A review by minimicropup
Piglet by Lottie Hazell

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I. Loved. This. But it wasn’t satisfying, the texture was strange, and it left a weird aftertaste…I want more, where can I find more? 
 
Energy: Evasive. Addictive. Vulnerable.  
Scene: 🇬🇧 Set in Oxford, UK, in a newly developed neighbourhood
Perspective: We follow a cookbook editor nicknamed Piglet as they settle in with their soon-to-be spouse in the months leading up to their wedding. 
 
🐕 Howls: Moments of ambiguous dialogue where we need to know who is talking, it impacts the story!
🐩 Tail Wags: The writing style. The dialogue (mostly) & characters. The feels and foods. Using ambiguity and withholding as the primary plot device. Piglet being frustratingly horrifying, but loveable. The nuanced juxtaposition of greed and entitlement vs love and fulfilment.   
 
🤔 Random Thoughts:
Half the time I didn’t know what was going on. How does a book that bases everything on ambiguity and withholding not annoy me?
 
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🎬 Tale-Telling: Dialogue-driven. Mostly show, not tell. 
🤓 Reader Role: Invisible, standing in the room, picking up what others are putting down and tying it all together. 
🗺️ World-Building: Energy driven. The physical settings are minimal. The ambience comes from the characters interacting with each other and their environment. 
🔥 Fuel: What happened to make Piglet feel so differently about her partner and friends leading up to her wedding? Is she ruining her life? Will she go ahead with the wedding? Will she stand up to others? Will she stand up for herself? Should she?
📖 Cred: Open to reader interpretation with sprinklings of everything from hyper-realism to bizarro nonsensical 
🚙 Journey: A dream that feels all too real. 
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
-Backyard barbeque. Sizzling stir fry. Kettle boiling. Knife chopping. Pots and pans. Caramelized onions. Bitter perfume. October breeze. Fall colours, crunching leaves. River water. Food truck rumblings. Tourists in the park. Hamburgers. Seams ripping. Sickening sweetness. 
-Ambiguous plot mostly vibes bizarro realism 
-Literary should-I-stay-or-should-I-go romantic suspense 
 
Content Heads-Up: Body shaming, fatphobia (character comments). Pregnancy. Vomit. Eating disorder (starvation, restricting food, binging). Betrayal.Unhealthy relationship. Alcohol use. 
 
Rep: Lesbian. Heterosexual. Cisgender. Fat. Same-sex parenting. Ambiguously described characters.  
 
📚 Format: Kobo
 
🤩 Potential Fav of 2024
 
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