tungsten on 2/10/2006 at 20:56
I didn't really like reading the wasp factory. Usually reading per se is a pleasure for me, but this book? Nah.
And yes, you're right, the end is like "bad person because of bad childhood? - check. That explains everything."
Really scary are those psychopaths that can not be explained by a bad childhood or very bad luck (lady left him, lost job etc..). To be bad when life treats you well is much more scary.
Also it is a book that I forget very quickly.
Stitch on 2/10/2006 at 22:59
It's been less than twenty four hours since I finished The Wasp Factory and I'm still not entirely sure what I thought of it.
Yeah, it's a bit of a first novel.
Frank was a bizarre kind of anti-hero, acting out his survivalist fantasies while committing acts of regrettable-but-you-gotta-do-what-you-gotta-do violence. Most surprising was that the little shit proved to be <I>likable</I>; I was sucked into the sheer authority Frank wielded over his (admittedly questionable) domain. It's difficult not to root for the guy who twisted a crippling injury into a source of horrible strength, a cockless Rambo defined by the assured and mature manner in which he acts on intensely immature thoughts and beliefs. The guy may spend his days swamping sandcastles and hating girls for being dumb, but he does it all with ruthless skill and efficiency.
It's also a testament to Bank's writing prowess that for 180 pages one manages to suspend reality and consider Frank's kingdom actually worth giving a shit about. Franks' empire may have consisted of little more than an abandoned island upon which he was able to indulge in childish play and superstition-fed animal cruelty, but damn if I didn't cringe at thought of the disruption to Frank's perfect order that was Eric's looming return.
All characters not named Frank seemed unfortunately slight. Frank's greasy-cocked father was virtually undeveloped (except for the head-scratching measurement quirk), and Jamie seemed to exist solely to draw us closer to Frank through relatively normal social scenes that anyone could identify with. Eric was fleshed out a bit more, but in the end he seemed to exist for little reason other than to facilitate the revelation of the book's big secret. I initially shared the same theory about Eric that Paz had, and it was a disappointment to see that the truth wasn't quite as inspired.
Plot-wise the book left a bit to be desired. Frank essentially spends most the book wandering through his daily routine, filling us in on his past as we wait for Eric to arrive and kick off the finale. It made for a quick, perversely enjoyable read, but the first three quarters of the book basically served as prologue to the epiphany. And as said by all, the epiphany itself, while interesting (if implausible--who could possibly mistake a vagina for a mangled johnson?), featured far too much exposition. While I like most of the loose ends to get tied up at the end of a book, having a character rattle them off like a Scooby Doo denouement is simply lazy writing.
Still, despite my complaints it was a fascinating book. Occasionally disturbing, often funny, and never anything less than an engaging read.
Aerothorn on 3/10/2006 at 01:03
While obviously we want some variety in the book club, I think it would be cool to like, in a year or something, do one of Iain Bank's latest novels and see how he's managed to develop as a writer in 20+ years.
Or the sci-fi fans could decide that we have to read the entire Culture series, haha.
Tonamel on 4/10/2006 at 04:20
Quote Posted by Aja
What the hell is it about?
Seconded. It's an entertaining enough read, but there wasn't much of a plot, and there didn't seem to be much...
point to the whole thing.
Also, most of what everybody else said. I really need to finish the books on time, so I don't just echo sentiments mentioned several times previously.
OnionBob on 4/10/2006 at 18:48
So,
The Wasp Factory.
Firstly, really quite a lot of fun, and a short easy read, which is always a bonus when I find myself shorter and shorter of time to read for pleasure. I've actually read this before, but it was some time ago, and I think it's a credit to the text that I enjoyed it almost as much, and that it wasn't just adolescent posturing that made me find that the humour works in a genuine and original way.
I think most of what needs to be said has already been said - the book is deliciously funny in a pitch black way; Frank is likeable despite being a total murdering psychopath, and unfortunately the other characters are paper-thin (har har) and the ending (and subsequent author-mouthpiecing) is rubbish.
I think that, like Stitch mentioned, one of the main achievements of the book is that Frank's "kingdom" becomes a matter of real import, despite the fact that there's really nothing to it. The sense of introversion and the skewed sense of priorities as well are beautifully portrayed without being suffocating and this is something echoed in more recent texts (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time being an extreme example).
