Customer Reviews

The Christmas Pig: A Fable

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Read this book; it is the essence of Christmas. Bejamin, a ten year old artist, struggles to both paint a traditional Nativity and to explain to his friend Valerie, a pig, why she alone of all the animals in the family barn cannot be shown with the Baby Jesus. Benjamin learns about friendship and love, and we all learn that Love truly comes at Christmas. I smiled, I laughed, and I cried. This is a classic. Thank you, Mr. Friedman.

Don't judge this book by its cover. After reading its 162 pages, I feel that Mr. Friedman has succeeded in interpreting the nativity scene anew in a pertinent, meaningful, unforgettable way. I would never have guessed. I would recommend it for readers 12 and above - the plot takes place in a time when heretics were starved or burned to death, and there is a mention of that on the first page. And the ending is not easy, not trivial. But if you persevere through the first chapters you will meet a 10 year old boy orphan artist Benjamin who has never spoken a word in his life, never felt at home, never missed anything or anyone. You will also meet Valorie, a talking pig. Do persevere! You will be glad you did.

I was expecting humor, but what I got was a wonderful, heartwarming story of a little boy and his best friend who just happens to be a pig. This is a true Christmas story. Read it!

Kinky is an excellent writer of somewhat offbeat mysteries. This was a foray into different waters for him. I believe this is one of the best books I have read in the past couple of years and I read about a hundred books per year. This story about an artistic boy who doesn't speak and a pig who does gives meaning to the truth of the Christmas story; this truth is most often ignored or lost during the chaotic frenzy of gift buying. Defintely a five star. I'd reccomend it to anyone who likes fables and/or the Christmas story.

Paul Amundson

I thought it was going to be funny, based on Mr. Friedman's comments general behavior, but it quickly became quite unusual, and then turned into a poignant and lovely story. The book I read was from the local public library, but I enjoyed it so much that I am purchasing it for my own bookshelf.

This is certainly not a great book but it is a very good one. It bears rereading once a year at the holiday season. I bought this book for my 8 year old grandson and wound up keeping it myself. I'll probably give it to him when he's thirteen. There's a little mystery to the story which makes it a nice read for adults and yet the story is simple enough to be appreciated by children. Not your typical Christmas story and yet in a way it is.

this is the second kinky book i've read, the first was his hold 'em book.

so a novel by him about a talking pig during this christmas season seemed fascinating this time of year,
and i enjoyed the book from beginning to end.

the last chapter, two pages long, were the most touching description of heaven i've read,
and it made me cry tears of joy and delight - and i'm an athiest!

some of his sentences i would read over and over, in how well he phrases phrases so well.

it reminded me of babe, the story of a talking pig, and of charlottes' web;
also of stephen colbert's i am american and so am i,

if you like kinky, you may also enjoy the cd book Wigfield. by colbert and sedaris siblings. absolutely hilarous!). buy the cd rom, not the book, as the voices they all do are so unique and crazy and trashy and stupid! Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not

i sent the book to my mom to read, and she said she couldn't stand it, and didn't finish it.
at least she sent it back to me.

A friend recommended this book as a great Christmas story. What was she thinking? The book is dreadful -- both the writing and the story. I apologize to Kinky Friedman fans, but each book should be judged on its merits, and this one fails far more than it succeeds. The first third/half of the book is so slow it is agonizing to read, partially because the author repeats himself over and over and over and over (see how annoying that is?) Is this some sort of bizarre writing device or does he simply have nothing to say and is trying to fill the pages to reach an agreed upon book length? It became so tiresome I began complaining out loud as I was reading.

Other reviewers have laid out a basic storyline, so I won't waste time doing the same. Most people seem fine with the author's handling of the plot, I am not. The story is contrived, filled with inconsistencies and quite depressing. And I do not consider the ability to make a reader cry evidence of a great writer or a great story. Manipulating a reader is easy -- write about starving puppies and most anyone will cry -- that doesn't take skill or mastery of the language. As a reader, I felt badly used by Friedman's shabbily constructed fable, and I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

Whatever you do, do not gather little ones around you and read this book aloud to them unless you want to comfort broken-hearted weeping children and want to spend the holidays struggling to revive their Christmas spirit.

First of all you have to understand Kinky. If you have no sense of humor, no sense of wonder, and understand that he's irreverant, a Jew and a warped sense of humor...you might miss the message.

Not what I expected from Kinky...well done my Texas, cigar smoking Friend.

This is an unlikely source for a Christmas fable, but it is absolutely wonderful. It is reminiscent of Charlotte's Web but original enough to score on its own. I gave it to three friends this holiday.