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drmathews777's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Disclaimer: I am not an English major college graduate - Science for me, I do not look further than what I read in a novel I receive - no deep dives on authors, my reviews are for consumers and not for authors.
I happily received an ARC of Piglet by Lottie Hazell estimated release 02/27/24 (March 2024 on the print).
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Spoiler Review with Trigger Warnings
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I don't feel that this is good for anyone who has any issues with food. Trigger warning for anorexia athletica, binge eating disorder, anyone with an unhealthy relationship with food, and people with poor boundary setting/ poor impulse control.
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Piglet is a melancholy tale of a cookbook editor who is in the throes of a scandal right before her wedding. It's like a mix of the great British bake-off and the full train wreck meltdown of the subject's personal life and love life. Heavy elements of classism and eating disorders.
Many people are describing this as a masterpiece because it's tale of someone who likes to perceive themselves a certain way coming to grips with the truth that their perfectly curated life isn't so perfect. And maybe they themselves aren't the person they think they are when it all falls apart. True vulnerability doesn't come through until its too late and clamming up, eating feelings, isolating herself got Piglet into matrimonial hell.
Page 197-198 choked me up though. The struggled through the daughter father relationship when your child knows about your past indiscretions. I had waited on baited breath on what advice her father would give her. I was swiftly reminded that there was a history of infidelity in the past so he felt some measure of requirement to back up her mother's own decisions to stay and work out out long ago.
I appreciated the self awareness of the pretense and posture of keeping up with the Jones' at this point of the novel.
I found the food element evolving from very descriptive at first to less descriptive of the actual food but more so of the volume of it a subtle way of highlighting the binge eating aspect.
What resonated with me most was page 239, "he was pulling her forward and I had to fight the urge to yank back twist my arm out of his, a child refusing, the beginnings of a tantrum". I felt the exact same with first fiancé years ago. You just want to run as soon as you know it's not right but for some reason you don't ever do it soon enough.
The transition between Piglet and Mrs. Edwards was the fever pitch of the novel. Her brother-in-law shows up for her in a great way towards the end and you can really see the family come together to be in her corner at this point.
It concluded a little abruptly but in a perfect way in my opinion.
Overall a good read. Very melancholic, very reflective on society today. If recommend it to anyone who likes reading slice of life and downward spirals.
I happily received an ARC of Piglet by Lottie Hazell estimated release 02/27/24 (March 2024 on the print).
...
...
...
Spoiler Review with Trigger Warnings
...
...
...
I don't feel that this is good for anyone who has any issues with food. Trigger warning for anorexia athletica, binge eating disorder, anyone with an unhealthy relationship with food, and people with poor boundary setting/ poor impulse control.
...
...
...
Piglet is a melancholy tale of a cookbook editor who is in the throes of a scandal right before her wedding. It's like a mix of the great British bake-off and the full train wreck meltdown of the subject's personal life and love life. Heavy elements of classism and eating disorders.
Many people are describing this as a masterpiece because it's tale of someone who likes to perceive themselves a certain way coming to grips with the truth that their perfectly curated life isn't so perfect. And maybe they themselves aren't the person they think they are when it all falls apart. True vulnerability doesn't come through until its too late and clamming up, eating feelings, isolating herself got Piglet into matrimonial hell.
Page 197-198 choked me up though. The struggled through the daughter father relationship when your child knows about your past indiscretions. I had waited on baited breath on what advice her father would give her. I was swiftly reminded that there was a history of infidelity in the past so he felt some measure of requirement to back up her mother's own decisions to stay and work out out long ago.
I appreciated the self awareness of the pretense and posture of keeping up with the Jones' at this point of the novel.
I found the food element evolving from very descriptive at first to less descriptive of the actual food but more so of the volume of it a subtle way of highlighting the binge eating aspect.
What resonated with me most was page 239, "he was pulling her forward and I had to fight the urge to yank back twist my arm out of his, a child refusing, the beginnings of a tantrum". I felt the exact same with first fiancé years ago. You just want to run as soon as you know it's not right but for some reason you don't ever do it soon enough.
The transition between Piglet and Mrs. Edwards was the fever pitch of the novel. Her brother-in-law shows up for her in a great way towards the end and you can really see the family come together to be in her corner at this point.
It concluded a little abruptly but in a perfect way in my opinion.
Overall a good read. Very melancholic, very reflective on society today. If recommend it to anyone who likes reading slice of life and downward spirals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, and Classism
torturedreadersdept's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Body horror, Classism, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying, Excrement, Grief, Cursing, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Abandonment
fleeno's review
4.0
Piglet is in her early 30s, unable to shake a childhood nickname given to her by her family, and is set to marry Kit. Piglet can't help compare their families, hers poor, Northern, thinks viennetta ice cream is the high of luxury (they're not wrong), while Kits family are proper, Tory, provide a significant deposit for their home in Oxford and are paying for a lavish wedding. Piglet works for a publishing house that specialises in books about food and her life revolves around hunger. But Piglet is convinced once she is married, she will be fully immersed in her new life and she will finally be satisfied. Then Kit reveals a secret 2 weeks before the wedding which threatens to shatter her perfect future. How do you cancel a wedding when the invitations have been sent, the guests are coming from out of town, and you've told everyone you're making your own croquembouche wedding cake?
