DO NOT READ THIS AS A 5 STAR REVIEW. This was sent by error for a different book.

Piglet, in a generous mood would earn 2 Stars. It's one of the strangest novels I've ever read. If you think a book about gorging on food is erotic, perhaps you would like this one. The only stars here are for some lovely cooking writing. The story, NO.

Piglet is a thirty-ish food book editor and compulsive eater. She is to be married to Kit, with whom she has bought a house. Kit confesses to something which makes Piglet rethink the entire relationship, What it is, we never find out. Give me a break.

I am regretful that I requested this book and that I even finished it. Sorry to author and publisher and thanks anyway for the ARC.

I thought this book was a pretty good character study, with horrible family relationships and food at the core of the story. The book becomes somewhat mired in emotion and triviality in the middle and end though, which caused me to lose interest a little. Piglet is an interesting character however.

This book is different from anything I've ever read. The descriptions of food and recipes are beautiful until they turn to disgust in a very intentional way. Content warnings abound for anyone with food concerns but if you grew up in a family where your weight was a disappointment for others, there's something about seeing that experience on the page that will make you feel seen. Everything feels designed to illicit a reaction from the reader - from the title to the character's decisions throughout. I spent most of the book thinking this would be a 5 star read for me - but there's some serious ambiguity in the plot that left me unsatisfied in the end.

pretty good? the food descriptions are far and away the best part. the prose aside from that is a little lackluster, hamfisted at times, but the characters are well-developed and nuanced. there are these weird italicized portions at the end of every chapter hinting at things to come or revealing major plot points which i don’t get all; they’re usually overdramatic and jarring, and i don’t see why they weren’t just incorporated into the rest of the writing. also, from the description, i was expecting piglet’s “hunger” to be more… unsettling? or more important. like she just eats a lot of food at a couple restaurants, when i was hoping for something more interesting like eating hair or paper or dirt or something. it’s really just an average contemporary novel about the dissolution of a relationship and a woman uncomfortable in her own skin, not the mona-awad-ottessa-moshfegh-thriller i was looking for.

There's some strong and engaging writing here, but Piglet suffers from an identity crisis - is it a satire about the insane pressures that come with a wedding? An exploration of eating disorders? A relationship drama? Most of the time it's a mixture of all of the above, which is fine - it just feels a bit imbalanced. Piglet is also not the most sympathetic character and sometimes I got a little bored (and hungry) with the endless descriptions of food preparation. I also felt like certain parts of the story, like the origins of her eating disorder and her fiancé's transgression, just weren't explored in a totally satisfying way. Gripes aside, it's promising work and there's definitely an audience for it.

Piglet

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

This was an unusual book, to say the very least, about a woman with a severe eating disorder. She never feels satiated, and when she feels even a tiny amount of stress, she feels a need to overeat to a massive degree.

This is one talented author, as I cannot imagine another writer keeping a reader engaged throughout this entire story.

The problem I found with this novel is there was never anything beyond the merest hint, to indicate what caused the main character's extreme eating disorder. You had an idea that it developed in her childhood, but one isolated event would not have created this character.

What type of people would call their child Piglet or Pig throughout her entire life? That is perhaps, one of the story's most telling clues that this illness developed during the main character's childhood.

Additionally, the main character is engaged to a man who confesses a secret to her - well, I was sure this secret would at some point be revealed in the story, but...

Lastly, there is a small indication, during the last one-percent of the book, that "Piglet" might have started caring about herself to some degree, however I feel that books of this type need to be more evenly written, and part of the book addresses an illness (and in illnesses of this type, typically you are provided with a reason for the illness) and then ideally, there is some type of recovery, however this novel is almost exclusively about someone who overeats to an almost unimaginable degree, and that is about all this book describes, her either actively overeating, or about the main character thinking about overeating.

There is no "recovery" in this story, just a mere twinkle of an idea that perhaps she finally cares about herself enough to at least ATTEMPT to get help for her illness, which leaves the novel unbalanced.

As mentioned earlier, this book is well-written, and it "holds" your attention. I would gladly read future books written by this author, however this one fell a bit short of the mark usefor me, due to all the reasons stated within this review.

Until next time ...

The Piglet of the title is a woman nearing her wedding day, and beginning to doubt everything she shows about herself and her fiancé. The prose is compelling, but the story is not as gripping as it could be because the characters lack depth, and are mostly unlikeable. The descriptions of food are delicious, and there are parts of the book that feel edgy and real, and parts that feel like old cliches, so there is an unevenness that slows down the story’s intended moments of outrage and shame. The book takes on some big questions about secrets and lies, about how well we know our partners, about family, and fidelity, and hungers that can’t quite be quieted, but like the character of the title, I was left feeling not quite satisfied at the end of this promising but not-quite-there-yet novel.

Okay I tried. But very quickly I found myself irritated by Piglet and her condescending self-righteousness and superiority... I realize that is the point of her. The author did not hide the eight ball here - it is right there in the blurb. But for some reason I thought it would be snarky and entertaining, and instead I felt like I was being judged wanting. While this visceral response is clearly a testament to Hazell's writing skills, it didn't make for a very enjoyable read - a feeling that only strengthened as the book went on to the point that I finally set it down for good because of the feeling. This was not a good fit for me....