The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks: A Most Macabre Story (Spoilers)

Iain Bank's The Wasp Factory is a book I read a while back. It was a fantastic novel, with quite a twist in the end. It is the story of Frank Cauldhame, a sixteen year old living on an island from coast of Scotland. Frank has no official status, no birth certificate, nothing: to the government he does not exist. Frank's father Angus is secretive, and has a study which he keeps locked, and cautions Frank to enter it. Frank hates women, he thinks they're inferior and dumb compared to males. Frank also has a secret. He's killed three people, two cousins and his little brother. Frank did these things when he was a young child

When Frank's older brother, Eric, escapes an asylum both Angus and the local police are on edge, seeking any information on Eric. Eric was sent to the asylum for burning and eating dogs (and this is Scotland, these are domesticated) and feeding worms and maggots to children. But what happened to Eric? Eric was a perfect child, he was pursuing a medical career. At Eric's hospital there was a baby, that had a soft skull because the bones did not form well in his head and he always wore a metal cap. Eric fed that child. One day, the child didn't respond as usual, and Eric swore he saw something move on the child's scalp. (Prepare for your stomach to turn) Eric lifted the metal cap... flies had gotten into the boy's brain... and laid eggs, maggots had infested the boy's skull, and Eric screamed loud enough for the entire hospital. Eric backed into the wall, and the guard on duty had went into check what was happening. The guard proceded to vomit. I'm actually not describing this very well, but read the book, I promise, you will get sick. :)

Anyway Iain Banks is incredibly creative (and morbid) in this novel. When Frank killed his family members it wasn't a generic stab or gun shot, no. When Frank killed his cousin Blyth, he put an Adler snack in Blyth's prosthetic leg. You can imagine the result. I won't go further into detail, because I'm writing this to get people to read this, and I seem to spoiling it for you. I apologize.

Anyways The Wasp Factory is probably one the most morbid books of all time, getting to the point where some people were sickened. One of the things I loved is that both Banks and Scribner publishing agreed to put NEGATIVE reviews on the back of the book. "Rubbish!" -The Times (London) and "There's nothing to force you, having been warned, to read it; nor do I reccommend it." - The Scotsman. I mean, what other book have you seen do that? The Wasp Factory's publishers had the balls and confidence to that, contradicting reviewers and making them look like idiots, this book even got in list of 100 Best Books of All Time by the Independant. It is a masterpiece, and I am happy I got to read it at such a young age, where literature like this can help blow my mind and forge my interests.