Another Review at MyShelf.Com

The Pig Goes to Hog Heaven
Joseph Caldwell

Delphinium Books
October 19, 2010 / ASIN: B00486UFB6
Literature / Fiction / eBook - Kindle Edition
Amazon

Reviewed by Beth E. McKenzie

In the farcical final installment of the Irish Pig Trilogy the story lines, both historical and modern, converge in unique aspects of resolution. We finally learn what caused Declan Tovey to disappear and what ties him to Castle Kissane and to the ghosts: Taddy and Brid. We also learn how the thatcher ended up in a grave beneath Kitty's cabbages from where the pig uprooted him in the first book. The subplot hatched by the Lord Shaftoe to scare the simple superstitious folk (Kitty and Kieran) from "his" castle with the vision of an apparition is a source of hilarity for its arrogance, irony and total lack-of-clue. Lolly, who laughs in the presence of difficulty, finds happiness, and of poor and foolish Aaron, not much can be said.

Something I can really enjoy in a book is when the end twists and puts everything I've previously read in a new light. This one waited until the final sentence to set me straight about the message in this trilogy. Just because the text entertains doesn't mean the work isn't serious or doesn't have something meaningful to say. I sat and stared at the page while a flood of phrases ran though my mind; the metaphorical life of the story passing before my eyes: meatloaf, daughter of Kerry, wealthy young Irish, no more pig farms, revisionist literature, the work of God, insult to current Irish sophistication, only an American…"

The history of Ireland is rife with invasion and conquest. The few medieval manuscripts of the Irish mythological cycles include Lebor Gabála Érenn which tells of a series of invasions of Ireland. In modern times the most popular of these tales is that of the fifth invasion, being the conquest of the Tuatha Dé Danann (the Fey) by the Milesians (Humans). Mr. Caldwell's story tells us about the systemic rejection of mystical Old Ireland in favor of practical adaptation for the future. The sixth invasion of Ireland comes from within.

Other Reviews in Trilogy:

#1- The Pig Did It   [review]
#2 - The Pig Comes to Dinner  [review]
#3 - The Pig Goes to Hog Heaven
   [review]

Reviewer's Note: To learn more about the medieval manuscripts of the Irish historical and mythological cycles consider reading: The Ancient Books of Ireland by Michael Slavin.
Reviewed 2012
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