THE INSECT FARM
Stuart Prebble
Alma Books
REVIEW: Denzil Moyaga
THROUGHOUT the course of life, the thread of cause and effect is always seen. In Stuart Prebble’s chilling suspense The Insect Farm, we are reminded of this phenomenon as it forms the backbone to the story of the Maguire brothers who have more in common than blood. A master storyteller who conveyed to us the funny but true grievances of people of a certain age as writer and executive producer of the BBC’s Grumpy Old series, and who gave a glimpse of the Falklands war through the scopes of
Britain’s most famous submarine (Secrets of the Conqueror), Prebble gets to new depths in his latest compelling offering.
Growing right before us from early childhood in the 1960s, Jonathan and Roger display an unbreakable bond. This is slightly broken by their objects of affection. Jonathan is obsessed with his high school sweetheart Harriet, whom he soon marries, but the relationship is not without its hurdles. For Roger, his deep fixation is a collection of different species of insects that he starts at the back of their parents’ house from a young age. There, he becomes the “benevolent god”. But herein lies the dynamic, despite being the
older of the two by six years, Roger has an underdeveloped mental capacity that has him closely watched and cared for.
Told in Jonathan’s version of events, one can be forgiven for almost forgetting about Roger or not placing much responsibility
on him because of his disability. But Prebble makes Jonathan interact with the reader as he writes his tale with a scene developing into something of a confessional, and the reader on the other side of the pages as if assigned the task of deciding his fate.
Along with challenges, the mysterious death of their parents contributes in dropping a row of dominoes to form an
unexpected life pattern. If there is a feeling of a big elephant in the story, it would be irony; while Jonathan’s life,as ordinary as it seems, ismarked by jealousy and possessivenessover Harriet (made worse by Brendan Harcourt, who makes no secret of his desire for Harriet) leads him on a downward spiral, Roger’s labour of love, the insect farm, flourishes and becomes a thing of science journals. It is this element in the book that formsthe keyhole view that the farm would play much more of a crucial part in their lives.
Balance scales tip as Jonathan learns he is not the only man in Harriet’s life – who turns up dead, leading to
Jonathan staging a cover-up. The rush of the situation leaves the reader pondering which steps to take from here,
and Jonathan puts on an impressive act. But, unbeknown to him, someone or something else has been working in his favour.
What is unavoidable in this chilling masterpiece is evolution, more interestingly on the part of Roger, of whom it becomes apparent that his child-like mind may just be a cocoon intended to crack open at the right moment. A shocking revelation is made within the walls of the farm while the brothers look back on the years, which provides much needed closure. In the end, it is Roger’s tireless
work that becomes the glue bringing them closer than ever as they grasp the meaning of family and sacrifice.
Get ready to discover a stunning connection between one of the brothers and the author, that warrants some answers.