The Pig Comes to Dinner

February 16, 2009
In Caldwell’s fun second installment to his Pig Trilogy (after The Pig Did It
), Irish writer Kitty McCloud and husband Kieran Sweeney battle to stave off specters threatening to destroy their newfound nuptial bliss. The beautiful ghosts of Taddy and Brid haunt Castle Kissane, the couple’s new abode, as well as their dreams and desires. Then the very real Lord Shaftoe appears after his family’s two-century-long absence to reclaim the keep. Onto the scene trots the “lesbian” pig, whose ramblings and rootings could destroy the lovely estate—or help save it. Throughout, the whimsical tale is held aloft by a fanciful if sometimes long-winded lyricism that well conveys the spirit of its Irish setting and characters. In this story, humor and sadness, the past and the present, all live side-by-side, and it is all Kitty can do to tell them apart, much less keep the ghosts at bay.

The plot involves newlyweds in a castle in County Kerry, a pair of ghosts who were wrongly hanged there by Lord Shaftoe's ancestors, and a lesbian pig with opinions. Also, a lot of people with delicious Irish accents, including a sort of witch and her small son, both of whom can read the hidden past and future, plus a gunpowder plot. Narrator Chris Patton has some nonstandard pronunciation issues--"ANDeeRONs" for "andirons" is one example. Evil Lord Shaftoe he pronounces "ShafTOE." Didn't the nursery rhyme's meter make it "Pretty Bobby SHAFtoe"? But Patton's high-energy enthusiasm and unflagging engagement with this charming and goofy book are so winning that his lapses aren't hard to overlook. This is the second book of a trilogy, and very good fun. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

Starred review from August 1, 2011

Aaron McCloud goes to Ireland to mope by the sea. Immediately upon his arrival, he is cursed with the Pig, who serves as guide and instigator for the ensuing revelries of Aaron; his aunt and fellow writer, Kitty; her sworn enemy, Kieran; and the local pig woman, Lolly. These four victims of all Irish cliches encounter mystery, murder, love, ghosts, and no end of witty banter in this dryly entertaining trilogy. Caldwell (Uncle from Rome) has created a smart-funny tribute to the Irish that does not take itself too seriously and neither should readers. Chris Patton differentiates the characters well and slips easily between American and Irish accents. Highly recommended for well-read fans of the Emerald Isle and those who enjoy works of similar voice, such as Jasper Fforde's. ["In the lilting style of an Irish storyteller, Caldwell offers a hilarious ramble through a small Irish village," read the review of the Bloomsbury hc The Pig Did It, LJ 10/1/07.--Ed.]--Lisa Anderson, Metropolitan Community Coll. Lib., Omaha

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