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The Pigman #1
The Pigman
Librarian note: an alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here
When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they had no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man; it wasn't long before they were more comfortable in his house than their own. But now Mr. Pignati is dead. And for John and Lorraine, the only way to find peace is to write down their friend's story - the story of the Pigman.
When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they had no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man; it wasn't long before they were more comfortable in his house than their own. But now Mr. Pignati is dead. And for John and Lorraine, the only way to find peace is to write down their friend's story - the story of the Pigman.
166 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 1968
516 people are currently reading
8,687 people want to read
About the author
Paul Zindel
105 books296 followersPaul Zindel was an American author, playwright and educator.
In 1964, he wrote The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, his first and most successful play. The play ran off-Broadway in 1970, and on Broadway in 1971. It won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was also made into a 1972 movie by 20th Century Fox. Charlotte Zolotow, then a vice-president at Harper & Row (now Harper-Collins) contacted him to writing for her book label. Zindel wrote 39 books, all of them aimed at children or young adults. Many of these were set in his home town of Staten Island, New York. They tended to be semi-autobiographical, focusing on teenage misfits with abusive or neglectful parents. Despite the often dark subject matter of his books, which deal with loneliness, loss, and the effects of abuse, they are also filled with humor. Many of his novels have wacky titles, such as My Darling, My Hamburger, or Confessions of A Teenage Baboon.
The Pigman, first published in 1968, is widely taught in American schools, and also made it on to the list of most frequently banned books in America in the 1990s, because of what some deem offensive language.
In 1964, he wrote The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, his first and most successful play. The play ran off-Broadway in 1970, and on Broadway in 1971. It won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was also made into a 1972 movie by 20th Century Fox. Charlotte Zolotow, then a vice-president at Harper & Row (now Harper-Collins) contacted him to writing for her book label. Zindel wrote 39 books, all of them aimed at children or young adults. Many of these were set in his home town of Staten Island, New York. They tended to be semi-autobiographical, focusing on teenage misfits with abusive or neglectful parents. Despite the often dark subject matter of his books, which deal with loneliness, loss, and the effects of abuse, they are also filled with humor. Many of his novels have wacky titles, such as My Darling, My Hamburger, or Confessions of A Teenage Baboon.
The Pigman, first published in 1968, is widely taught in American schools, and also made it on to the list of most frequently banned books in America in the 1990s, because of what some deem offensive language.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,660 reviews
June 24, 2020
i have a very stubborn brain. i never read this book when it was age-appropriate for me to have done so, but i was convinced that it was about two kids who find out that their neighbor is a nazi war criminal. is this the plot of another paul zindel book? i know it is not one i have read, it was just always the first thing that popped into my head each time i encountered, and passed by, this title at my sadly underdeveloped local library as a kid, looking for more lois duncan.
and even though mfso told me i was wrong, and even though i have finished reading it, i am going to continue to believe it is actually about a nazi neighbor, so frankly mr. pignati, you got what you deserved, you bastard.
plot-wise, it is about a childless man who gets scammed by two teens, who then weasel their way into his life,where he is lonely with only a cranky zoo-baboon to love, and he buys them things and gives them love and eventually they disappoint him and ruin his life.
in other words: a parable of parenthood.
it is an okay book - there are parts that are very reminiscent of catcher in the rye: adulthood bad, childhood good, kids smoking and drinking and cutting class, an "us against them" mentality, and a very complicated and subjective morality: it is okay to blow up toilets in the boys room, it is not okay to snatch a purse.
but it's a very superficial comparison which is probably mostly motivated by the antiquated language and the anti-establishment undertones.
what i learned: teenagers are selfish and careless douchebags, and nazis love to eat snails...
come to my blog!
and even though mfso told me i was wrong, and even though i have finished reading it, i am going to continue to believe it is actually about a nazi neighbor, so frankly mr. pignati, you got what you deserved, you bastard.
plot-wise, it is about a childless man who gets scammed by two teens, who then weasel their way into his life,where he is lonely with only a cranky zoo-baboon to love, and he buys them things and gives them love and eventually they disappoint him and ruin his life.
in other words: a parable of parenthood.
it is an okay book - there are parts that are very reminiscent of catcher in the rye: adulthood bad, childhood good, kids smoking and drinking and cutting class, an "us against them" mentality, and a very complicated and subjective morality: it is okay to blow up toilets in the boys room, it is not okay to snatch a purse.
but it's a very superficial comparison which is probably mostly motivated by the antiquated language and the anti-establishment undertones.
what i learned: teenagers are selfish and careless douchebags, and nazis love to eat snails...
come to my blog!
