Pick the Lock
Ratings4
Average rating4.3
Jane Vandermaker-Cook would like her mother back. As Jane’s mother tours the world to support the family, Jane lives and goes to school in a Victorian mansion with her younger brother and their mendacious father who confines Jane’s mother to a system of pneumatic tubes whenever she’s at home. And then there’s weirdly ever-present Aunt Finch, Milorad the gardener, and his rat, Brutus. For Jane, this all seems normal until she suddenly gains access to the files for a lifetime of security-camera videos—her lifetime.
A.S. King’s latest surrealist masterpiece follows Jane’s bizarre and brilliant journey to reconnect with her mother by breaking out of her shell and composing a punk opera.
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When I wasn't reading this it was all I could think of and that's why I read it in two days!
The beginning and all of the depictions of abuse are so genuinely harrowing that is really is a difficult read. I wasn't entirely sure the system reveal really worked for me but king is a fucking icon so she can do what she wants.
Also, the line, “Your dad said nothing was off limits,” is going to haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.
I'm not sure how to rate this because I was sick to my stomach/crying/raging the whole time I was reading it. A powerful fever dream of a story that I can't really explain right now but I do recommend it, especially if you were ever remotely interested or invested in any of King's previous work.
