Customer Reviews

The Pig Did It

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is 250 pages of pure delight--a farce, a romance, and a literary satire all rolled into one package of amusement. It's a departure for an author whose novels have often illuminated the darker side of human experience, yet I'm betting you'll find this comedy of grave matters to be laugh-provoking and oddly uplifting.

Your enjoyment of "The Pig Did It" can probably be predicted by your reaction to the following (relatively typical) paragraph:

"Remember the day he saved the four sons of Maggie Kerwin and the two sons of Sally Fitzgibbon, with their boat going down in the storm sent from the north. ... Lost in the waves and found and lost again, with the mountains falling right on top of him. Remember the seething water hissing at his valor, raging that he should defy them all -- the waves, the rocks, and all the nibbling fishes below. This was the day he dived down and brought up the four sons of Maggie Kerwin and the two sons of Sally Fitzgibbon, and only him still able to holler. And remember the rescue of Hanrahan's goat with the barn burning, and Kate's cat plucked from the high branches of the oak, and his clothes ripped open for all to see. Forget that his words were made of the night air and that he had the gift of transport like none other before him or since, that his closed eyes and open mouth were the surrender of all this world.... Remember what's there to remember and forget what's there to be forgot.

Kitty's face had turned from flesh to stone. "

This style of writing might reasonably be termed "Blarney quaint". In my experience, most native Irish people find it ridiculous, borderline offensive, and incredibly annoying, while a surprisingly high proportion of non-Irish readers react positively (the word "charming" is often invoked). This probably explains why I'm in the minority on this book. Other readers describe it as a hilarious sendup; for me it had about as much wit as a lobotomized goldfish and larded on the blarney factor to nauseating excess. Other defects included: glacial plotting, grievously bloviated prose and characters that didn't even achieve the status of caricature.

I loathed this book. But that doesn't necessarily mean you won't like it.

Aaron McCloud has come to Ireland to mourn a relationship that never was. On the bus trip to his aunt Lolly's home, the journey and his mourning are brought to a abrupt halt when the bus stops for an overturned truck and the loosed pigs wandering in the road. The beautiful swineherd seems to enjoy the adversity. This incongruity turns Aaron's head. In an attempt to impress, he is off to gallantly retrieve one of Lolly's pigs. He chases it up and up finally cresting the hill. Breathing hard, exhausted, and frustrated, Aaron gives up, turns back and soon discovers the bus and Lolly are gone and the pig that would not be caught is now following him. Once they arrive at his aunt's, the pig is put in the shed to be returned to Lolly. Before morning, the pig has escaped and dug up the garden and a shallow grave with the remains of Declan Tovey. This begins the story of The Pig Did It.

Written like a true Irishman, with as many words as possible to say as little as necessary. Caldwell does know when to stop though. The book is only 195 pages long with a delightfully funny story that seems impossible yet too strange not to be true.

The last books that caused me to laugh so hard were the Wilt farces by Tom Sharpe, over 20 years ago. The only way to describe this book is laugh out loud funny. There is no word in the English Dictionary yet, but there should be one, with all the written communication nowadays -- I suggest Louf, for "laugh out loud funny."

In this farcical murder mystery, novelist Caldwell takes us to the western shores of Ireland's County Kerry.

Aaron McCloud, grieving over unrequited love, returns from New York to his native land, where his Aunt
Kitty awaits him.

Aaron soon becomes the hapless custodian of an obstreperous porcine companion.

The plot thickens when the pig digs up the skeletal remains of Declan Tovey, and three murder suspects emerge.

Kieran Sweeney accuses Aunt Kitty of the crime, Aunt Kitty accuses Lolly McKeever, and Lolly McKeever
accuses Kieran Sweeney.

The rollicking tale is graced by a de rigueur visit to an Irish pub for libations of sour Guinness stout and a
spirited game of darts, and to a frenetic Irish wake, where Aaron's pig joins the merriment.

Caldwell's book is entertaining, and it ties up neatly. Perhaps too neatly: Given the brutal circumstances of Tovey's murder, and the shocking miscarriage of justice that ensues, the author's treatment feels flippant, his resolution pat.