April 14, 2018
I recently decided (by a process of reasoning that's a rather long story) that I'd make this 1968 YA novel --which I read only as a middle-aged adult, on the recommendation of one of my daughters-- the subject of my next retrospective review. It's not an easy book to review, however, not just because it's been about 17 years since I read it (I checked it out again from the library to skim over and refresh my memory on some points, which has vividly revived my memory of just how gut-punching it ultimately is), but also because it's hard to discuss without spoilers. However, I'll do my best with it.
At 149 pages, this is a short and quick read. Although it was marketed as teen fiction and has teen protagonists, and certainly can be characterized (like a great deal of fiction, especially YA fiction) as a coming-of-age story, it's the sort of novel that speaks just as well to adults. And although I'd place Zindel in the Realist tradition, it's also a novel that packs an enormous emotional wallop. If you're looking for a feel-good read, despite its moments of humor and lightheartedness, this isn't one. It has a very real tragic component --which isn't really a spoiler, since that's foreshadowed from very early on. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of the tragic in literature. But I appreciate this novel as highly as I do because it uses tragedy as an instrument of moral and psychological growth for characters that you care about. The author uses the "truth of art" to convey, with great power, the importance of personal responsibility, of considering and taking seriously the possible consequences of our actions, of compassion and care for our fellow humans. (Many adults need these messages just as much as many teens do.) This is very much a novel about human relationships and human need for connection. (It isn't a romance as such, but teenage romantic attraction plays a role.)
Our setting here is an unnamed city, in an unspecified part of the U.S., in the author's present, ca. 1968; and our title character is Antonio Pignati, a lonely retiree who collects pig figurines (hence his nickname). But our two first-person narrators are high-school sophomores John and Lorraine, who alternate chapters to deliver what they intend to be a true account of their acquaintance with him. This literary device is an effective one; they both sincerely try to be reliable narrators, but they have different perspectives that sometimes correct and qualify each other's. We come to get inside both their heads; they come very vividly and realistically alive for us, and so (through their eyes) does Mr. Pignati. I was about their age in the time this tale is set (I graduated from high school in 1970), and I can testify that they're thoroughly believable teens for that time and place, though my personal traits and experiences didn't identically mirror theirs. They're not always likable, mature, and responsible, and they're products of an all-too-common detached style of parenting. But neither of them, at their core, are genuinely bad kids (though Lorraine has a bit more of a moral compass than John does), and they're capable of learning from mistakes.
In some ways, the culture of 2018, 50 years later, is significantly different from theirs (and mostly not for the better). The Internet didn't exist, so John and Lorraine aren't attached to a device every waking minute, and don't turn to it for ersatz companionship. Today's drug culture hadn't taken hold to anything like the present degree; the only dangerous drugs they have to contend with are nicotine (which, of course, is deadly enough) and alcohol. And while our two narrators have dawning male-female feelings towards each other, those feelings are experienced in a cultural context that still presupposes teenage sexual abstinence as the norm, not a toxic surrounding culture that aggressively legitimatizes and promotes teen sexual activity. These differences color their experience. But I think their feelings, needs, and moral and psychological struggles and epiphanies are universal enough that a lot of modern teens could still relate to them; and any adult readers who read serious fiction and think about meaningful things could relate to all three main characters.
To his credit, Zindel deals with the problem of bad language here by using the device of a substituted "@#$%" for the cuss words, or a "3@#$%" to indicate really bad words. (That's represented as a suggestion of Lorraine's, to refine John's saltier narrative voice.) Of course, in reality the idea is the author's, but it's a constructive one, which effectively balances a degree of realism with good taste.
At 149 pages, this is a short and quick read. Although it was marketed as teen fiction and has teen protagonists, and certainly can be characterized (like a great deal of fiction, especially YA fiction) as a coming-of-age story, it's the sort of novel that speaks just as well to adults. And although I'd place Zindel in the Realist tradition, it's also a novel that packs an enormous emotional wallop. If you're looking for a feel-good read, despite its moments of humor and lightheartedness, this isn't one. It has a very real tragic component --which isn't really a spoiler, since that's foreshadowed from very early on. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of the tragic in literature. But I appreciate this novel as highly as I do because it uses tragedy as an instrument of moral and psychological growth for characters that you care about. The author uses the "truth of art" to convey, with great power, the importance of personal responsibility, of considering and taking seriously the possible consequences of our actions, of compassion and care for our fellow humans. (Many adults need these messages just as much as many teens do.) This is very much a novel about human relationships and human need for connection. (It isn't a romance as such, but teenage romantic attraction plays a role.)
