Roof Beam Reader
Adam Burgess
Review: The Wasp Factory by Ian Banks
While I respect Banks’s intent – to expose human cruelty and how one family member’s pain can lead to the dysfunction and pain of all others, I must say – this novel, like it’s characters, is just one hot mess. Though the book was relatively short – about 180 pages – it took forever to read, because the story lacked direction and, seemingly, purpose. The first one-hundred pages were self-indulgent and lacked a psychologically exacting purpose, though the novel attempts to set itself up as psychologically stimulating and purposeful. The dystopic family structure is well-received and the effects of a mother-less household is understood; still, the only truly meaningful sub-plot of this story was the tragic experience of the narrator’s older brother, Eric. His downfall and the explanation thereof seemed genuine and honest – the pain and terror in his experience was not pressured or over-done. Had this been a story about Eric, perhaps it could have worked. As it is, especially as one who has read Eugenides’ Middlesex
Roof Beam Reader 
This is the only book where, once read, I just wanted it out of the house. I absolutely detested it. Self-indulgent, yes, and to no end. Plus I was concerned what effect this portrayal would have on trans gendered people.
(I haven’t read Middlesex yet, but it’s on my TBR pile)
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