After reading a bunch of Iain Banks science fiction novels, I gave his first novel a shot, since he had received so much recognition for it.
It was a very entertaining read, funny in places. Not nearly as disturbing as I had expected. The ending was a bit weak, in my opinion. It might make an interesting movie, and I enjoyed reading it, but I don’t see how it could get on any ‘Greatest Novels of the 20th Century’ lists. It wasn’t particularly shocking (maybe if it had been written 15 years before it might have poked some taboos, but not very much), though I have heard people in reviews say it was very disturbing.
I didn’t find that part disturbing at all. For one thing, it’s not really described in detail, just a recollection of something the narrator heard about. It’s not even that unusual, gross things happen to people in hospitals.
I didn’t think it was that disturbing either. After having read American Psycho, nothing much will disturb me, I guess.
I enjoyed it for its weirdness, though. For example, it kept me wondering whether his friend the dwarf was real or whether he was just a figment of imagination…was he? I still don’t quite know.
I read the book when it first came out.
It was not your father’s fiction back then.
I haven’t read it since, and maybe it hasn’t aged well (although I always thought it would have made a great film.)
I am still kind of surprised when I read here on the board that Catcher In The Rye is still “working” for younger readers.
All I can tell you is that when I read it back then, it was new, very odd and creepy. It also seemed that everybody I knew was reading it at the time, so I am sure it influenced other writers.
But I guess it might look tame by now.
(Slight hijack - Do an “old fogey” a favor…give me a title of a book that will shock/surprise me like that one did “back in the old days”. I’d like to see what is out there now that would compare.)
The thing about Wasp Factory is it has a number of disturbing themes, but it isn’t a horror movie. If you’re after a Stephen King, then you will be disappointed.
And it does have a twist at the end that I challenge anyone to say they saw coming. It made a bit of a splash when it first came out, as a number of reviewers described it as very unpleasant, which no doubt helped. But it was Banks very first book, and while it is one of his more famous, it is not, IMHO, his best.
Try “The Crow Road”. My favourite. It’s totally different from Wasp Factory and his Culture SF.
I did find The Wasp Factory deeply disturbing (the death of children always affects me quite deeply)… but I suppose it is the insight into a warped, cold-blooded (albeit fictional) mind that was the worst.
I’ve only read a few other bits of his work in the short story collection called The State Of The Art - I quite enjoyed that and I intend to tackle one of his Culture novels sometime.
[spoiler]1. Character supposedly castrated in early childhood having to shave regularly at the age of 16
The stuff about his older brother wearing dresses as a young child
The part about his father lying about his identity
When he found the bottle of hormones, I knew instantly what was going on, and knew his first assumption was incorrect. If I knew it had a twist ending I probably would have figured it out earlier.
[/spoiler]
I agree, Badtz - it had some disturbing portions (not the comatose person, but the gender/abuse bit) - but not horrific. Also, you can see that his writing has improved quite a bit over the years. I also enjoyed The Bridge.
Er, am I to gather from this thread that somewhere there are some movies or miniseries made of Banks’ work? Details? Are they only available in England, or could I find them in the US?
No, no, no, no, no! The mini-series was a travesty. Essential plot points were butchered without reason and one particular main character was “acted” by the most wooden actress ever. Don’t start me on how affronted I was by this TV adaptation!
There is no “Wasp Factory” film that I know of. Sorry if my previous post gave a misleading impression.