Our setting here is an unnamed city, in an unspecified part of the U.S., in the author's present, ca. 1968; and our title character is Antonio Pignati, a lonely retiree who collects pig figurines (hence his nickname). But our two first-person narrators are high-school sophomores John and Lorraine, who alternate chapters to deliver what they intend to be a true account of their acquaintance with him. This literary device is an effective one; they both sincerely try to be reliable narrators, but they have different perspectives that sometimes correct and qualify each other's. We come to get inside both their heads; they come very vividly and realistically alive for us, and so (through their eyes) does Mr. Pignati. I was about their age in the time this tale is set (I graduated from high school in 1970), and I can testify that they're thoroughly believable teens for that time and place, though my personal traits and experiences didn't identically mirror theirs. They're not always likable, mature, and responsible, and they're products of an all-too-common detached style of parenting. But neither of them, at their core, are genuinely bad kids (though Lorraine has a bit more of a moral compass than John does), and they're capable of learning from mistakes.
In some ways, the culture of 2018, 50 years later, is significantly different from theirs (and mostly not for the better). The Internet didn't exist, so John and Lorraine aren't attached to a device every waking minute, and don't turn to it for ersatz companionship. Today's drug culture hadn't taken hold to anything like the present degree; the only dangerous drugs they have to contend with are nicotine (which, of course, is deadly enough) and alcohol. And while our two narrators have dawning male-female feelings towards each other, those feelings are experienced in a cultural context that still presupposes teenage sexual abstinence as the norm, not a toxic surrounding culture that aggressively legitimatizes and promotes teen sexual activity. These differences color their experience. But I think their feelings, needs, and moral and psychological struggles and epiphanies are universal enough that a lot of modern teens could still relate to them; and any adult readers who read serious fiction and think about meaningful things could relate to all three main characters.
To his credit, Zindel deals with the problem of bad language here by using the device of a substituted "@#$%" for the cuss words, or a "3@#$%" to indicate really bad words. (That's represented as a suggestion of Lorraine's, to refine John's saltier narrative voice.) Of course, in reality the idea is the author's, but it's a constructive one, which effectively balances a degree of realism with good taste.
July 30, 2015
This is a young adult book written in the 1960s and it shows its age in many ways. No mobile phone, and telephones with dials being just two examples. However the teenage ideals and behaviours are the same as today and the two main characters "suffer" the same traumas as they would in 2015. I enjoyed the character of the Pigman and despite everything that happens I was glad to see that he had some happy times. A quick easy read for an adult but still entertaining.
September 26, 2007
Laugh out loud funny at times. My favorite passage is the part where John glues his home's rotary phone dial to piss off his dad, but finds that he needs to make a call himself:
"Yes?"
"Hello operator? Would you please get me Yul-1219?"
"You can dial that yourself, sir."
"No, I can't. You see, operator, I have no arms."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"They've got this phone strapped to my head for emergencies, so I'd appreciate it if you'd connect me."
"I'll be happy to, sir."
"Yes?"
"Hello operator? Would you please get me Yul-1219?"
"You can dial that yourself, sir."
"No, I can't. You see, operator, I have no arms."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"They've got this phone strapped to my head for emergencies, so I'd appreciate it if you'd connect me."
"I'll be happy to, sir."
April 12, 2023
Read it many years ago and liked it although not nearly as much as My Darling, My hamburger.
It is still a great book though, just really REALLY depressing.
Still Paul Zindel wrote in such a magnificent way and got into his characters heads so magnificently that I have to give credit w here credit's due.
Even if this was not one of my favorites, it is a superb book.
It is still a great book though, just really REALLY depressing.
Still Paul Zindel wrote in such a magnificent way and got into his characters heads so magnificently that I have to give credit w here credit's due.
Even if this was not one of my favorites, it is a superb book.
July 27, 2011
In my mind The Pigman has always suffered from being one of the dreaded "school books". You know the type; The almost patronizingly short, incredibly dull and soon forgotten piece of drivel that stands in the way of the books you actually WANT TO READ this summer. But I will say this for it, I have at least one incredibly clear impression of this book. You see in my high school this book was freshman summer reading. And as I sat down to read my first ever piece of high school curriculum all I could think was, whose bright idea was this? After two hours of reading, a good ten minutes of pointless quizzing, only one thing stuck out in my mind. And that was the fact that the very first paragraph, on the very first page, of the very first book I ever read in high school taught me how to blow up a urinal and frame the local stoner for it. Yes you heard me right. Someone at my high school decided that the first lesson they wanted to teach the incoming freshman should be how to get away with vandalizing the school bathroom. Even as a kid I realized what a monumentally horrible decision that was. And now every time I look at this book all I can remember is my reaction to it. I know this was supposed to be one of those books that teaches you about compassion, and taking responsibility for your actions, but to be quite honest all I can remember learning is how to throw cherry bombs down a toilet, and that is just a shame.
