The Wasp Factory
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
The Wasp Factory
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Peter Kenny
-
By:
-
Iain Banks
About this listen
The Wasp Factory is a bizarre, imaginative, disturbing, and darkly comic look into the mind of a child psychopath - one of the most infamous of contemporary Scottish novels.
"Two years after I killed Blyth, I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again. It was just a stage that I was going through."
Enter - if you can bear it - the extraordinary private world of Frank, just 16, and unconventional, to say the least.
©2007 Hachette Audio (P)2007 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"One of the most brilliant first novels I have come across." (The Telegraph)
"One of the top 100 novels of the century." (The Independent)
"Brilliant...irresistible...compelling." (New York Times)
What listeners say about The Wasp Factory
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- nick
- 04-06-19
Both mesmerising and aweful
A remarkable book that both mesmerises and horrifies the listener.
Working on multiple levels it is both a physical and philosophical tale of deceit, destruction and rebirth.
And wasps.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Miss B Jackson
- 29-04-15
Shaking
It's not a novel I'll easily forget. The violence in it is very real and balanced by the voice of the narrator. I'm not sure I would've persevered if Peter Kelly's voice hadn't taken some of the edge off, and seemingly embodied the protagonist.
The rituals and the setting of the island remain riveting throughout.
If you've heard about it, give it a try. But don't expect to be bowled over by the ending and I think you'll have a better experience of it than I have.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-07-23
Just wow
Gripped from start to finish, beautifully written,beautifully performed, the nonchalant way the violence is described is horrifying and funny at the same time, this book will not be easily forgotten, Brilliant stuff
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Suzanne Leedham
- 10-08-24
Dark, disturbing but compelling
Deserves its modern classic status. Uncomfortable to read but thought provoking as all the best art should be.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eric O.
- 07-11-24
Frenetic and stunning
The dark humor is infectious, the characters utterly compelling. A dark sharp study of nature and nurture.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hm&Pd
- 09-09-19
thourally enjoyable!
loved it!
great story, not predictable. fantastically read I just couldn't stop listening. Highly recommend
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kirsty
- 03-04-23
Disturbing
A highly disturbing book, however although I enjoyed the book and the performance I feel it would have enjoyed it more as a physical book than audiobook
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- WG
- 29-05-23
Fantastic
I read this book many years ago and loved it. The audiobook is brilliant. The narrator’s tone is just right for this twisted tale. Highly recommend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- D. C. Newitt
- 18-10-23
very descriptive, weird, but not my thing
found the whole book a bit of a struggle to keep me interested. it's very descriptive, but it's an odd story, a delinquent young adult forms the centre of the story... but apart from describing his exceptional oddities and a plot twist, I wondered what the point of the whole story was for.
Excluding the long descriptional passages, I could summarise the whole book within a minute.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 23-08-24
an interesting read
A very unusual and interesting story. Well written and engaging if a little disturbing and definitely unusual.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!