Pig Tale

Near the village of Little Wicken, a baby girl is found abandoned in a field. Unwanted and unloved, the foundling grows up, existing on the grudging charity of the villagers. It is only when they notice her way with animals that the girl is given a permanent place?as a pig herder?and a name: Mokie, meaning “Little Pig Girl.” After a brutal attack by the village boys, fifteen-year-old Mokie flees with her beloved pig, Apple, into the heart of the mysterious Wickenwood. It is there that Mokie meets a trio of Gypsies, who take her under their wing. But she soon discovers that her new friends are more than they appear to be. Could they hold the key to her past. . .and her future? In her debut novel, Verlyn Flieger weaves elements from Celtic mythology into an unforgettable tale that explores universal truths about the human condition?society’s need for scapegoats, the yearning to belong, and love’s transcendent power to make the world anew. Thought-provoking, unflinching, and original, Pig Tale will break your heart, and utterly astonish you.

Grade 8 Up-Mokie, an orphan, lives with a mean-spirited couple and their loutish son, Dommel; her only companionship comes from the pigs she herds, especially from her pet runt, Apple. Mokie's lonely life leaves her vulnerable to a gang of village boys who overpower her while Dommel brutally rapes her. Distraught and horrified, Mokie flees into the forest with Apple and lives off the land until she encounters a strange trio, two men and a woman. She meets them again at the other side of the forest, performing as gypsies at a country fair, and as they befriend her, she learns more about the mystery of her own growing and changing body and finds, apparently, true love with the younger of the men. The story is interwoven with mythic imagery of stories Mokie has overheard of the Crystal Country and a powerful figure named Sorcha. Coming full circle, she is lured back to the village by the capture of her beloved pig, only to meet a tragic end as once again she becomes the village scapegoat. But her essential spirit passes on to the Crystal Country where she senses that a wonderful reunion will take place. The story will appeal to readers who enjoy otherworldly tales of mythic proportion, such as Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy (Knopf). However, it occasionally becomes weighted down by its mythic meaning, and the convoluted plot may be difficult to follow for many readers. Still, the writing is rich in imagery and flows smoothly and the characters are intriguing and finely drawn. An interesting first novel from an author who bears watching.
Connie C. Rockman, Stratford Library Association, CT
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A man whose chief income derives from pig-keeping discovers a foundling one day. Is she a changeling left by the Crystal Folk in nearby Wickenwood or just an ordinary orphan? Firmly rooted in Celtic folklore and transformation myths, and infused with motifs from Jackson's The Lottery, Flieger's haunting rite-of-passage fantasy touches on a host of difficult subjects: rape, hatred, fear of the unknown, first love, spirituality and death. Young Mokie adopts Apple, the 13th pig born of a sow with only 12 teats, while working as the pig herder for her reluctant guardian in Little Wicken, where ritual pig stonings ensure good harvests. Through imagery and dreams, Flieger links the girl's fate with that of the pig's ("When she dreamed, she was not only the watcher but also the little pig, feeling her terror and the thud of the stones as they hit her body"). Readers may be disturbed by a graphic rape scene, which marks a turning point for 15-year-old Mokie: she and Apple then take refuge in the woods, where they meet up with a trio of magical characters who teach her the skills required to become a member of their "tumbling" troupe and earn her trust. But the three also know Mokie will soon play a pivotal part in "the pattern" that the Crystal Folk can never break. A redemptive ending brings this heartbreaking fantasy full circle. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7-10. One stormy night, just outside the village of Little Wicken, a baby girl is born and abandoned. Thus begins the tale of orphan Mokie, Little Pig-girl, who grows into adolescence unloved, taunted by other children, listening from afar to tales of Red Sorcha, the giant sow, Queen of the Crystal Country. When the villagers notice Mokie's affinity for their pigs, they set her to watch over them. Then, on another stormy night, 13 piglets are born; the last, arriving with a bolt of lightning, is named Apple. After Mokie is brutally raped by a gang of village boys, she escapes with Apple into the forest, where she meets a trio of secretive gypsies and becomes part of a terrifying pattern of "replenishment" that was set in motion long before she was born. The story, infused with a Celtic mysticism, takes a heartrending look at society's inhumanity to those deemed different, but Flieger provides hope for the future by investing the story with a strong sense of the power of love and of rebirth. Sally Estes
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