June 12, 2014
(2.5)
For the most part this was an enjoyable story, but the main characters irritated me to no end. I felt the story lacked plot and that there really wasn't any character development throughout the story. It didn't feel like the characters changed in anyway, even though they met somebody who supposedly impacted them and they go through something that should have an affect on them in some way. Also the ending was abrupt and too quick for my liking.
For the most part this was an enjoyable story, but the main characters irritated me to no end. I felt the story lacked plot and that there really wasn't any character development throughout the story. It didn't feel like the characters changed in anyway, even though they met somebody who supposedly impacted them and they go through something that should have an affect on them in some way. Also the ending was abrupt and too quick for my liking.
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February 24, 2008in a sentence: A young woman and a young man prank call an old lonely man, and form an unlikely and somewhat unhealthy friendship.
John and Lorraine are two students who hate school, have less than desirable family lives, and few friends outside of each other. Their relationship with Angelo Pignati - known as the Pigman - begins with a prank call made by Lorraine during one of their after school games. They notice the desperation in the Pigman, and are drawn to spend time with him. Over time, they receive many blessings from the relationship in the form of food, gifts, acceptance, laughter, and freedom. John and Lorraine throw it all away by having a huge party in the Pigman's absence, and sever their beautiful relationship forever. The Pigman's death is soon thereafter, and they place the blame on themselves. They know what a unique relationship was forged, and set to write this novel in order to share with the world their experience with Angelo Pignati.
The narrator switches between Lorraine and John each chapter, which provides an interesting point of view. This allows the reader to see the other lead character through someone else's eyes other than their own, and lets us peek into the family life of the narrator. There is no great detail put into the families, which I believe is intentional. Young adults reading this book can identify with the parents presented in the novel, whether it is their own or a friends parent, and don't need to know the specifics of their situation to recognize the parent and their reactions. This is very respectful of the author towards the young adult readers. The changing relationship between John and Lorraine, while obvious to the reader, is subtle and barely touched on in the novel in order to keep the main focus on their relationship with the Pigman. The plot of the novel creates high emotions in the reader, while carrying on in a pace that creates a depth in the relationship and actions of characters in the novel. The reader is at times frustrated with John and Lorraine, but can't help and feel sorry for them too for wanting a safe haven to be cared for unconditionally. The novel is tragic, but there is light with their relationship with the Pigman. There are serious emotions in here, which all young adults are familiar with and will find true to their experience. The author creates a novel with authentic characters that young adults can relate to and respect, despite their poor choices.
John and Lorraine are two students who hate school, have less than desirable family lives, and few friends outside of each other. Their relationship with Angelo Pignati - known as the Pigman - begins with a prank call made by Lorraine during one of their after school games. They notice the desperation in the Pigman, and are drawn to spend time with him. Over time, they receive many blessings from the relationship in the form of food, gifts, acceptance, laughter, and freedom. John and Lorraine throw it all away by having a huge party in the Pigman's absence, and sever their beautiful relationship forever. The Pigman's death is soon thereafter, and they place the blame on themselves. They know what a unique relationship was forged, and set to write this novel in order to share with the world their experience with Angelo Pignati.
The narrator switches between Lorraine and John each chapter, which provides an interesting point of view. This allows the reader to see the other lead character through someone else's eyes other than their own, and lets us peek into the family life of the narrator. There is no great detail put into the families, which I believe is intentional. Young adults reading this book can identify with the parents presented in the novel, whether it is their own or a friends parent, and don't need to know the specifics of their situation to recognize the parent and their reactions. This is very respectful of the author towards the young adult readers. The changing relationship between John and Lorraine, while obvious to the reader, is subtle and barely touched on in the novel in order to keep the main focus on their relationship with the Pigman. The plot of the novel creates high emotions in the reader, while carrying on in a pace that creates a depth in the relationship and actions of characters in the novel. The reader is at times frustrated with John and Lorraine, but can't help and feel sorry for them too for wanting a safe haven to be cared for unconditionally. The novel is tragic, but there is light with their relationship with the Pigman. There are serious emotions in here, which all young adults are familiar with and will find true to their experience. The author creates a novel with authentic characters that young adults can relate to and respect, despite their poor choices.
June 27, 2011
This is the story of two latchkey kids befriending an elderly neighbor. No one gets touched in a bad way, but their friendship gives them that warm tingling sensation. I hated every damn word of it.
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February 6, 2017Obavezno pročitajte Svinjčića
ako želite da se osetite vrlo nesrećno i da nastavite tako da se osećate danima :(
ako želite da se osetite vrlo nesrećno i da nastavite tako da se osećate danima :(
July 18, 2017
I read this last year and meant to tear this piece of s%*# apart but totally forgot about it until just now...and I hate myself for doing that.
