Pig Tales: A Novel of Lust and Transformation (New Press International Fiction)

Brand new book in great shape!

Excellent

A little out there but clever, provocative

There are a number of things about this book that I just can not stand. The out of place animal violence (murdering pets no less). The overly nonsensical plot. The leaps in logic that exist only to advance the story. There is a feeling like the author wanted to add elements of other stories (1984 comes to mind) but does so in ways that feel overly forced and make this almost unreadable.I was recommended this book by several friends and honestly, if it wasnt for the Transformations in the book, I cant fathom why I read it cover to cover (which as a fan of TF themed stories, this one while at times is a nice and slow Transformation, lacks good description in any changes other then the character gaining weight.

The subtitle of "A Novel of Lust and Transformation" caused me to hesitate before picking up this small volume. The subtitle is both accurate and a teaser - the novel never slips into crudeness even when presenting crude behaviour.The tale - a woman transforming into a pig and writing her story when she has accepted a pig life style - is a difficult story to successfully write. Darrieusseeq makes a few slips but clearly establishes herself as an author to be watched.The social message of the book is a little overbearing, a little "plastic". But the book as a whole is sufficiently interesting that the reader is willing to forgive the message.

Pig Tales tries to be a near-futuristic irony-cum-farce tale about France at the Millenium run by the ultra-right-wing, told from the perspective of a young lady who works in a "cosmetics boutique" which is in actuality a retail brothel. The various transformations within French society are mirrored in, and symbolized by, the young lady's transformation into a pig. The stream-of-consciousness writing style can be occasionally engaging, and the main character now and then exhibits a strong expository voice, but the book bogs down in an obsession with sexual expression and fetishes (the author is distinctly anally oriented)on the one hand and inept political symbolism on the other. very frustrating to the reader as there definitely is a viable story idea lurking in the background, waiting to emerge, but shut away by the authors fixation on the young lady's professional goings on. In the end, the stereotypes are so overblown that the irony is lost and the fixations on seual expression so dominating that any element of farce is buried beneath too many detailed descriptions of oversized femal buns. This book is reputed to have been a "literary sensation" in France. If so, it goes a long way towards explaining why the French invest so much time and energy in reliving their past glories. If this is literature over there, then the term French Culture has taken on the aspects of an oxymoron. A major disappointment. END

After looking at the front and back covers I feared this might be yet another overhyped little novel about sex by an overhyped writer - a book that would start with a sprint and then run out of ideas after 40 pages. Although the novel sags half way through, it recovers well and exceeded expectations. Apart from the obvious winks at Orwell and Kafka, the book also reminded me of Zahavi's Dirty Weekend and Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. It's like a Will Self novel, except that it it has humour, heart, narrative skill...and truffles. Four Oinks.