by Iain Banks (aka Iain M. Banks)

isbn: 0684853159
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 2/2/2003

The Wasp Factory is a darkly funny book about a dysfunctional family. Frank, the protagonist, is clever but disturbed: he has some ugly secrets and spends a lot of time making small bombs and killing small animals. His father is an obsessive/compulsive recluse and his brother has just escaped from a mental institution. Banks does a good job getting inside Frank's head: his mental world is orderly and consistent even though, viewed externally, his actions range from ridiculous to criminal. Recommended.