This book is just horrible and cruel. Both of these characters are the biggest assholes in history. I have never read about teenage characters that were so mean. The author tries to cover this up by making the teen girl (I forgot her name) "simple", the "good girl", and "down to Earth" but she comes out as just being the one who listens to the teen boy (I forgot his name) and lets him take advantage of things without interfering. In fact, she is almost useless.
Now, to "The Pigman". I also forgot his name, but I remember him being an elderly man. He's actually kind of a cool character. Yes he's quirky as hell, but I really genuinely liked him...and then the horrible teen characters invite a bunch of other teens over who destroy his collection of porcelain pigs hat he adores...and he barely talks until he dies at the end. Yes. He dies at the end when he realizes his money friend at the zoo dies. How horrible is that?!?
The premise of the book was for the two teen kids to figure out what the Pigman's secret was...but guess what, I couldn't figure it out myself! Then I realized that the secret was he just kept a bunch of porcelain pigs...I think. Either that or the secret he was lonely. I seriously don't know, but both these secrets are not worth the hype of the book.
Y'know what? I hate this book. I'm dead serious. I didn't think I could possibly "hate" a book...but here I am now. Bravo, Zindel. Bravo.
Wanna know how I stumbled across this book? My brother, who was in sixth grade at the time, was assigned to read this. A sixth grade class was assigned to read a book about to lying, selfish teenagers who like a man but end up having his collection of porcelain pigs he collected over time; which ends up almost killing him from depression (in fact in a way it did kill him). Unbelievable!
I could not fathom recommending this to anybody, no child or adult or elder. This book is a depressing, miserable pile of rubbish.
This book is just horrible and cruel. Both of these characters are the biggest assholes in history. I have never read about teenage characters that were so mean. The author tries to cover this up by making the teen girl (I forgot her name) "simple", the "good girl", and "down to Earth" but she comes out as just being the one who listens to the teen boy (I forgot his name) and lets him take advantage of things without interfering. In fact, she is almost useless.
Now, to "The Pigman". I also forgot his name, but I remember him being an elderly man. He's actually kind of a cool character. Yes he's quirky as hell, but I really genuinely liked him...and then the horrible teen characters invite a bunch of other teens over who destroy his collection of porcelain pigs hat he adores...and he barely talks until he dies at the end. Yes. He dies at the end when he realizes his money friend at the zoo dies. How horrible is that?!?
The premise of the book was for the two teen kids to figure out what the Pigman's secret was...but guess what, I couldn't figure it out myself! Then I realized that the secret was he just kept a bunch of porcelain pigs...I think. Either that or the secret he was lonely. I seriously don't know, but both these secrets are not worth the hype of the book.
Y'know what? I hate this book. I'm dead serious. I didn't think I could possibly "hate" a book...but here I am now. Bravo, Zindel. Bravo.
Wanna know how I stumbled across this book? My brother, who was in sixth grade at the time, was assigned to read this. A sixth grade class was assigned to read a book about to lying, selfish teenagers who like a man but end up having his collection of porcelain pigs he collected over time; which ends up almost killing him from depression (in fact in a way it did kill him). Unbelievable!
I could not fathom recommending this to anybody, no child or adult or elder. This book is a depressing, miserable pile of rubbish.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2016
I just re-read this for the first time as an adult and was surprised to discover how little there really is to this book. It's hardly a novel, even, it's so light on story. Also, I don't remember the writing being so...after school special. The teenage narrators exclaim things like, "Dad, why can't you see that I want to be an individual!" "I don't want to be a business man, I just want to be ME." Ouch. But then, Zindel was writing in the seventies, and the book jacket is covered in critical praise about how ground breaking and "now" the novel is. Maybe teenage characters weren't typically portrayed with that kind of angst back then, so what is now painfully corny dialogue was then cutting edge. Then again, I read the book for the first time in the late eighties/early nineties and I remember thinking that it was super deep, so maybe it's less about the time period and more about the maturity level of the reader. In which case, Zindel is owed some praise for a book that resonates with new (young) readers even after the angst is no longer groundbreaking.
October 14, 2010
This was a waste of my time. I'm amazed that this book has won so many awards, and I feel sorry for all the teenagers who are forced to read this in school. I thought the relationship between the kids and the pigman was strange, unhealthy, and unrealistic. I thought John and Lorraine's dysfunctional relationships with their parents was too contrived and over-the-top. And I don't feel like their was enough character development or growth. Playing around with the idea of the generation gap was interesting, I admit. To have teenagers and a senior citizen glimpse into each others lives, and experience a little bit of what it's like to be them, well, that could make for a really great book....but not this book.
