Customer Reviews

Pig Tale

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

 

 

Powerfully spun tale, both compelling and unflinching in its portrayal of 'scapegoating.' The tale builds around the cruel abuse and treatment of Mokie, a young girl abandoned at birth. While beautifully written, each chapter compounds the injustices served on this likeable protagonist. The reader never enjoys a sense of equality for Mokie -- justice is never served -- hardships are not incurred for those who make her life so miserable. Tightly written with intriguing characterizations in an original voice, this novel is hard to put down, and even harder to forget. Vivid and graphically described assaults make this a book unsuitable for sensitive readers.

I admit from the get-go that I couldn't put it down. It is wonderfully written and the story line pulls you in right away. However, I found this book in the youth section, and there are parts of this book that are very adult. It is, simply, a coming-of-age book, complete with first mensturation, fondling, rape and finally sex (more than once). I tried to look over that because I was so drawn by the story, but then I was just frustrated by the end of the book. Many questions are left unanswered, and the reader is left to draw conclusions for which you're not prepared.
I commend the writer for the beautiful story-telling, but this story could have taken a slightly different direction with the ending, giving more hope. You feel just a little lost at the end, not sure if something good or bad just happened and the slightly uneasy feeling that the bad thing will probably happen again.

Verlyn Flieger's fiction debut makes for a wonderful and moving read. The character of Mokie, the castoff child who is taken in by a band of mysterious gypsies, is beautifully drawn, and Mokie's story is consistently engaging. Flieger's knowlegde of mythology (the jacket sleeve says she is a professor of comparative mythology) stands her in good stead, particularly when she is dealing with the gypsies themselves, who seem somehow to be both real and not of this world.

I would also like to take exception to a previous reviewer's criticism of the book's rape scene. It is the obligation of good fiction to render the world it encompasses as clearly and honestly as possible. What happens to Mokie is terrible, yes, but such things do happen, and Flieger handles the scene with grace and sensitivity, particulary in describing Mokie's reactions during and after the trauma. The episode is in no way gratuitous, but allows the reader even greater insight into the heroine and her world.

Again, this is a fine, fine book -- I look forward to seeing what this author does next.

Pig Tale is one of the finest and most enjoyable books I've read for many months. The characters are finely drawn and soon become warm friends; the mythic themes so deftly and unobtrusively woven throughout obviously reflect the author's extensive knowledge in the field; the plotting is deft and holds you like the most gripping of mysteries. But it is the writing that is so superb, so compelling. The writing is lyrical and delightful, mesmerizing, drawing you in so deeply that at the end your impulse is to return to the first page and start again. Pig Tale is a wonderful book for people of all ages. I only hope that there is a sequel forthcoming soon, very soon.

I really liked this book. But because of the detail. I think that the main reason why a lot of people are saying it's dark is because of the rape. I think that she gets inside the characters head. Each of them. I mean this is life. This is what happens. A lot of books just dab over things. I mean when you're raped, thats what you feel, she wrote what you feel. She didn't just say it hurt. She explained step by step what was happening through Mokie's eyes. Step by step. There are thousands, millions, so many woman out there. That can read this book, and look at Mokie, and go-I can relate, and say look this is what happened to her, and look how she got through it, she got through it. And sometimes you want to kill the people who hurt you, and in the end she chose not to. I mean there is way more to this book. The fact that is detailed makes you feel, makes you understand what Mokie is going through.

I would actually give this book a three-four rating. It was a wonderful book.

And I recommend that if you're one of those type of people who can't handle a journey as painful and finding as this book is, not to read it.

Because it's a hard book to read, but it is also a heart-wrenching book as well.

One day, a foundling is discovered on the edge of the village of Little Wicken, the night after a storm. The young girl grows up to be Mokie, which means "pig girl". Without a true family, Mokie feels safest when she is with the pig herd, especially when she's deep in Wickenwood, the mysterious forest that's nearby. It's not until Mokie bonds with Apple, the 13th baby pig of a sow, who also happens to be born during a storm, that Mokie experiences many emotions for the first time. A rape scene marks the turning point for Mokie, for she flees with Apple in Wickenwood and eventually meets up with a trio of supposed gypsies. The details in this book were great, and the whole fairy tale felt like it was written more for grownups. A couple of times I got a bit lost with what the "gypsies" were talking about, but for the most part, it was a good first book by the author.

