Iain Banks on ‘The Wasp Factory’ in The Guardian

The Guardian has posted Iain’s own take on the background to his breakthrough novel The Wasp Factory over at books.guardian.co.uk.

In the article we learn that The Wasp Factory was Iain’s sixth completed novel, and that at the time he regarded it as something of a step-backwards from his dream of becoming a published science fiction writer:

“The Wasp Factory represented me admitting partial defeat, heaving a slightly theatrical sigh, stepping reluctantly away from the gaudy, wall-size canvasses of science/space fiction to lay down my oversize set of Rolf Harris paint rollers, pick up a set of brushes thinner than pencils and – jaw set, brows furrowed – lower myself to using a more restricted palette and to producing what felt like a miniature in comparison.”

There’s plenty more insight into the origins of the book to be gained by reading the rest of the Guardian article.