Customer Reviews

Pig (Harvest Book)

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

 

 

Cowan's "Pig" is, on the surface, a very simple tale of a boy who mourns the loss of his grandmother and takes care of her pig. Along the way, he gets involved with a Pakistani girl he goes to school with. However, "Pig" is so much more.

Danny is an outsider, as is Surinder. He is such a sad and lonely person, my heart broke time and time again for him. Just as my heart broke for Surinder. Just as my heart broke for Danny's grandfather. And just as my heart broke for the pig.

I highly recommend this novel. The writing is so simple it takes time to understand just what a complex human tale you are reading. However, once you begin to understand, this novel will haunt you long after you have finished.

You can feel the emotions of this young boy as he tells of his life after the death of his grandmother, whose pet pig he has decided to care for. He also takes the responsibility of visiting his infirm grandfather -- both are outsiders in their neighborhood and family except for one young Pakistani girl -- the only touch of sweetness in both their lives.

By chance I happened to pick this book up at The Strand in NYC, along with Peter Hoeg's "Borderliners," and Russell Banks' "Rule of the Bone." Each alleged "coming of age" novels. Only Pig could offer the perfect mixture of endearment and believability while providing the insights of a 15 year old boy who struggles to embrace the natural course of maturity in a socially adolescent world. Readers might be deterred by the series of digressions that appear periodically, but read assured that each culminates into a singular understanding of the narrator's acceptance of personal responsibility and the nature of his environment. At the of the novel, I feel disappointed that I have no more opportunities to interact with the narrator

I'd like to say it was as heart felt and as touching as Sounder or Where The Red Ferns Grow, but it wasn't. I'd like to say the that the maturation process of the main character is unique and intriquing like that of a Holden Caulfield, but its not. Andrew Cowan has the all the craft to make Pig a great read but craft isn't reason enough to want to continue turning the pages.

I'm from the same town as Andrew Cowan and in fact do know him. His brother gave me this book while on a visit to New Zealand. Andrew's evocation of the town in this book is a beautifully crafted literary replica of a physical place. I recognised every street, house and character he wrote about without having to know the names. An eerie book really.

I'm sorry, but I have to say that this book didn't go anywhere. It started off with some heart-felt feeling and there were times in the story that you can really feel the depression, loneliness and sadness but the story never fully developed and it left you wondering. I kept waiting for "Pig" to take off and get to the point of what Mr. Cowan was trying to make but it fell short of the mark repeatedly. I feel that overall, this book could have been so much better. It had a lot of potential but it just didn't make the grade. I gave it three stars for it's originality and for the emotion that certain parts of the story evoke.