If you like the comedic dialogue, mystery and surprise of "Arsenic and Old Lace" and exotic settings of Dame Agatha, you'll book a front row-seat for this one. Joseph Caldwell sets his vulnerable American protagonist on the rugged Irish coast and draws us into his tale with skill and charm. The mist and mysticism of coastal Ireland seep into Caldwell's instinctive description and fine ear for colloquial repartee. Here are memorable characters that flash with panache from a squealing snooping pig and lovelorn hero Aaron to his novelist Aunt who writes happy endings onto tragic classic novels. Trawling through Aunt Kitty's lively and deadly suitors that ebb and flow through a school of red herring, we catch the depth of Caldwell's wisdom -- love is a mystery that makes unsuspecting victims of us all. As for the next book of the Trilogy, I'm hooked.

Read out loud the first few sentences of this book and you'll hear perfect writing - crisp, almost like poetry. In fact, if you heard the Poet Laureate, Seamus Heaney reading his translation of Beowulf, his voice will echo (and not just because he's Irish).

The story is very inventive and very original, which is saying a lot these days, and quite good. I could've enjoyed another few chapters, but the ending came about rather suddenly, and so that why I only gave it 4 stars. If I could, I would've scored it 4.5.

I look forward to Caldwell's next book in this trilogy.

After another failed love, thirty-two years old creative writing teacher Aaron McCloud escapes New York to spend time with his Aunt Kitty in County Kerry, Ireland. Kitty like her nephew is a writer, but instead of instructing others she earns a lucrative living rewriting the classics. Aaron figures that the great English authors like Shakespeare and Dickens are turning in their grave.

Although he feels like a failure with his female relationships, Aaron finds a lost pig that adopts him; wherever Aaron goes the pig is sure to follow him. When the pig digging in the back yard uncovers a human skeleton, Kitty says he is the missing Declan Tovey. She believes the pig's owner, Lolly McKeever is behind the death and burial, but she won't admit even owning the pig. Although he learns Lolly had a motive for Declan's death, Aaron is attracted to her while also wonders if his aunt, who butchers the language, might be a modern day Lady Macbeth.

The western Irish countryside is rarely this much macabre fun as found in THE PIG DID IT, a terrific character study. Joseph Caldwell satirizes manners using the pig and the corpse to force everyone to wrestle in the mud, dirt and sea. The whodunit is cleverly designed not as much as a murder mystery, but more to allow readers to look deep into the souls of the prime trio especially the visiting American, who must choose between desire and blood.

Harriet Klausner

The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell describes Aaron McCloud's botched attempt at mourning a woman who failed to live up to his romantic expectations. He journeys to Ireland to stay with his aunt, a woman who writes her "versions" of classic novels. He plans to spend his days walking the beach, dwelling over his female student who refused to love him (please note that he didn't love her, he just wanted her to love him). Upon arriving, Aaron's plans are immediately derailed after a rebellious pig sets his sights on tormenting him. The pig ends up unearthing a dead body on his aunt's property, which sets up the plot for the rest of the novel. There's plenty of Irish charm, including religious conflict, family pride and stubbornness. Caldwell leaves you with the message of not dwelling on things don't matter and that you are responsible for your destiny.

The novel is funny, interesting and light. My biggest critique is that it failed to live up to its potential; I feel that the characters and the relationships between them could have been paid a lot more attention. The book isn't even 200 pages; there was definitely room to develop personalities and events. Supposedly this is the first of a trilogy, so maybe we'll get more information in the forthcoming books.

I just read The Pig Did It, by Joseph Caldwell. I am terribly disappointed in this book. I have read many good reviews of it, and I just cannot see anything in it. The main character is a boor and a jerk with far too high an opinion of himself, and his adventures reflect that. Perhaps I would like this book, with its multiple references to male genitalia, if I were a thirty-something male with an inflated ego, but being none of those, I could not like the book.

It is funny in spots, especially when the skeleton or the pig make an appearance, but those funny spots do not make up for the disappointing whole.