March 28, 2021
I'll always remember my minister, Maurice Boyd, speaking of George Bernard Shaw's claim that forgiveness was not the big issue Christianity made it. "You simply pay what you owe, said Shaw. It's as simple as that." Boyd asked: "But what about those things that can't be paid for?"
The Pigman is about something two teenagers do which cannot be paid or atoned for and the subsequent shock, awakening a sense of what great consequence one's actions and decisions have for ourselves and others. The superb and eloquent rendering of the story allows the reader to share this experience.
The Pigman is about something two teenagers do which cannot be paid or atoned for and the subsequent shock, awakening a sense of what great consequence one's actions and decisions have for ourselves and others. The superb and eloquent rendering of the story allows the reader to share this experience.
October 2, 2020
Love, love, LOVED the flawed characters but the plot itself was paper thin.
April 3, 2012
THE PIGMAN
BY PAUL ZINDLE
Death is all around us. Everyone will die one day some are lucky and come back to life but for others like one of the main characters in the story it’s not their lucky day. The Pigman by Paul Zindle I think is a great read and a book that should be shared with others. Death is one of the main themes in the story and right from the start not even reading the first chapter you know the pigman is going to die.
The Pigman (AKA Mr Pignati) is a old lonely man that lives by him self with a house full of pigs that he get for his wife Conchetta before she past away. He hides that she has died at first and says that she is a way on holidays because the truth of her death is too much to handle for him. He has one friend that he goes to see almost every day name Bobo who is a baboon Mr pignati brings little things to eat every time he come to see him because this is his only friend and he wants to treat him well. But for an old man he is really into having fun some of the things he liked to do were going to the zoo to see Bobo, drinking wine, rollerblading and having Peoples Company like when John and Lorraine come around.
John Conlen is a senior at Franklin high who is writing this epic memorial with lorraine who would be his best friend. He still lives with his parents bore his dad and he calls his mum the old lady. John gets bored very easy and he hates school so he puts bombs in the boys change rooms and rolls apples in class most of the time he would wag school. In his spare time him and his friends like to go down to the summitry and lay back and have a few drinks or they will choose numbers out of a phone book and prank call who’s number there finger lands on.
Lorraine is a girl that is very self conscious person that thinks at the start of the book everyone is laughing at her or talking about her. when they were doing the prank calling she got the pigmans number when she call him she pretended she was a charity worker and she worked for the L&J funds and asked if he would donate some money, he said he would donate 10 dollars what was a lot of money back then. Lorraine and john went through with taking his money and that is when they felt sorry for him and got to no him more. Lorraine’s mother hates boys and thinks they just want to have sex and rape you and she is always dealing with death because she works for old people helping them with everyday things but she also steals a lot of there stuff just takes home a little everyday.
What I think of the story The Pigman is it’s a great Book to read for anyone. It gives you a good laugh but at the same time it brings out the emotional side of you with the death of Mr Pignarti and Bobo the baboon. I really liked reading this book it draws you in when you no someone is going to die and after you finish you want to read more. Death I think is the main theme in the story because they are all talking about it and with Bobo and the Pigman dying I think that is a pretty good assumption.
BY PAUL ZINDLE
Death is all around us. Everyone will die one day some are lucky and come back to life but for others like one of the main characters in the story it’s not their lucky day. The Pigman by Paul Zindle I think is a great read and a book that should be shared with others. Death is one of the main themes in the story and right from the start not even reading the first chapter you know the pigman is going to die.
The Pigman (AKA Mr Pignati) is a old lonely man that lives by him self with a house full of pigs that he get for his wife Conchetta before she past away. He hides that she has died at first and says that she is a way on holidays because the truth of her death is too much to handle for him. He has one friend that he goes to see almost every day name Bobo who is a baboon Mr pignati brings little things to eat every time he come to see him because this is his only friend and he wants to treat him well. But for an old man he is really into having fun some of the things he liked to do were going to the zoo to see Bobo, drinking wine, rollerblading and having Peoples Company like when John and Lorraine come around.
John Conlen is a senior at Franklin high who is writing this epic memorial with lorraine who would be his best friend. He still lives with his parents bore his dad and he calls his mum the old lady. John gets bored very easy and he hates school so he puts bombs in the boys change rooms and rolls apples in class most of the time he would wag school. In his spare time him and his friends like to go down to the summitry and lay back and have a few drinks or they will choose numbers out of a phone book and prank call who’s number there finger lands on.
