Axelina's library of thoughts

The idea for Marie Darrieussqecq’s quirky novel “Pig Tales” is absolutely genius. Strong key development is key to a good novel, and Darrieussecq has truly challenged those standards. Our main character, being treated like a pig by her environment eventually becomes what her environment treats her as: a pig.

The fictional world in “Pig Tales” is frightening because of how the citizens treat each other. At the same time, it is very familiar and is just enough alike to our own society to see the parallels to our own, sometimes very cold, world.

The tone in the novel varies between very humorous and dark. The events in itself often brings laughs, but the language also has an excellent ironic tone, bringing the humor to the melancholic parts as well. Even if it is a fictional story, it is very insightful. When the young woman has been transformed into a pig, she is thrown out from the human society and seeks peace and calm at a farm. There, she is being nicely treated amongst the other pigs, and eventually transforms into a human once again. Whether or not the reader agrees with the author, thoughts come to mind.

“Pig Tales” is well written, hilarious and insightful and hits close to home. I would recommend it to anyone who want to challenge themselves and their ideas.