It's been a long time since I've read a book that I'd mainly describe as twisted and disturbing but here it is! The first book of my first official book club was exactly that! So strap in and make sure you have the stomach for a book comparable to that of C.J. Tudor's novels - except this time the narrator is the mentally disturbed member of the cast. This may sound like praise for the book but, honestly, it's not - I enjoyed C.J. Tudor's books (the two that I've read), I enjoyed maybe 15-20% of this book.
I'm not a complete stranger to gothic horror, more a friendly acquaintance. The Wasp Factory does have all the elements that are meant to make you uncomfortable but I just didn't see a story in it. The narration follows 17-year-old Frank Cauldhame who, by the end of the first chapter, is very clearly mentally unwell. He lives with his father, his mother abandoned him soon after he was born, and his older half-brother Eric is being held in a psychiatric ward for all the acts he committed terrorising the people in town. The book is a lot like a journal following Frank's day to day life - his personal daily rituals he finds comfort in, his hunting, what his father's routine follows. This journal-like format makes sense when Frank occasionally thinks of things that have happened in the past as he then talks about what happened, however, they're never happy occasions, it's always something unfortunate that has befallen a member of his family, immediate and extended.
Through these passages, we find how Frank was responsible for some of these misfortunes but then looks down on his relatives, including his brother, on their failures in executing said misfortunes and often suggesting ways that they could have done it better or that they shouldn't have done it at all. This gives us an insight into the mindset of the main character, figuring out what he feels about his life, other people around him, and how he thinks. You steadily find that he has a bit of a god complex with how he finds he can control his life on the island, it makes him reluctant to ever leave because he wouldn't be in control.
From the start, you keep expecting Eric's return. The story starts with Frank and his father being told that Eric has escaped from the psychiatric ward and you constantly expect him to get back to the island and cause some sort of havoc. That's where you think the story is going the whole time but the element that should have provided some plot development was entirely useless. Even when in the last two chapters, the only part where the story truly moves and develops, Eric finally shows up it doesn't have any impact on what the book was about and what it was about revealing. This is the kind of book where often nothing makes sense until the big reveal at the end but it didn't feel like that because everything already made some sort of sense long before it got there. The lead-up lacked a lot of tension you would generally expect or hope for. Instead, it felt like a lot of explaining why things were the way they were before getting to the only two chapters where something substantial actually happened - it wasn't well balanced.
Despite the flashback scenes and the parts where Frank is talking about things that have happened to family members actually being quite interesting, reading the book is actually quite boring and uninteresting. I'll admit, I did laugh at a very misfortunate suicide attempt by one of Frank's extended family involving a cigarette, gas stove and caravan. I won't spoil it, you can find out for yourself if you read it. Also, something concerning a certain nuisance cousin and snake. It did still make me feel uncomfortable in all the right parts of it. This kind of book I expect to make me feel uncomfortable and revolted but I usually do enjoy them for the most part and thinking back on the book as a whole. Not for this one.
Though most people would find the ending most surprising, I actually found that the chapter titled "What Happened To Eric" to be the most surprising and the one that stuck with me the most. This chapter is the one that really tells you what Eric was like and why he did all of the things that led him to be put in psychiatric care. At first, you may think that it's just in the two brothers' genes that they're both mentally unwell but eventually, we find that Frank has been disturbed from an early age, Eric was actually good and had a future but something horrendous triggered him. It was both incredibly sad and absolutely disgusting. I think I actually felt sick reading it. But it was good. It was the chapter that was written best and had the most impact on me as the reader. It makes you feel more sympathy than you feel for Frank at any time.
Honestly, you do feel some sympathy for Frank by the time it comes to the Big Reveal. It is heartbreaking and twisted and it confirms your suspicions about where Frank and Eric's mentally unstable behaviours originate. However, there's a limit to how much sympathy you feel for him because there are some things it just does not excuse.
Reasons to Recommend:
- If you want to make your way through the gothic horror genre
- Named in a list of the best 100 books of the 20th century
That's all I can really think of. I'd give this book a 3/10, I gave it a 1 star on Goodreads but that's because I didn't want to give it 2 stars and you can't give half stars, unfortunately.
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