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The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (view source)
Revision as of 10:12, 19 September 2020
, 10:12, 19 September 2020no edit summary
I guess ultimately, The Wasp Factory is a kind of extended Tales of the Unexpected with an added Shock Your Granny factor. As such, it will appeal probably more to the young. It is certainly a step up from those other yoof cult classics, ''The Dice Man'' and ''American Psycho'' (why does anyone like these two books? They are both dreadful) but, in retrospect, it is not as good as its contemporary "competitor" and other first novel, ''The Cement Garden'' by Ian McEwan. Neither, despite its shock value, is it as good as many of Banks' later works. Of those, I would recommend you to start with ''Espedair Street''.
The Wasp Factory is rude. It is twisted. It is funny. It is not for the fainthearted. It probably isn't the cult classic its reputation would have you believe, but it is worth reading, if only for the embarrassed, squirming, guilty giggles. We also have a review of [[The Steep Approach to Garbadale by Iain Banks]].
You might also appreciate [[Tomas by James Palumbo]].