So where to begin? I suppose with my shock. This was a novel written 41 years ago, but it is horribly relevant our current times. I was not anticipating the ‘big secret’ at all from the short description of the book. I got the book’s title from a list of horror, which really speaks to the lackluster ability of the list’s author, because I would not describe the book as a horror book. The tension of the book lies along an axis of thrillers far more than horror. The reader is never really fearful of what may come, but is anticipating what shocking thing occurs next.

The big reveal at the end was almost certainly more shocking to readers at the time, and my first thought was how eerily familiar it seemed. I then remembered the john money controversy about david reimer, but the wikipedia article says it didn’t come to international attention until 1997, more than a decade after the wasp factory came out. Just a strange coincidence? I know Banks had a relatively progressive view of gender/sexuality in his writing. His culture books casually describe a society where people switch back and forth between human and monster, male and female, digitized computer files and organic matter, seemingly at whim. It almost seems counterintuitive that he sets the impulses and motivations of the protagonist as caused by the conflict within due to the secret.

Anyway, back to the book itself.

It’s neatly written. Little tidbits of information are dangled in front of the reader while the main character pursues day-to-day life. It’s a very strange life, but more so in its extremes than the actual matters. I know the many strange ways bored kids can take up to amuse themselves in the rural fields and isolated days, and building bombs and torturing insects (while horrific in hindsight) isn’t far removed from reality. The magical thinking displayed by the character is pretty tame for someone younger, and only mildly out of sorts due to the late teenage years that the protagonist currently sits at.

The story moves along at a good pace, never really boring the reader. Moments of tension are placed nicely to keep interest between the various murders and banal days. The murders themselves are nicely done. Just enough plausibility to not break verisimilitude, both in their possibility and the mentality of the protagonist in carrying them out.

The protagonist’s inner dialogues and thoughts are where the real meat of the book is. It’s a fascinating read, just like finding someone’s personal diary, and keeps your eyes eager for more explanations of why there are mouse heads hanging from poles, mocked-up villages being destroyed, and wars waged on various small animal dens.

One bit I didn’t like (I had to roll my eyes) was the ‘mental break’ of the protagonist’s brother. Of all the tropes regarding mental illness and insanity, the idea of some horribly overwhelming tragic or scarring event suddenly sending someone into the madhouse is the trope I most abhor. I’ve dealt with a great many people who have had horrific events happen to them, and with many people who aren’t entirely in sync with reality, and none of them provide positive evidence for such a thing. It’s a trope from hokey comic books and bad movies. :::