The novel starts with i had been making the rounds of the sacrifice poles the day i heard eric escaped. The wasp factory was the first novel he wrote, published in 1984 banks was 30 at the time. Great premise, frank is interesting and the idea of the wasp factory is great. The wasp factory by iain banks goodreads share book. Powerful, perverse, and engrossing, this controversial novel offers a graphic portrait of a serial killer told in the firstperson.
Frank, no ordinary 16yearold, lives with his father outside a remote scottish village. The wasp factory essays are academic essays for citation. He has no birth certificate and no national insurance card. I need a book with a plot twist that will hit me like a. I was listening to the audiobook in of defending jacob in traffic when the plot twist hit. He lives on an island unnamed off the cost of scotland with his. The character has no motivation for what they did other than one line in the book and even that isnt a good. I didnt know what to expect, but it certainly wasnt that. Im probably giving away too much by saying that the story has a great twist in it. His elder brother eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital. The the wasp factory community note includes chapterbychapter summary and. It instantly catapulted iain banks to fame, where hes stayed as one of britains top authors, publishing at least one book a year since. The wasp factory 1998 read online free book by iain.
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. The wasp factory itself, we eventually find out, is an elaborately constructed mechanism. The sacrifice poles the wasp factory didnt bother easing the reader into the plot with its first chapter but it still did a fantastic job at setting the foundation for the rest of the book. In fact, i love it so much i put together a list of 100 books with plot twists. Back then, the wasp factory reminded of the turbulent term of tyke tiler a novel i read in primary school, in which the school tearaway is revealed to be a girl in the last chapter, though i think the book was actually much more progressive on that issue, than the wasp factory itself in that the twist comes from the way the novel.
I know that some people seem to think this book is great. Frank has been warned by the wasp factory a killing machine for wasps and his personal oracle that something bad is going to happen. Despite this, the book certainly has its redeemable elements and is not a bad book at all. The way that frank narrates the book is so good because even though the things he does are horrible he really just thinks its normal. The wasp factory was first published in 1984, although i seem to remember hearing that it was written slightly earlier, when the authour was in his teens. One of their members must have liked it enough to advertise it on their website. 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. Wasp is a 1957 science fiction novel by english author eric frank russell. 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. The book meanders to an ending that makes absolutely no sense. The novel by iain banks, the wasp factory tells the story of 16yearold frank cauldhame. The character has no motivation for what they did other than one line in the book and even that isnt a good enough reason. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis.
Of course, not every plot twist is as dramatic as this, but i love it when an author does a nifty bit of sleightofhand magic. The wasp factory book the kansas city public library. What book had a huge plot twist that you absolutely did not see coming. The book is full of physical and emotional violence, but. What is the socialhistorical context of this novel, and how does this attract readers. 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 scottish novels. 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 cousin esmerelda, more or less on a whim.
The wasp factory book daviess county public library. A 1997 poll of over 25,000 readers listed the wasp factory as one of the top 100 books of the 20th century, but as a first novel by an unknown. Chaos reading spoilers the wasp factory showing 1 of 31. Before the publication of the the wasp factory banks had written several science fiction novels, which had not been accepted for publication. Two years after i killed blyth i murdered my young brother paul, for quite different. 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. The wasp factory book logan city council libraries. I also wasnt so keen on the plot twist at the end, it just felt really random and like it had been thrown in there for dramatic effect. What happened to me in iain bankss the wasp factory. The story is told from the perspective of 16yearold frank cauldhame.
This summary of the wasp factory includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. Frank begins to think there may be a lot of different people inside him. I picked up the wasp factory mostly because of the author iain banks, who wrote. When i was recommended this book, i was told that there was going to be a twist, so, all the way through, i was trying to. When news comes of erics escape, frank has to prepare. The wasp factory is the first book written by iain banks, it is also the first of his books ive read.
I picked up the wasp factory after it was recommended in this thread, and ive made it about 50 pages in so far. As each successive day pass, frankie receives phone call from older halfbrother, paul, who has escaped form an institution and is working his way home. The narrator of iain bankss novel, 16yearold frank cauldhame, is looking to explain a mystery. Most of the book consists of the political and cultural musings, strange obsessions, and amoral cruelties of the main character, frank, with a few set pieces designed to make him seem. The plot twist at the end of was borderline ludicrous and only served to satisfy the authors desire for shock tactics. Sticking with middlebrow scottish literature, i followed irvine welshs filth with another dark, scary, psychological story about a disturbed scottish individual enacting weird personal fantasises within a warped and conflicting world view. 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. I knew nothing about this book before beginning it. I need a book with a plot twist that will hit me like a freight train.
I felt sorry for frank, especially at the end of the book and the plot twist at the end was completely out of the blue. Two years after i killed blyth, i murdered my young 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. The complicated relationship between frank, his father and his. Iain banks speaks to john mullan about his novel the wasp factory and takes questions from the audience at the guardian book club. Review of the wasp factory by iain banks navigating the. He lives with his father outside a remote scottish village. I came across it when looking at a website dedicated to the band tool. I was so shocked i almost got into a fender bender. The wasp factory was written almost 30 years ago by iain banks, who sadly died in 20. The book is full of physical and emotional violence, but its decidedly not gratuitous. Banks decided to try a more mainstream novel in the hopes that it would be more readily accepted, and wrote about a teenager with severe violence issues. Im an animal lover and a vegetarian, and the graphic cruelty in this book is making my physically ill, nauseous and upset.
These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the wasp factory by iain banks. Before the publication of the wasp factory, banks had written several science fiction novels that had not been accepted for publication. I loaned the book to a friend and never saw it again. Two years after i killed blyth i murdered my young brother paul, for quite different and. The wasp factory book washington county cooperative. Named one of the top 100 novels of the century by the independent, the wasp factory is a bizarre, imaginative, disturbing and darkly comic look into the mind of a child psychopath. I havent killed anybody for years, and dont intend to ever again. The book includes elements of various literary genres. The wasp factory by iain banks plot summary litcharts. Maybe the sadist in me wishes that there was more emphasis on the aspects of the book that were the darkest. 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. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important.
Sixteen years old, frankie has developed behavioral patterns involving the ritualistic killings of animals and insects to help predict daily events. Just read the wasp factoryspoilers i just finished the wasp factory and jesus was it good. What book had a huge plot twist that you absolutely did. Wasp is generally considered russells best novel the title of wasp comes from the idea that the main characters actions and central purpose mimic that particular insect. Yes, the wasp factory has a lot of disturbing images of a psychotic youth committing violence on people and animals. This provocatively disturbing novel is a proper start both for an author to evince himself and for a reader to receive an impression of authors manner and views. The novel ends on this surprisingly quiet and optimistic note. I love it when a book makes me want to run up to the first person i can find and say, holy crap, you need to read this book right now. Fashioned from a giant clock face that frank has discovered on the town dump, it is a precise network of. The wasp factory, however, does veer a little too much on the madness of the characters for my personal liking. The book opens with the news that eric has just escaped from the hospital, and is making his way back home.
He lives on an island unnamed off the cost of scotland with his father, angus. Sure, there are some gross out moments and a few plot twists, especially at the end, but the book doesnt qualify as one of the most important 100 works of fiction in the world, trust me. The novel takes place over the course of several days, both in the present, as frank prepares for erics return, and in. 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. Plot twist is closing for business on august 31, 2019. I suppose i would call the wasp factory a thriller of sorts, but mostly because of the thrills of. The wasp factory is the first novel by scottish writer iain banks, published in 1984. The wasp factory study guide contains a biography of iain banks, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and.