Lorraine is a girl that is very self conscious person that thinks at the start of the book everyone is laughing at her or talking about her. when they were doing the prank calling she got the pigmans number when she call him she pretended she was a charity worker and she worked for the L&J funds and asked if he would donate some money, he said he would donate 10 dollars what was a lot of money back then. Lorraine and john went through with taking his money and that is when they felt sorry for him and got to no him more. Lorraine’s mother hates boys and thinks they just want to have sex and rape you and she is always dealing with death because she works for old people helping them with everyday things but she also steals a lot of there stuff just takes home a little everyday.
What I think of the story The Pigman is it’s a great Book to read for anyone. It gives you a good laugh but at the same time it brings out the emotional side of you with the death of Mr Pignarti and Bobo the baboon. I really liked reading this book it draws you in when you no someone is going to die and after you finish you want to read more. Death I think is the main theme in the story because they are all talking about it and with Bobo and the Pigman dying I think that is a pretty good assumption.
December 10, 2018
I'd like it more if I were a fan of Catcher in the Rye. These kids are messed up for not good enough reasons except just the zeitgeist of the era. And the themes of the story are ambiguous. A reviewer that I respect says that the kids are to blame for Pignati's death. I say that his grief, triggered by the death of Bobo, is. The party has nothing to do with Pignati, the loss of the pigs hurts him but he'd get over it. He's just worn down. Note that at least he did have a few months of fun with the kids, and that he did forgive them. The party served to further force maturity on the kids.
I guess that's why it's such a famous book. Very discussable. I identify with Pignati because I'm his age and have no good reason to try to live a lot longer. Kids will likely identify with the kids. Hopefully nobody will identify with the parents. And trying to understand the book's popularity by careful reading will enable a reader to see others' points of view... another reason it's been so widely read and taught.
I'm surprised that I've not heard hype this year, its 50th anniversary.
I mean, sure, it's dated in some ways... but that actually adds another layer for a group to discuss. What was it like to live in an era when it was not considered child abuse to encourage your 10 yo to drink the dregs of beer after a party? When a private nurse had only her own resources to discourage sexual harassment from patients and employers? Etc....
I will recommend it, mainly because it's short and because it is a canon touchstone, at least for those of us who were young when it was first published. I esp. recommend it to fans of Salinger. I cannot suggest any of you will actually enjoy it or even feel edified by it, but still I am very glad I *finally* got around to reading and hope you can find time to do so, too.
Btw, it's not your typical YA fare at all, and better for adults. I don't think I would have appreciated at all as a teen, esp. because I had no point of context in common with these kids.
I guess that's why it's such a famous book. Very discussable. I identify with Pignati because I'm his age and have no good reason to try to live a lot longer. Kids will likely identify with the kids. Hopefully nobody will identify with the parents. And trying to understand the book's popularity by careful reading will enable a reader to see others' points of view... another reason it's been so widely read and taught.
I'm surprised that I've not heard hype this year, its 50th anniversary.
I mean, sure, it's dated in some ways... but that actually adds another layer for a group to discuss. What was it like to live in an era when it was not considered child abuse to encourage your 10 yo to drink the dregs of beer after a party? When a private nurse had only her own resources to discourage sexual harassment from patients and employers? Etc....
I will recommend it, mainly because it's short and because it is a canon touchstone, at least for those of us who were young when it was first published. I esp. recommend it to fans of Salinger. I cannot suggest any of you will actually enjoy it or even feel edified by it, but still I am very glad I *finally* got around to reading and hope you can find time to do so, too.
Btw, it's not your typical YA fare at all, and better for adults. I don't think I would have appreciated at all as a teen, esp. because I had no point of context in common with these kids.
May 8, 2012
My 8th grade English teacher read this to us, and she was much, much cooler than I realized at the time. She was identifying with teenage angst that we didn't even know we had yet. Well, at least I didn't. I was still passing notes and crushing on cute boys and doing what my teachers and parents told me to. I didn't feel oppressed. (That came later!) But, even if it didn't "speak to me", I remembered enough of the story that I wanted to read it again. So, so glad I did!
Poor John and Lorraine! Emotionally starved and surrounded by adults who have replaced joy and fun with being responsible and respectable, and are eagerly waiting for their offspring to do the same. Eeek! Happily, all that changes one day when a practical joke goes right, for once, and they meet the perfect adult. Sure, he's quirky, but he is also adventurous and kind and treats them as valuable human beings. I can almost see J & L blooming under Mr. P's attention, and I am happy for them. And even though the adventure is not without its share of heartache, I think J & L would do it all over again, because they learned to love. As gut wrenching and painful as the loss of love can be, the sweet memory is still far better than the yawning void of nothingness that they knew before. Their lives are their own. And Mr. P gave them the courage to live them.
