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Book Review of The Wasp Factory

The Wasp Factory
The Wasp Factory
Author: Iain Banks
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
mazeface avatar reviewed on + 66 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7


From the reviews I've read, I discovered that readers either hate or love The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. Written in the early 80's, The Wasp Factory reveals the first person narrative of a teen-aged serial killer, Frank Cauldhame, who never gets caught (that's not a spoiler; the reader is aware from the start that the teenager's murders have never been traced back to him).

Using bizarre religious ceremony and imaginative contraptions, Frank has an insatiable appetite for killing rodents and insects. He sees nothing wrong with blowing up rabbits or incinerating wasps, yet is appalled when his brother, who is equally psychotic, burns dogs alive. After a few chapters, the dark humor and hypocrisy of Frank's evil habits are amusing.

The Wasp Factory is a twisted tale guaranteed to give the reader the creeps, but also a chuckle or two. It's also less than 200 pages, so it makes for a good afternoon of reading a complete story.