The Pigman

Series: Pigman, Book 1

By: Paul Zindel / Narrated By: Eden Riegel, Charlie McWade

Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins

AHHHHHH!!! There’s a reason this wonderful book is a Classic!!!

I first read The Pigman when I was in 7th grade, turned onto it by my English teacher (Great teacher! Loathsome man!). I loved it then and have loved it each time I’ve read it.

So I was a bit leery about how the audiobook would be, especially since Eden Riegel’s voice is ultra-girly and a tad childlike. Okay, so her performance wasn’t the best; her voice just didn’t fit my sense of how Lorraine’s voice was (the problem of having a certain voice in your mind whilst reading as opposed to listening!).

Still, Riegel manages the main narrative well, and while her tones are a trifle scratchy for male voices, I think Charlie McWade did well enough that the whole thing came together to make a TRULY enjoyable listen! I loved every minute of it.

It seems like it should feel dated as it was written and published so very long ago, but actually it aged well and didn’t make me feel like I was listening to The Good Old Days, pre-mass shootings at schools and all. After all, social ostracism, parental abuse and neglect, feeling disconnected, and just wanting a sense of belonging SOMEwhere, are as prevalent today as at any time. I work with teenagers so, while I can’t say that I know what they’re going through, I can see the same issues play a part in their lives now as much as back when The Pigman was written.

John and Lorraine, two pretty-much outcasts, fall in with a lonely old man. The man has a sense of fun and helps them to learn how to play like children, to enjoy themselves, to try new things. He teaches them games, teaches them how to look inward and to trust and to love what they find there. In return, they make his life a little larger, giving him hope and a sense of home. The three, John, Lorraine, and the Pigman, become a sort of family, something neither John nor Lorraine experience at home.

It’s a really, really beautiful little book, comes in at under 5 hours. And it feels too short.

I’m sooooo glad there’s a sequel, especially since it’s not only a beautiful little book, it’s a heartbreaker…!