Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

113 reviews

oneinamili's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Not for me. I didn't see the point of the ending and it took me forever to get through this book. Graphic descriptions can work for me but what was in The Wasp Factory just felt like it was there for little more than shock value.
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bunnyprincess's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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grimfrown's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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my_expanding_bookshelf's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 The Wasp Factory is probably one of the most disturbing books I have ever read and I couldn't stop reading it. It is about 16-year-old Frank, his creepy ways that he passes the time, and how he deals with the news that his brother has escaped from hospital. 

This book is very much a horror book, with graphic depictions of animal killing and murder. It is both complex and simple. I felt I had to concentrate to understand what was going on half the time, but the actual writing is easy to read.

The story is told from the POV of Frank, who is quite frankly a psychopath and absolutely terrifying. A very unlikeable person. Actually, there wasn't one likable character in the whole book! Frank's brother, Eric, is also a psychopath (I have slightly more sympathy given his story though). And his father is physically there, but he doesn't really pay much attention to Frank or what he's getting up to. He should have sought out help from Frank and Eric a long time ago. 

The Wasp Factory is set in a fictional town on the east coast of Scotland. But to be honest, apart from the odd Scottish dialogue, it didn't feel like it was set in Scotland at all. And I'm Scottish and from the east coast!

The plot did keep he hooked as I wanted to know what horrific thing Frank would do next and he was so unpredictable. Although he did drop hints. And there were plenty of twists to the story too. But I also felt the ending could have been tied up a bit more and felt it was very loose.

Iain Banks was a brilliant write though, so I think I'll definitely seek out more by him. I didn't necessarily enjoy The Wasp Factory, but I can appreciate it as being very well written. I'd recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach who doesn't mind being utterly horrified by what they are reading. 
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temsu's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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humanpuke's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is like rubbernecking a gruesome car accident. It’s disturbing, but you can’t pull your eyes away. Banks’ themes of fate and free will play out in the coming-of-age story of the socially isolated, sociopathic teenage protagonist. It is very well done, but is also extremely difficult to get through. 
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sarah984's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I know that a lot of people found the deaths in this book disturbing, but everything in the book was so whimsical and divorced from reality that it really had no effect on me at all. Extreme misogyny and weird transphobia but that's not surprising in a serial killer story.
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mettenikkessen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book left me feeling really confused and puzzled. The plot was very unexpected and quite random, and I felt as though I missed a deeper meaning or layer to the end. It did not feel like an end to this story really.
But having said that I did enjoy reading this book - even though it has plenty of horrific scenes. I just really love Iain Banks writing style. His magical atmospheric writing and storytelling which makes the landscape and characters come to life, but also his almost humerous dry sentences about quite gory events. Even though the main characters are very unlikable people, it is still interesting (and not as frustrating) to read the story from their point of view. Overall, I liked this book but I cannot really explain why and I would understand other people dislike to it as well. 
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riomadre's review against another edition

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I wasn't connecting with the characters and didn't care what they did next.
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ashley_elizabeth's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

I was really looking forward to reading this, and it seemed to be fate that I should just so happen to find a copy at the famous Shakespeare & Co. book shop in Paris while I was there for the first time back in April 2018. Lo and behold, however, this book was definitely not for me. I give it 2 stars rather than 1 because I was at times intrigued by the story; otherwise it would have gotten 1 star for its incredibly graphic description of animal mutilation & torture, and my general lack of interest in any single character. Not even really sure how the ending fits in with the overall story - seemed like a strange direction to go that didn't have anything at all to do with what had transpired thus far. Not sure I'll be looking to read anything else by Mr. Banks anytime soon. 
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