I just finished the wasp factory, on a recommendation I got here, off a thread about disturbing books. It was disturbing I guess. But from start to finish I was crazy confused, even after the ending. Am I missing some deeper meaning? Did anyone actually enjoy this book?
by jenny_alla_vodka
9 Comments
Yeah, I read this several years ago. It’s one of the most messed up books I’ve read. I…kind of enjoyed it. But it’s certainly not a book I go and recommend to anyone. LOL
I loved it, but I love when things unexpectedly twist to something dark.
I don’t think it has deeper meaning. Just a messed up youth in their own twisted world.
Excellent book, one of my favourites.
I read that for A level English years back and loathed it. I think my Mum read it but didn’t tell me, as when I mentioned I was reading Iain M. Banks’ ‘Culture’ books last year she said “not the one that wrote that disgusting book?!”
It’s currently on my bedsite table for a re-read as I reckon I’ll enjoy it more with a few more years under my belt.
The novel is quite ripe for interpretation, depending on your perspective.
Frank’s obsession with manhood and gender is a big recurring theme. His undeveloped sex makes him feel “less-than”. As with all great men throughout history, he asserts masculinity through dominance and “conquers” his home island like one of the great explorers or imperialists.
The killings and rituals are not only renditions of masculine violence, but also means of seizing control. Through the wasp factory he creates purpose and order.
[Spoiler](#s “By the end it is revealed the Frank was born a woman and not a man, tricked by his father who raised him as male. The sudden reveal and Frank’s re-evaluation of his surroundings and circumstances make me think a lot of his previous actions were motivated by a sense of dysphoric madness, in which he tries to touch the core of masculinity and manhood through brutal and violent control. Banks himself has said the book was motivated by his will to deconstruct sex and gender. The contents of the novel make me agree that this, deconstruction of gender, is one of its deeper meanings.”)
I just started this book yesterday. So far it is definitely confusing, but I enjoy it!
Link to the thread of disturbing books please?
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I hate this useless book so much, literally got rid of it as soon as I finished it. It felt like it was written by an angsty teenager, though the twist at the end was pretty ok, the rest was horrible.