This was such a beautifully written novel, what isn't written is just as powerful as what is. Like Piglets real name, which no one calls her, the secret Kit tells her is never spoken of and this gives it even more power. Piglet's appearance or weight is never described in detail but how Piglet views herself, the things she says to herself, how she views herself, and how others treat her is very telling - and honestly familiar. Although Piglet doesn't have an eating disorder (unlike her favoured sister) she does have a complex relationship with food and poor coping mechanisms. Piglet's family are awful. They laugh about her childhood "greediness", pick on her wedding dress, judge her house and career. Kits family similarly are awful in a different way, his mother buys Piglet a PT voucher as an engagement gift!
The writing in this book is simple, largely dialogue and descriptions of food (which serve as a metaphore) but it is so emotional. Although Piglet wasn't a particularly likable character I felt for her. The unnamed betrayal was cutting, her shame, embarrassment, fear, anxiety, were dripping from every sentence without ever being uttered. Hazell has been so clever with her choice of words and writing style, I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel.
This was such a beautifully written novel, what isn't written is just as powerful as what is. Like Piglets real name, which no one calls her, the secret Kit tells her is never spoken of and this gives it even more power. Piglet's appearance or weight is never described in detail but how Piglet views herself, the things she says to herself, how she views herself, and how others treat her is very telling - and honestly familiar. Although Piglet doesn't have an eating disorder (unlike her favoured sister) she does have a complex relationship with food and poor coping mechanisms. Piglet's family are awful. They laugh about her childhood "greediness", pick on her wedding dress, judge her house and career. Kits family similarly are awful in a different way, his mother buys Piglet a PT voucher as an engagement gift!
The writing in this book is simple, largely dialogue and descriptions of food (which serve as a metaphore) but it is so emotional. Although Piglet wasn't a particularly likable character I felt for her. The unnamed betrayal was cutting, her shame, embarrassment, fear, anxiety, were dripping from every sentence without ever being uttered. Hazell has been so clever with her choice of words and writing style, I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Eating disorder
maddie7217's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
first things first, i am obsessed with this cover. i think it is perfect, i think it is inviting, i think it is one of the most true to form book covers i’ve come across. so now let’s chat about what’s beyond the cover…
as you all may know, one of my favorite genres of book is “the angry woman”. let. me. tell. you. this book does this trope so incredibly well. in some cases, piglet’s anger in justified, in other’s it’s a reflection of her own shortcomings. she uses her anger for good, evil, and everything in between. this book tackles issues like class, norms, and societal expectations all while being themed around piglet’s sincere passion for food.
what impressed me so much about this book is how paramount the discussions of food were. so much of this book was dedicated to detailing her actions as she made different meals, descriptions of each individual ingredient, and sometimes even plans to create food or discussion of menu items. while if you told me this at face value i might turn my nose up and think ‘how fun can reading about food possibly be,’ it was so enthralling. the author used these cooking scenes as a highly effective way of expressing emotion and tension and it created a perfect storm for me as a reader.
the only thing i had hesitation about in this book was that, at the end of each chapter, there was somewhat of a “big picture” moment written in italics where another perspective was considered or deeper feelings were addressed head on. i felt that this sometimes took me out of the moment, but as i got further into the book i felt that it became more appropriate just due to the way it was being used in those later chapters.
all in all, this book was really great and i do recommend you check it out!! thank you to netgalley and lottie hazell for the arc! i’m so glad i came across it
as you all may know, one of my favorite genres of book is “the angry woman”. let. me. tell. you. this book does this trope so incredibly well. in some cases, piglet’s anger in justified, in other’s it’s a reflection of her own shortcomings. she uses her anger for good, evil, and everything in between. this book tackles issues like class, norms, and societal expectations all while being themed around piglet’s sincere passion for food.
what impressed me so much about this book is how paramount the discussions of food were. so much of this book was dedicated to detailing her actions as she made different meals, descriptions of each individual ingredient, and sometimes even plans to create food or discussion of menu items. while if you told me this at face value i might turn my nose up and think ‘how fun can reading about food possibly be,’ it was so enthralling. the author used these cooking scenes as a highly effective way of expressing emotion and tension and it created a perfect storm for me as a reader.
the only thing i had hesitation about in this book was that, at the end of each chapter, there was somewhat of a “big picture” moment written in italics where another perspective was considered or deeper feelings were addressed head on. i felt that this sometimes took me out of the moment, but as i got further into the book i felt that it became more appropriate just due to the way it was being used in those later chapters.
all in all, this book was really great and i do recommend you check it out!! thank you to netgalley and lottie hazell for the arc! i’m so glad i came across it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Body shaming
celticthistle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Glorious dark, disgusting yet funny at same time
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Grief
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