The Complete Lockpick Pornography

I needed to read it twice to get over the shock of the words written on the page. Comeau wrenches the reader for the first page and made me experience a visceral hatred for the primary character. I hated the way the characters were portrayed; their behaviors atrocious. But, I felt like I was missing something vital. After over a week I started the journey of reading this book for the second time. I found myself identifying with the characters I had hated so deeply only a few days ago. It is not easy strolling through a meadow easy. It is hard and rough. Comeau makes you think; makes you respond to what is at first sight unloveable characters. I will be reading this again and again.

It is my firm opinion that Joey Comeau will be remembered with the likes of Patricia Highsmith and Albert Camus as one of our most idiosyncratic and important novellists. He repeatedly strikes a certain balance between whimsicality and darkness that I believe is present in all of us, but is so infrequently expressed. The two novellas collected here - his first, Lockpick Pornography, and his latest, its thematic sequel We All Got It Coming - demonstrate just how versatile Joey is as a writer. The same theme is dealt with in the most opposite ways possible, yet presented with the same trademark offbeat humour and unflinching honesty.Both of these books are absolute joys to read, despite also being ostensibly depressing. The wit is biting, but it's a love bite. There is gut wrenching hilarity within these pages, but it serves to strengthen the genuine messages. My biggest fear is that this collection will be designated to the "gay literature" section of bookshops, because it is not "gay literature". It is "everyone literature".If you want to feel good and also kind of bad and have a laugh but also maybe change your life, you should pick up this book.

I have read many of Joey's books and short stories and have truly enjoyed the majority of them. The Complete Lockpick Pornography takes the proverbial cake. It's a very tasty cake too, none of that supermarket overly-sweet business. This is a cake baked with truth, compassion, honest exploration, secrets, human error, friendship, and sexiness. Probably because Joey is honest, sexy, and full of secrets...OR so he seems.The first story is pretty much how I remember my childhood, my friends, sex, and identity. I'm sure it was actually nothing like in the story, but that's how I remember it and isn't that what is really important? None the less, you should read the story. It's inspiring, challenging, and fun.The second story reminds me of my relationship with my partner, but I'm not the main character...my partner is. Once again, you should read the story. Then hug someone. You don't have to love them, but maybe you should consider it. Loving people can be tough, but really exciting and rewarding too. Maybe just start with a hug first.Thanks for the great adventures, Joey.

Buy this now. The book comes packaged in two sections, Lockpick pornography and We all got it coming. Lockpick pornography is one of the funniest, tenderest stories I have ever had the fortune to come across, a perfect balance of brutality and bittersweet emotion. It is chock full of jokes, sex, violence, more jokes, and the sort of writing you want to carve into your chest. Comeau's signature style is evident from the off, and his capacity to turn violent sex into romance is staggering to behold. We all got it coming is a love story, and a love story you need to read. If you like books or making fires or being outside or being inside or war or peace or skateboards or bicycles or sunshine or rain or whatever, just read the bloody book. A knife-edge of violence and love, of fear and aggression, this is as close to perfect as you are likely to get.Buy this book.

I love this book. Joey Comeau really speaks to my angry queer little heart. The Complete Lockpick Pornography is a wonderfully dark and beautiful story that sucker punches you on page one and never lets up.I came here to buy it for my boyfriend, and I hope he loves it just as much.

This is the fourth time I'm buying some version of Lockpick Pornography. I bought three copies to hand out to my friends, and would have bought more if I weren't so broke. I once stayed up during someone else's night shift and read the entire book to them, even though I had to take over for them in the morning. That is how much I love it.If you're undecided, just read the first few sentences. It starts out great and doesn't lose steam.

I've read most of this authors works, and Lock Pick Pornography was one o my favorite stories. It is an interesting tale, at times a bit confusing, but fun and whimiscal and a good read if you're feeling sad and need some cheering up. At least that's how it is for me....I highly recommend it.

a good read, so read it

I'll start by saying that I loved the book very much and its one of my new favourites!The book contains two stories, but both are about dealing with homophobia. In the first one the characters give in to anger, in the second one they try not to! They're both written in the first person which I love and the voices are so believable and human.So yup the first story is very angry but it is also funny and touching! It asks a lot of questions about gender and how to deal with hate. I am left with lots of questions too! Also lots of hot sex. Good.The second story is much nicer and I think sadder. The main character gets pushed down the stairs when a co-worker finds out that he's into guys, but he decides not to retaliate but this has the consequences of feelings. It made me sad, in a good way!So...buy it and read it? Joey Comeau is an amazing writer

I first read this online in a library years ago, when I was too broke to buy anything that was not food.I am glad that I can afford to buy it now and support great writing like this.The characters are angry, young and trying to figure things out. They are all so loveably flawed and fun to read about.I don't want to say too much and spoil any of it.

Argh, some pretty problematic narratives. The book was.. readable, but I found that it was laced with transphobia, misogyny, and casual use of homophobic slurs. The main character is a gay male who takes every opportunity to enact his own hate crimes (or at very least reproduce oppressive discourse) against the queer community (pretending to be a woman to trick a lesbian into kissing him at a dance; essentializing gender and purposefully misgendering a trans person throughout the novel) ... in the name of social justice of course. I found the storyline to be extremely juvenile. Although some may argue that it is the characters that are juvenile and problematic, there is no opportunity made to the reader to step outside of and critically reflect upon the story and nothing to suggest that the author himself understood why his characters are problematic.