MattB
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Posts posted by MattB
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I've recently finished this one and I have to agree with all of the above. I'm still not sure what to make of it, whether I like it or not...but one thing is certain. It's a powerful, well written book which gets under your skin, but sits uncomfortably there. Good ending and it's made me want to read more of his material (I've got some of his sci-fi books but I was left a little underwhelmed by Consider Phlebas).
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Must admit Best Served Cold left me cold. Having loved The First Law trilogy I thought this was Abercrombie trying too hard to be clever, witty and brutal. And it quickly became wearing. I've had The Heroes sitting on my shelf since release and I think that's going to be the next book I read
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I have a couple of her books but have never tried reading them - they've always struck me as generic and shallow, but there again as the cliche goes...you should never judge a book by its cover.
Any opinions of her writing?
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This is one of my favourite books, and despite not being a fan of Ang Lee, I actually think he's perhaps a good choice to pull this off in a movie format. Apparently the 3D is stunning too...
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Look at post #502
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Does anyone on here use collectorz? I've tried Goodreads but I don't like the fact that I have no control over covers - and I want the online library to actually look like my books, rather than US/foreign editions etc.
Just looked at collectorz tonight and will give the trial a whirl, just not sure about paying for something like this!
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I don't often cry at books, but one which got me was The Kite Runner... "For you, a thousand times..." just had me in tears...
A Thousand Splendid Suns had me crying too...
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My first post, and I thought the most valuable thing I could post is to warn people about the atrocious Glenn Meade...woeful.
Oh and hi
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
in General Fiction
Posted
This is the review I've just written on amazon which pretty much sums up my thoughts:
I think this is the first review I've ever written about a book where I really don't know what to write. I've recently finished The Wasp Factory having only ever read one of Iain Bank's books before (Consider Phlebas, under his sci-fi moniker), and his debut has left me somewhat stunned. Stunned is a strong word, but yet that's what this book is...strong, and in many ways. I don't know whether I loved it or hated it, but one thing's for sure. It's left an impression.
By turns both dark, disturbing and daring (especially in the context of when it was published), The Wasp Factory tells us the story of Frank, a boy who appears utterly normal but who lives in his own little world with a moral compass that's clearly not on the same magnetic plane as the rest of us. I was horrified by the book, by the matter-of-fact descriptions of murder and animal cruelty, yet compelled at the same time. And therein lies the strength of the novel. Though you'll be disturbed and perhaps even disgusted, you'll want to find out what exactly the Wasp Factory is, you'll want to see what is in Frank's father's study, and you'll want to see how it ends.
The twist caught me completely by surprise and though it added to my sense of confusion (is this just an awful book or a masterpiece, or something in between???), it's somehow fitting. Make no mistake this is a Marmite book, but in my opinion it's worthy of a read even if I'll never revisit it again.
Recommended (hesitantly).