'The Wasp Factory' by Iain Banks.

I came across this in a charity shop (I buy most of my books in charity shops these days) and bought it because I thought the cover was rather pretty.

The book itself, however, is not pretty. Not at all. It’s gruesome, twisted, and psychotic. It’s the kind of book that should have a warning on the cover – ‘Not for the squeamish’. As someone who frequently opted out of dissection in Biology, I was unsure whether I’d manage to finish reading it. But despite having to put the book down and walk away once or twice, I couldn’t help but come back, pick it up and carry on reading.

Frank, our sixteen-year-old narrator, lives on a secluded Scottish island with his “old hippy” father. Left to entertain himself, he spends his days torturing animals and bumping off unwanted cousins. He is a psychopath, and I don’t mean incinerating ants with a magnifying glass or throwing stones at cars, I mean DIY flamethrowers, bombs, kites, snake venom and the titular Wasp Factory.

At the opening of the story, Frank’s brother Eric has escaped from prison, and his father spends almost all his time in his study. It seems at first as though not much happens in the book, but Banks keeps you reading with descriptions of Frank’s unconventional and strange upbringing, along with little nuggets of intrigue, small mysteries that you feel compelled to unravel. Perhaps the biggest is the nature of the Wasp Factory, which Frank relies on as a sort of guiding compass, and remains mysterious and unexplained until well into the novel. Other questions the reader has revolve around Eric, whose insanity is caused by an “unpleasant thing”, and Frank’s father’s study – the door to which is always locked. What lies behind the doors? Banks does not make a big deal out of this, which only heightens the reader's interest.

The final twist took me completely by surprise, and didn’t feel particularly plausible. However, the reason I would recommend this book is not so much the plot, but the way Banks manages to immerse the reader completely in someone else’s mind. Frank’s voice is relatively well written and consistent, and unlike any other I've heard. I don’t think I will ever read another book quite like The Wasp Factory, and in all honesty, I’m not sure I want to.

Favourite quote: "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."