THE PIG COMES TO DINNER [Hardcover]

Joseph Caldwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2009

Enjoy a “second helping” from the obstreperous creature that romped so riotously through The Pig Did It with this sequel The Pig Came to Dinner.

All of the charming characters of the previous story are also present again: Kitty McCloud and her new husband/former blood enemy Kieran Sweeney have bought an ancient Irish castle with the profits from Kitty’s popular revisions of classic novels like Jane Eyre. Kitty’s American cousin, Aaron McCloud, has arrived to visit with his new wife, the former swineherd Lolly McKeever. With them is a troublesome and unwelcome pig, a wedding gift they are redelivering to Kitty and Kieran.

But over the resulting lighthearted discord hangs a weightier problem: Kitty’s new home is inhabited by a pair of ghosts from out of the castle’s troubled past. How this haunting couple is dealt with serves only to embellish the allure and humor of Mr. Caldwell’s uniquely theatrical storytelling.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Caldwell's fun second installment to his Pig Trilogy (after The Pig Did It), Irish writer Kitty McCloud and husband Kieran Sweeney battle to stave off specters threatening to destroy their newfound nuptial bliss. The beautiful ghosts of Taddy and Brid haunt Castle Kissane, the couple's new abode, as well as their dreams and desires. Then the very real Lord Shaftoe appears after his family's two-century-long absence to reclaim the keep. Onto the scene trots the lesbian pig, whose ramblings and rootings could destroy the lovely estate—or help save it. Throughout, the whimsical tale is held aloft by a fanciful if sometimes long-winded lyricism that well conveys the spirit of its Irish setting and characters. In this story, humor and sadness, the past and the present, all live side-by-side, and it is all Kitty can do to tell them apart, much less keep the ghosts at bay. (May)
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From School Library Journal

This second in a projected trilogy begun with The Pig Did It reintroduces readers to the wildly successful and volatile author of "corrected" classic novels, Kitty McCloud; her hard-working husband, Kieran Sweeney; Kitty's swine-herding nephew, Aaron McCloud; and the nameless pig with a twitching pink nose for trouble. Rolling in royalties, Kitty and Kieran purchase an ancient Irish castle in County Kerry only to discover that their new demesne is haunted by the ghosts of young lovers Taddy and Brid, wrongfully accused of treason and executed 200 years before. Kitty and Kieran's desire to release the tragic pair from limbo is complicated by the appearance of Lord Shaftoe, the alleged rightful owner of the castle. Meanwhile, the mischievous pig sets in motion a chain of events that ultimately reveals the surprising resolution to everyone's problems. This charming, at times hilarious tale serves as a satisfying story as well as a quiet commentary on the sympathetic relationship between imagination and compassion.—J. Greg Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: Delphinium (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188328533X
• ISBN-13: 978-1883285333
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #954,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Woefully disappointing, August 1, 2009

By 

Pam Sz (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: THE PIG COMES TO DINNER (Hardcover)

I couldn't have been more disappointed in this second in a planned trilogy. Where did the author of the first book go?! The plot is ridiculous and the characters barely resemble themselves from the first book. I kept reading to the end because I just couldn't believe that as delighted as I was with "The Pig Did It", I was equally as distraught with the lack of anything noteworthy in this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST FOR ALL WHO LOVE IRELAND, CASTLES, GHOSTS, PIGS, AND ROMANTIC COMEDY--ESPECIALLY WHEN EQUALLY MIXED, September 7, 2009

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: THE PIG COMES TO DINNER (Hardcover)

It was four start at the beginning, but as the pages were read, turned, and wallowed in with snorting glee, it soon became a full 5-star book. True, I'm an Irish descendant, but County Donegal, not County Kerry. True I grew up on a farm and we only owned one pig. Ghosts I seldom go looking for, but in this book, they became as real and acceptable to the reader as they did to Kitty McCloud and Kieran Sweeney, who now shares their castle haunt.

True again, I'm a male, but this is not a sappy, emotional, bedroom-scene juicy romance. It's an honest, couple-in-love, story that happens to take place in an old castle, haunted a bit by another romantically inclined couple that were hung by the rope until dead, many years before. He's a harpist, she's a weaver, so all of the romantic arts and crafts are included in this country setting of one of the most beautiful locations in all the world, County Kerry, Ireland. I've been there.

I've also been to Dingle Town, a location yet rich in the Gaelic language common use, including all traffic signs.

OK, so in "THE PIG COMES TO DINNER" we have a common but sweet couple newly married and moving into a very old castle. Of course the appearance of Taddy and Brid (the ghostly pair you'll learn to love) create the need to discover the secrets behind the castle, behind the family feud, and behind the deaths of the young pair that now haunt the abode.

What about the PIG? Well in Ireland, pigs are seldom seen, a true reason for which I never understood while visiting, nor is it disclosed in this romantic comedy by Caldwell. Maybe I'd know more if I'd read the first of the trilogy first, a task I now have before me. It didn't make any difference in my enjoying this book, being out of order. I did notice in this book, and references to the pig's past, that this particular pig fails to remain secluded. It was noted that the pig was gifted because the pig behavior included it occasionally flirtatiously accommodated other she-pigs.

One of the best ways to recommend a book is to quote favorite lines such as:
"Kitty's jealous belief that Kieran is romantically involved with the executed girl, Brid."
"'There's a pig standing in my way staring at me.' Lord Shaftoe paused, then, with offended astonishment, added, 'Oh, and now it's--well, really!'"
"The musicians' instruments were already in place at the far side of the wooden platform, the boards raised so that the slap and stomp of the dancer's feet would resonate and thrum beyond the percussive sounds that characterized the Kerry dances. Guinness in kegs was at the ready..."

Joseph Caldwell, author, is quite the Irish seanchai (storyteller).
Next is "THE PIG ENTERS HOG HEAVEN".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pig II, January 12, 2011

By 

Deborah B. Blackburn "yes I still read" (Atlanta, Ga) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Pig Comes to Dinner (Paperback)

This second enstallment of the Pig saga is better than the first (The Pig Did It).
The personalities of the main characters are already established and very understandable in their actions. Being of Irish decent I recognized everyone in this book, including the pig.