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A review by alexandriaslibrary
Piglet by Lottie Hazell
emotional
reflective
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
True to Piglet's nature: I devoured this!
This is a very well-written novel: the author is incredibly intention with her structure, her reveals, her showing and concealing.
Piglet (a childhood nickname) is a fish out of water in her new life. She works in a publishing house, she is the proud owner of a new cottage in Oxford, and her perfect fiance's family is bankrolling it all. But two weeks out from her wedding, he reveals a terrible secret that threatens this new life she so desperately wants to fit into.
At times, Piglet is unlikable but in a way that is achingly familiar. She loves but is deeply embarrassed by how average her family is compared to her in-laws. She can't make a decision about if she should continue with the wedding or not. She is overwhelmed with concern that she is drifting from her pregnant best friend.
The food writing in this is also top notch. Piglet is an avid chef and baker (she plans to make three towers of croquembouche for her wedding cake) and food has never sounded so good. She becomes absorbed with food as comfort, as a status symbol, and as an outlet.
And of course the reveal! Midway through I started suspecting that maybe we would never have the reveal. That whatever we imagined in our brains would be endlessly more satisfying than the "true" answer. Also, I think it's interesting commentary on the overarching theme of the book: greed. The readers are devouring the book because they need to know this life-altering secret. Most negative reviews I've seen are negative because there is no simple "reveal" as to what her fiance did. But I think it's a really brilliant stylistic choice
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy, all thoughts are my own!
This is a very well-written novel: the author is incredibly intention with her structure, her reveals, her showing and concealing.
Piglet (a childhood nickname) is a fish out of water in her new life. She works in a publishing house, she is the proud owner of a new cottage in Oxford, and her perfect fiance's family is bankrolling it all. But two weeks out from her wedding, he reveals a terrible secret that threatens this new life she so desperately wants to fit into.
At times, Piglet is unlikable but in a way that is achingly familiar. She loves but is deeply embarrassed by how average her family is compared to her in-laws. She can't make a decision about if she should continue with the wedding or not. She is overwhelmed with concern that she is drifting from her pregnant best friend.
The food writing in this is also top notch. Piglet is an avid chef and baker (she plans to make three towers of croquembouche for her wedding cake) and food has never sounded so good. She becomes absorbed with food as comfort, as a status symbol, and as an outlet.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy, all thoughts are my own!