Protagonist Frank Cauldham, 16 years old, lives with his insane father in a lonely house in the Scottish Highlands. Away from the protective embrace of family, Frank develops his own fantasy world of cruelty and punishment, a counter-reality defined by rituals and totems. When his brother, who has been sent to a mental institution, escapes to uncover the secrets of their family, Frank's world begins to unravel, especially since he has already committed three murders. Iain Banks' debut novel "The Wasp Factory" is a wild, angry mix of "The Tin Drum" and "American Psycho." Partly a psychopathic insight into a teenage killer, partly a darkly humorous Scottish family story, the book was both celebrated and condemned upon its release in 1984.