The first thing that strikes the reader of this novel is the author's powers of description. She evokes the village of Little Wicken, its surrounding fields and forests, the dirt and cold of Mokie's daily life, the food and clothes of the gypsies, and the barely glimpsed Crystal Country with a potency that remains in your imagination long after you close the book.

The second thing that impresses the reader is the complexity of the characters and their relationships. Mokie, her cruel family, the powerful Skimmer, the whimsical and loving Lally Dai, and the mysterious Dogger John are delineated with thoughtfulness and care, and the result is a rich display of emotions and interactions that is always compelling and never predictable. Even the minor characters (such as the boy who plays happily with Mokie, who abandons her and fails to protect her from the lust of her step-brother, and who then out of shame and regret brings her food in the forest) are carefully drawn.

Third, as we follow the sad thread of Mokie's life and attempt to discern the mysterious relationships between Mokie, Lally, and Red Sorcha, we perceive that the story is laid upon a foundation of myth in which sacrifice and death result in resurrection, renewal, and fertility, a myth that finds its forebears in Native North and South American mythologies as well as in the ancient Scandinavian stories. In fashioning her narrative around a core myth, Flieger transmutes her expertise in world mythology and Tolkien into art, her precise scholarly writing into the graceful prose of fiction. And it is not until the last page that we comprehend the significance of the characters' relationships and the power of the myth of Mokie and Red Sorcha.

Because the novel is enriched by a myth, the story carries many meanings and supports symbolic and metaphoric interpretations. Foremost, it is a novel that all of us can relate to, for all of us have experienced times when we feel that nobody understands us and nobody wants us. Also, it is a novel of an orphaned outcast girl's coming of age and her triumphant healing after a tragic and shattering event. But, in addition, it is a novel about the evil that can result when communities unthinkingly care too much for conformity and not enough for individuality, when gregarious fear of what is different and unknown results in violence to quell that fear. And, it is a story that reminds us that we must find value in everyone, especially in those persons who are shunned by the kind of collective stupidity and unquestioned prejudice that still thrives in many communities, not just in backwater villages like Little Wicken.

I rarely review online and I certainly rarely review a book negatively, but this book needed to be edited much more carefully and does something almost unforgiveable. A rape scene in this book goes far beyond apalling or even heartbreaking. It is bad enough that the steps to it read like a list, but the author steps out and speaks in her own voice to say of the boys involved in a gang rape, "None of them had ever done it either .... Now they would watch and learn." It reads as if the author is giving instructions on how to perform a rape. I am quite sure this was not the intention of either the author or the editor, but it is hard for me to feel the book can redeem itself from such a scene where young readers are involved. In addition, the protagonist reads more like a nine year old than a fifteen year old and the writing style seems unpolished to me.The author tells far too much,instead of showing and thereby making the reader believe. It is nice that it delves into Celtic mythology, but that is not a justification for other inadequacies in this book.

This book was not quite what I was expecting when I found it in the young adults section. It's certainly more graphic than I would have expected, but not inappropriately so.

There were a few rather distracting editing mistakes, but Flieger's brilliant weaving of mythology, various concepts from her Tolkien scholarship, and original content more than make up for it. Her story is haunting and leaves a lot to think about. Although this novel is meant for young adult readers, I think it may be more fully appreciated by more mature readers with a full understanding of mythology. Flieger's style of slipping into telling over showing, at times, fits into her over-arching mythological structure and provides the proper balance between Mokie as a loveable character and Mokie as a mythological figure.

In the spirit of fairness I want to begin my review with a confession: I adore Dr. Flieger. In 2007 I took her graduate seminar on Tolkien at UMCP, and from the very beginning I admired her on several levels. Because of this my review may be partial, but my enjoyment of her novel is very real.

Pig Tale is a fairy tale of the classic sort, before the creation of childhood and the evolution of "age-appropriate" ideas for children's literature. It is dark and occasionally repulsive as it honestly presents some of the darker traits that come with small (and large) communities. The surreality of fairy tales and magic is limited, allowing Flieger's novel to function as a traditional folktale rather than a contemporary fantasy, dripping in mythology and tricks. The story carries a timeless and placeless quality that will allow it a kind of longevity, and the characters themselves are as real as they are ugly. The reader grows with Mokie, and the careful pacing of the novel allows for a high level of interest that is ultimately rewarded.

Technically, Pig Tale is published as a young adult novel, but I think it is worthy of a larger audience. I thoroughly enjoyed my own reading, and can't wait to read it to my boys.