The Insect Farm

The Maguire brother, Jonathan and Roger grew up the best of friends. Even though it was obvious that Roger, the older of the two boys, was developmentally delayed, they stuck together. As they grew older, Jonathan became interested in the opposite sex and Roger became fascinated with the world of insects – so much so that he built a special haven for his bugs in his parents shed, his “insect farm”. Jonathan soon falls head over heels for the beautiful Harriet, whom he meets in college, but has to leave school to care for his brother when their parents are killed in a mysterious house fire. Like a moth to flame, Jonathan cannot stay away from Harriet and the two eventually marry. What follows is a grisly murder and an even grislier cover-up. But who is guilty? And who will ultimately succumb to the insect farm? A strange and creepy little thriller

This book had me interested from the beginning which started with police drawn to what was a shed because neighbors had been complaining about the smell. Finally after numerous complaints, a war veteran told them it smelled like decaying flesh, the police arrive at the scene. What they find when they open the door are millions of insects pushing their way out, and two partial skeletons.

Then the story begins, Jonathan and his brother Roger are extremely close growing up. Roger is the older of the two but has an unspecified learning disability. The boys parents continually worry what will become of Roger when they are no longer there to care for him.

While Jonathan is away at college their is a fire in his parents home which leaves both of them dead and even after thorough investigation the mystery of how the fire started is unsolved.

Jonathan leaves school to care for Roger. There is enough insurance money to take care of both of them and they move into a home together.

Roger is obsessed with insects. He had begun his insect farm in a shed at his parents home.When they move, Jonathan purchases a large shed on an allotment close to the house. While Roger's hobby becomes more and more obsessive and complex we begin to see that Roger's mind is capable of constructing increasingly intricate ecosystems for the different insects, many of which he obtains through mail order.

Roger and Harriet, friends and lovers from college marry but it becomes increasingly hard to maintain the strong relationship with her increasing course work as well as gigs playing in a quartet which make it hard for Harriet to continue to travel back home Jonathan cannot leave Roger alone so can't travel to Newcastle .He however continues to be obsessed with her and whatever she is "up to" while she is away.

Around the middle of the book some strange things begin to happen, Roger manipulates his insects to get along together even if that means killing some of the insects which don't fit it. Jonathan continues to try to get Roger to reveal more of what happened before and during the fire which claimed their parents but Roger won't talk and all we know is that he was found crouching in the shed when fire fighters arrived.

Then a horrible act is committed which Jonathan has little memory of as he was passed out from drinking too much. There are twists and turns and time passes. Roger remains mute on the subject of the event.

What makes this book special is the relationship between the brothers which is well described. I would have liked to know more about Roger, although at that time no one really evaluated him so we are left with no real diagnosis of his illness or his capabilities.

Jonathan's role in the story seems more than a little unbelievable. To give up his education, friends and being with the love of his life is a little hard to grasp. Even so the plot is a good one and the insect farm a very original setting. I did figure out the "whodunit" but the big reveal still had some surprises.

The Insect Farm by Stuart Prebble is a fascinating look into one man's life, and his relationship with his brother. Jonathan is the younger brother of a much better looking, but also simple minded Roger. Much of this book revolves around their relationship and the impact it has on Jonathan's life.

The book is set in the 70s, and honestly, could never be placed in current day. There are a few mysterious deaths, and the use of todays technologies (cell phone signals/localization, security cameras, etc) would completely obliterate some of the mystery, providing investigators with concrete proof, something to work with. But I enjoyed it and thought it worked well.

We are never told exactly what is "wrong" with Roger. Honestly, I don't think Jonathan knows exactly, just that his brother is mentally impaired in some way and not able to function normally in society. But not any way that you would easily recognize, he is someone that can pass as "normal" at least on visual inspection. During their childhood, Roger starts working on the "insect farm". At first it seems to be a good hobby, something he can work on and be excited about. But then it becomes an obsession where he seems to be playing god to all these scurrying creatures.

Jonathan is trying to live a normal life. He goes to college, falls in love and seems to be headed there. But, his insecurities can make it difficult. And then he is called back home, leaving the "typical life" behind.

As a reader I couldn't help but theorize while reading this, trying to solve the mysteries that accrue during the story. And while I got some right, I got others wrong. There is a bit of unpredictability in this. We are seeing things from Jonathan's perspective, so we only get the information he is aware of and finds important.

This is not a speculative fiction book and I am honestly not sure what I'd classify it as. Maybe mystery? It is more a of a introspective look at the relationship between the brothers. From the description, I expected a creepier, more suspenseful book. But, I really enjoyed the book for what it is. And it definitely has a dark edge to it, sometimes books without any sort of supernatural element can actually be much more disturbing because it is a look into what humans are capable of.

After finishing, while writing my review, I chatted about this book with Lynn from Lynn's books. I loved getting to do this, because it is a book that really can cause speculation and deeper observation into the motivations of characters. After you finish, you can't help but still try to puzzle all the pieces together and look back at the entire story from the beginning and wonder about so many things that happened early on. Trying to decide if there were ulterior motives that you might have missed on the initial read.

There was one detail in the ending that is hard to accept, but overall still a fascinating story and relationship that I am sure I sill be thinking about for a while.