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A review by lavenderbutch
Lockpick Pornography by Joey Comeau
5.0
I wish I could rate this four and a half. I think I may go back and change it to five stars once I process this book.
In his rage the protagonist is often blind to the aforementioned real change. He chooses rage at the oppressors over kindness and even community with others damaged by systemic oppression. He's punk but only for the rage, not for the collective action and definitely not for the community. He preaches gender is a construct but can't even deconstruct it for himself when one of his friends comes out as a trans guy, or when he (as a gay man) continues to have sex with trans women because he sees them as men. He does so while weaponizing the language of Queer theory to further his motives. Even when prompted to self-reflection and growth, he still chooses not to and instead continues with unchecked rage, endangering those around him both by meaningful intent and by proxy.
He is a thoroughly unlikeable character, but that isn't to say the reader is left without empathy throughout the story. In fact, there are times where the thought process of the protagonist is startlingly familiar. I empathize greatly with his anger at the systems that be, though perhaps not the manifestations of it. As the reader, I was frustrated with the protagonist almost getting it, almost really understanding what it means to fight back. But then falling so short. And it made the story all the better.
Technically, it was fantastically written. I find frustrating characters do well with a shorter book and this delivered while still covering all of the bases in characterization, plot, and pacing.
In his rage the protagonist is often blind to the aforementioned real change. He chooses rage at the oppressors over kindness and even community with others damaged by systemic oppression. He's punk but only for the rage, not for the collective action and definitely not for the community. He preaches gender is a construct but can't even deconstruct it for himself when one of his friends comes out as a trans guy, or when he (as a gay man) continues to have sex with trans women because he sees them as men. He does so while weaponizing the language of Queer theory to further his motives. Even when prompted to self-reflection and growth, he still chooses not to and instead continues with unchecked rage, endangering those around him both by meaningful intent and by proxy.
He is a thoroughly unlikeable character, but that isn't to say the reader is left without empathy throughout the story. In fact, there are times where the thought process of the protagonist is startlingly familiar. I empathize greatly with his anger at the systems that be, though perhaps not the manifestations of it. As the reader, I was frustrated with the protagonist almost getting it, almost really understanding what it means to fight back. But then falling so short. And it made the story all the better.
Technically, it was fantastically written. I find frustrating characters do well with a shorter book and this delivered while still covering all of the bases in characterization, plot, and pacing.