Deranged castles in the sky

English edition.

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks.

This was in my “to read” list for a long time, I have been seeing many mentions and a bit of a wicked reputation, so… it was about time.

I recommend not to read much about the book, there are certain reviews that give away bits or hints of the twist and plot, if you mind that.

One of the aspects I struggled a little is the pacing, there are alternating segments of shock and then the day-to-day, not that I wanted pure shock, action or something like that, I really like contemplative or descriptive takes, but there is a limit of running around in the sand that one can take. I imagine it was a balance thing maybe? But it was off-putting at times.

Now, to the meat of the reputation… there are a lot of disturbing things happening here, you should be careful if you have trouble handling violence, cruelty (human and animal), body fluids, etc. For me, the thing I found most disturbing is the detachment of the character, the lightness and “fun” side of the terrible acts the main character commits, not to say is completely gratuitous, there is a reason for everything, albeit over the top and testing the limits of verisimilitude, but then again, life is pretty crazy when you think about it.

The violence or disturbing side is not the worthy part, the aspect that makes it so, is the way the themes are interlaced and the particularity of them: family, social interaction, self-image, prejudice, identity, nurture and choice. I was pretty impressed with the final arc, not that you don’t see it coming in some form, but hey… it is not a guessing competition, right? Those twist and turns in the concepts of gender, manhood and prejudice are just brilliant, hands down, mic drop... Not to say it is perfect, because is not, for instance I thought it ended in a neat kind of parable story, almost too neat, but the idea is brilliant indeed.

I think it is a great book, if you can handle those themes, it will be rewarding, brilliant ideas and much food for thought.