The Wasp Factory cover art

The Wasp Factory

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

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 Audio Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Mind-bending Scary Superhero Highlander

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)

All stars
Most relevant
Excellent narration of a brilliantly constructed story. Listening to some books, I drift off and miss what's been said for the last 5 minutes. This had me hanging on every word. An absolute must read/listen.

PERFECT

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very dark humour, very slick and very clever. I'm not sure 'enjoyed' is the right word, but I certainly couldn't stop listening!

Like no other story I've ever heard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had never read this novel before and it was a great discovery. Dark, humouring and gripping.
5 stars

Exceptional

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Was recommended this on Sunday, had it finished by Wednesday. Could not stop listening at every opportunity. Gripped from the very start to the end, one of the best books I've ever read. Disturbing and moving in equal measure, I'm genuinely at a loss as to what to follow it up with. Not for the easily shocked or narrow minded. Can't wait to listen again.

Unforgettable and disturbing - brilliant!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was seriously incredible. Dark and twisty and reminiscent of Lord of Flies.

Listen to this, It will take you on one heck of a journey

WOW. What a book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews