The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Original and hard-hitting.
Punch you in the gut and face. Mmmmm. This one, I felt it in my heart, my bones and my head hurt.
August and Jack. This is the story of their relationship but at its heart, it is so much more than that. The overwhelming emotion I had during this story was anger.
I wasn’t angry at August and Jack though, I was angry at the characters we didn’t really know. The absent adults: the parents, the teachers, the counselors. Where were all the people who should have been helping, leading and influencing these boys lives?
Anyone?
The story closely follows August and Jack during the course of their increasingly codependent relationship.
Is that relationship good?
It’s powerful. I wouldn’t call it good.
Is that relationship confusing?
Darn right, it is.
Is that relationship healthy?
Definitely not.
Jack is suffering from hallucinations that are getting worse. He confides in August, his best friend and together they try to navigate this new and disordered world. We get a lot of insight into Jack’s world and it is chaotic and bizarre. It was very sad to me to consider how scary and desperate that must be.
August, who cares not only for himself but his completely useless mother, is used to the role of caregiver and he throws himself into that role in his relationship with Jack. You see, Jack’s parents are also missing in action, ALL THE TIME. Both boys have essentially been abandoned by their parents so it is not surprising that they turn to one another in their darkest hours of need.
While I think it would be easy to focus on the codependency of the boys relationship, I think it is important to see the details of what is going on behind the scene. What propelled the boys into the circumstances we find them in during the course of the book. The absentee adults are the real villains here and I think it is significant to recognize how their choices influence the kids around them.
The story itself, although not literally ‘stream of consciousness’, reminded me a lot of some stream of consciousness works that I have read, in that it was disjointed and muddled. I think that makes sense though as a way to tell this story. The story of Jack and August is disjointed and confusing. They are experiencing their life this way. Why shouldn’t the reader go along for the ride in the same vein?
I also found the format of the book itself, how the pages get increasingly darker the farther you get into the story (Hardcover Edition) contributed to my overall enjoyment while reading. It was a very unique way to experience a story such as this and I really want to applaud whoever was responsible for coming up with that concept. Whether it was the author herself or someone at the publishing house, I found it super effective and impressive.
Overall, I was very moved by this story. It felt so original and like it was an important (I feel like I have been using that word a lot in this review) story to tell. I was hovering somewhere around a 4-to-4.5-star rating throughout the course of the story but after reading the Author’s Note, I had to bump it up to a 5. I will definitely pick up anything else K. Ancrum writes. Very impressive.
Original: I am very excited to be picking up this beautiful book tomorrow as part of the Dragons & Tea Book Club
Anyone else joining in the fun??
