I have written before about the many book lists I keep of the top 100 books ever written. Some lists are all classics while others are a compilation of classics and modern pieces. The list that began this whole endeavor is the latter in which Harry Potter is on the same list as Tale of Two Cities. One novel that I have been waiting to get is The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. Finally, Barnes had a sale and I bought it (20% off and free shipping = way to go!).

The Christmas season may not have been the optimal time to read the novel, but I was quite excited to finally pick it up. The Wasp Factory is told through the first person of Frank, a rather odd young man who lives alone with his father on an island. Essentially, the novel chronicles the every day life of Frank and how he occupies his time, which is to say the least, very, very odd. Frank also tells a bit of a back story, how his mother left his father, then came back pregnant with another man’s baby, had the baby and leaves never coming back. Frank also tells the tales of how he killed three of his family members: Esmerelda (a cousin), Paul (younger half brother), and Blyth (a boy who was a “frenemy” of the family). In conjunction, the book begins with the policeman, Diggs, reporting to Frank and his father that Frank’s older brother, Eric, just escaped from the insane asylum and is most likely heading towards Frank’s home. Nice family, huh?!

Given the craziness of this novel, I actually really enjoyed it. The writing was well-done, the characters were to say the least odd, but humorous. It was a great joy to read and contemplate. Frank was a bit of an interesting character with his obsession with the wasp factory, the island, and escaping his surroundings. You can’t help but to clearly understand the symbolism of the island as a representation of how Frank feels in society. I will be honest and say that the whole description of the wasp factory was a bit gross and I skimmed over it, mainly because I was in no mood to read about how wasps die and such. But, probably my favorite parts of the novel, for how morbid this will sound, had to be Frank’s description of how he killed the three individuals. It’s almost as if they were defensive mechanisms for those who were encroaching on Frank’s happiness. Additionally, the manner by which Frank killed them were rather creative. A snake, a kite, and a yet-exploded bomb. Frank’s conniving, but you have to give him credit that they were rather intelligent methods to take out others, keeping in mind that he was younger than 10 when he killed these individuals.

Now, there were a few aspects of this novel that were either tedious, unnecessary, or just plain weird. The whole wasp factory part, I will have to say, I did not understand. Frank puts the wasps in the clock face and they go down tunnels and die. Symbolism for life paths? Perhaps. Also, there is a lot of alcoholism throughout this novel. Frank drinks himself into a stupor; his father does too. This is a bit over the top, annoying, and unnecessary. Also, the ending is great, except for the bit about Frank’s secret that his father reveals. In the last two pages (literally, I do not kid, the last two pages) **spoiler alert** we find out that in actuality Frank is really Frances and his father has been feeding him hormones to make him a boy for years. Supposedly, there was an old dog Saul who attacked Frank when he was a toddler and ripped off his genitals. Frank has been ever since very self-conscious when it comes to his physical disability. Yet, we find out in the end that Frank never had them, but was always a girl who his dad wanted him to be a boy. WEIRD!

Anyway, this novel was good and a fairly fast read (I finished in a few days and it has 183 pages). If you can get over the whole psychosis of Frank and his family, and deal with him murdering children, this book will be a joy to read. But, just know, it is one weird plot line. I give it to Banks, for he came up with an interesting story that defies the basic imagination of classical literature. There’s no romance, which is a breath of fresh air, but perhaps with all of the death and dying circumstances this is not the optimal read for the Christmas season.