The Wasp Factory

"Terrible."

"Thought-provoking and shocking, highlights mental illness and gender concepts in an unexpected, disturbing way."

"I am all for the main character being the villain it’s actually what I was looking for. And at first he fit that description he was evil and all but when this mf said he peed on his victims it as it for me. The book just gave me horrible and sick vibes, made me feel like throwing up. Def don’t recommend. "

"I am sure there is supposed to be some point to this book, some reason why it is listed in the "1001 books to read before you die," considered a classic of literature, etc, but I didn't really see it.<br/><br/>I think the points it was trying to make are:<br/>1) Post WWII society - everyone is violent, rotting, and traumatized. Is Frank really the sociopath or is it post modern society? One of the murders of an innocent young boy is literally caused by the trash leftover from WWII.<br/><br/>2) Toxic masculinity with weird Freudian overtones - a lot of misogyny and a lot of talk of penises<br/><br/>3) Lots of animals - dogs, wasps, snakes, sheep.....I am sure they are supposed to symbolize "something"<br/><br/>4) Lots of fire<br/><br/>Overall, this was a purposefully disturbing and cruel book without a lot of reality or closure, in my opinion. So if you like reading about gross and cruel things - particularly the suffering of innocent children & animals - have at it! <br/><br/><br/><br/>"

"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."

"I'm kinda speechless after reading this book. At the bones of it we have a well written book about teenage Frank, living on a small island in Scotland with his father. A police officer stops by to tell them both that his brother, Eric, has escaped from the mental hospital he was staying in and might be headed to them. What follows is the usual coming of age, question your past and be unprepared for your future stuff you would expect to find in a normal novel. Only, THIS IS NOT A NORMAL NOVEL. Frank is not normal. His questioning of his past involves the murders he committed and his preparing for the future means consulting a "wasp factory". His bizarre rituals and the details of his past unfold slowly, as frank is the one in charge of his narrative. By the time you figure everything out you kinda want to say "what the f*uck"?!? This book is not for overly sensitive people or people who abhor descriptions of violence. This book is definitely not for everyone and I don't think I would recommend it to anyone... Its weird that a book can be this good while also being this bad."

"9/10. Amazing book"

"This was 180 pages of tedious drivel from a child who does nothing but kill animals. Very repetitive and boring. Saw the twist coming as soon as Frank first mentions his accident and how much he hates women. I was expecting a shocking horror based on the book’s reputation, but this just wasn’t it."

"This one is a good read if you like very graphic gore with a twist at the end. It has a lot of animal cruelty/killing in it which was an extreme tough swallow for me. There was a few times I had to walk away from the book because I felt very uneasy with the graphicness of it. It is a quick read if you can plow through the tough parts and an interesting twist at the end. If you can not stand animal cruelty or killing at all DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! "