is an asshole.
  fleshed | Jul 16, 2023 |
Well. I didn't know anything about this one going into it. I've previously read The Crow Road and one of the sci-fi Culture books. Suffice to say it's unlike those, or anything else, I've ever read.

The 5 star rating system of this website is insufficient as a measure here. ( )
  benmcfc | Jun 16, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 195 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (13 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Iain Banksprimary authorall editionscalculated
Kenny, PeterNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Marcellino, FredCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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I had been making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped.
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Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.

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

It was just a stage I was going through.
Eric was crazy all right, even if he was my brother. He was lucky to have somebody sane who still liked him.
After I'd come to understand evolution and know a little about history and farming, I saw that the thick white animals I laughed at for following each other around and getting caught in bushes were the product of generations of farmers as much as generations of sheep; we made them, we moulded them from the wild, smart survivors that were their ancestors so that they would become docile, frightened, stupid, tasty wool-producers. We didn't want them to be smart, and to some extent their aggression and their intelligence went together.
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Fiction. Horror. Literature. Humor (Fiction.) HTML: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.
Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least:

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.

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

It was just a stage I was going through.

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