Incidentally anyone who might have thought Frank might exist somewhere on the autistic spectrum might want to consider the really rather considerable behavioural similarities she has to (
http://ulillillia.us) this wonderful, hopeless but perversely charming Internet superstar, Ulillillia. He too commands his own small kingdoms, using them, like Frank, to hide away from adulthood and the outside world. As Frank's island preserves her childhood and freezes her development in stasis, and, for instance, keeps her away from ever having to consummate or realise her "true" gender (although what that is is up for debate considering she has been raised as male), Ulillillia's "mind game" provides an escape from the confusing, contradictory demands of an unsympathetic adult world and puts him firmly in charge, abstracting complicated, messy real world movement and experience (of which he undertakes very little) into a dimension of numbers and calculations over which he has complete control. Of course the idea that those somewhere on the autistic spectrum are somehow 'more logical' is problematic as "more/less logical" can't realistically be charted on such a simple linear index, but certainly their engagement with abstract concepts, synaesthetic as it is, does appear that way at times.
Anyway favourite moments: the idea of giving a kid a plank of wood and telling him that an unexploded bomb is actually a bell, and that he has to hit it as hard as he can: hilarious, and ingenious, and the gleeful logic behind Frank's explanation (bells are full of rings and you hit them to let the rings out, etc) completely overshadows the heinousness of the crime.
Also I may not actually be able to read the next book, as the undergrads course I'm teaching this semester is requiring me to read and re-read a lot of old primary texts that, in addition to my PhD material, and conferences and training, are taking up most of my reading time. I will try though. :(
Aja on 5/10/2006 at 02:11
I was actually reminded of Ulillillia as well; the similarities between him and Frank are striking.
There's a section on his website where he documents in photographs a trip across the border (to Canada) to go a department store with his mom. He notices the different units on road signs, the fact that the nearby "mountains" are actually foothills, the letters on storefronts, all of which are totally significant to him, and entirely mundane to everyone else. Perhaps Ulillillia is partly the reason I found Frank so believable.
Also, I'm curious, what class are you teaching, Bob? I'm in my second year of English, and I'm trying to decide (that is, if I decide to teach at all) to go the secondary or post-secondary route.
Aerothorn on 5/10/2006 at 04:18
How exactly did everyone but me discover this ulillillia person?
Website looks strangely fascinating. Bookmarked for future purviewing (is that even a word?).
Paz on 5/10/2006 at 12:12
Last night I remembered something which interested me about the Frank-Eric dynamic. Frank seems rather appalled by what Eric does.
He appears to have sympathy for the dogs Eric sets on fire/eats/tortures and frequently tries to reason with him about this during their phone calls. When Eric sets fire to the sheep and sends them towards the house, Frank seems to be upset by this act (as well as the fact that they could end up in the basement and blow the place up).
Yet he is able to rationalise exactly the same act (setting fire to the rabbits) to himself. As well as all the other psychotic stuff, of course.
I think it's these clues that Frank is perfectly capable of empathy which distance him from the .. er .. normal psycho model. And perhaps this is why we are still able to find him likeable on some level - despite his actions.
Jackablade on 5/10/2006 at 23:01
Huh, now that I read my last post, it's kind of confusing. Oh well.
Everybody here seems to dislike the ending, right? I can agree with you guys about Banks' own personal essay, but I am mildly surprised that most of you also hated FRANK'S DRAMATIC REVELATION. Somebody said that it was just too unbelievable, or stupid, and that after the great lead-up to it, it was a letdown.
Frank's experience in his father's study was very tense, and Eric's appearance was action packed, but his father finally telling Frank the truth was not eye-roll worthy. At least not for me. The entire novel is filled with surreal, semi-unrealistic events, so Frank turning out to be a woman was nothing big, just something else that happened to him. I didn't gasp when Banks explained Frank's 'secret' (I was on the edge of my seat when Frank had the knife to his dad though), but neither did I roll my eyes. I maintained the same interest level I had during the previous 150 pages.
I suppose my way of thinking is probably not what Banks wanted, just as he wouldn't like it if you hated the ending, but there's nothing I can do about that. I don't really have a point I'm trying to make. I just liked the ending more than everybody else.
I also noticed that Bob is the only person referring to Frank as "her.":thumb:
OnionBob on 5/10/2006 at 23:31
Quote Posted by Jackablade
I also noticed that Bob is the only person referring to Frank as "her.":thumb:
Tentatively - i tend to be of the opinion that gender isn't necessarily something that can be reliably expected to follow on from physical "sex" (which is also problematic). But yeah ok B-U
