Allreaders.com

The Wasp Factory Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Wasp Factory


Frank Cauldhame is the Laird of his domain, surrounded by his Sacrifice Poles, which he ritualistically adorns with small-animal body parts, and his ultimate contrivance - The Factory. The Factory is made up of a scrapped clock-tower clock face laid flat, and modified to incorporate trap doors leading to an acid bath, a flame pit, and so on. He describes the killings of his younger brother Paul, his cousin Esmerelda, and another boy, Blythe, as simply a phase he was going through, He also tells of how he attends to the destruction of a local rabbit colony using catapulted steelies, and a flame thrower made up from a plastic squeeze-bottle. His only sign of remorse is for the irrevocable damage caused to his catapult, The Black Destroyer.
Click here to see the rest of this review...

And then there's Eric, Frank's older brother; an ex-medical student with a habit of setting animals, mostly dogs, on fire, on his way home to the island, a trail of destruction in his wake. But Frank has been forewarned by The Factory…

The review of this Book prepared by Charles Smyth



Chapter Analysis of The Wasp Factory

Click on a plot link to find similar books!

Plot & Themes

Tone of story    -   very upbeat How difficult to spot villain?    -   Very obvious Time/era of story:    -   1980's-1999 What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot?    -   70% Special suspect?    -   relative Misc. Murder Plotlets    -   cooped up in spooky house    -   local police w/ IQ of a houseplant Kind of investigator    -   british mystery (I say!) Kid or adult book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book Crime Thriller    -   Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown)    -   Yes

Main Character

Gender    -   Female Profession/status:    -   unemployed Age:    -   a teen

Setting

Europe    -   Yes

Writing Style

Accounts of torture and death?    -   very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture A lot of techno jargon?    -   Yes Kind of jargon?    -   astronomy Unusual forms of death    -   flamed    -   drowned    -   blunt clubbing (like seals) Unusual form of death?    -   Yes Amount of dialog    -   little dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like The Wasp Factory

Iain M. Banks Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
2 Ways to Search!
Or



Our Chief Librarian