Poor John and Lorraine! Emotionally starved and surrounded by adults who have replaced joy and fun with being responsible and respectable, and are eagerly waiting for their offspring to do the same. Eeek! Happily, all that changes one day when a practical joke goes right, for once, and they meet the perfect adult. Sure, he's quirky, but he is also adventurous and kind and treats them as valuable human beings. I can almost see J & L blooming under Mr. P's attention, and I am happy for them. And even though the adventure is not without its share of heartache, I think J & L would do it all over again, because they learned to love. As gut wrenching and painful as the loss of love can be, the sweet memory is still far better than the yawning void of nothingness that they knew before. Their lives are their own. And Mr. P gave them the courage to live them.
October 8, 2022
I remembered liking this one when I read it, but I read it 13 years ago, and Idk why I liked it because this is literally one of the most depressing coming of age novels I’ve read. I wanted to write a nice thoughtful review, but my only thought is no thoughts, head empty.
January 18, 2008
I read this book in the 7th grade and LOVED it. I came across it in the library a few days ago and decided to bring it home and re-read it to see what it was about and how much I liked it now. It's a pretty cool story about two young friends who meet and befriend an old widowed man, who they dub "The Pigman". They quickly admire the Pigman and enjoy spending time with him. He falls ill, they take advantage of having a key to his house while he's in the hospital and soon they learn important lessons about friendship, the fragility of life and "trespassing" where they shouldn't be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2017
This book is very much of its time, written in the late 1960s and it would be hard for the YA readers of today to relate to it except as historical fiction. However the core elements have not dated. John and Lorraine are two teenagers from dysfunctional families who just want to have fun - the trouble is, the 'fun' turns into tragedy.
The story is told in the two viewpoints of John and Lorraine. Lorraine's mother is a private nurse, nursing cancer patients in their own homes, and is an obviously unhappy woman who takes out her frustrations on her daughter, including the odd bit of face slapping when really provoked. She indulges in petty pilfering from her clients as she feels she isn't paid sufficiently. Lorraine's father left them when Lorraine was a baby and he died some years ago. Her mother has tried to bring her up to distrust and even hate men, so Lorraine keeps her friendship with John a secret and always pretends to be at a friend's studying after school instead of where she really is - with John hanging out at the cemetery drinking beer (and in his case smoking) or otherwise spending time with him.
John, meanwhile, despises his father who he nicknames 'Bore'. Bore is a coffee trader and wants John to follow in his footsteps as his older brother has already done, disdaining John's half-hearted notion of becoming an actor. John has no real relationship with his mother either, and nicknames her the Old Lady. He constantly acts out and has been a practical joker for years, doing such things as blowing up school toilets with delayed action bombs, although he was never caught.
Lorraine has no illusions about him, and although she sometimes deplores what he does, always goes along with whatever he wants to do. But as she says, John is very good looking; an ugly boy would never get away with the things he does. She lacks confidence and thinks she isn't very attractive, though this is partly down to her mother's criticisms.
As the book opens, the two are typing up (on a typewriter naturally at that period) what happened to them and why the 'Pigman' died, so we know from the start what has happened, just not how or who the Pigman was. As the story develops, we learn that during a phone prank, where they posed as charity workers asking for donations, Lorraine spoke to a Mr Pignati who not only pledged ten dollars but invited them to come over and collect the money in person. Thus they inveigle their way into the life of a lonely old man who .
They start to spend time over his house and also to truant and go to the zoo with him, as he loves visiting a particular baboon called Bobo. He also spends money on them. Despite Lorraine's misgivings, she can't resist accepting his treats, and John has no qualms at all. The two become more and more closely entwined in Mr Pignati's life, and are his only human contacts. Inevitably, as they make more and more free of his house and possessions, the situation unravels into disillusionment and tragedy.
Therefore, despite the dated nature of the setting, the story itself is not: two bored, alienated teenagers scam a lonely old person, although they don't do it to be mean but just to have fun. Judging by the beginning of the tale, when they look back on what has happened, they don't appear to have learned from the experience or to really be sorry about it. The only change in them is that, thanks to the seclusion that Mr Pignati's house provided, they have started to recognise the growing attraction between them which is replacing their straightforward friendship.
The story is told in the two viewpoints of John and Lorraine. Lorraine's mother is a private nurse, nursing cancer patients in their own homes, and is an obviously unhappy woman who takes out her frustrations on her daughter, including the odd bit of face slapping when really provoked. She indulges in petty pilfering from her clients as she feels she isn't paid sufficiently. Lorraine's father left them when Lorraine was a baby and he died some years ago. Her mother has tried to bring her up to distrust and even hate men, so Lorraine keeps her friendship with John a secret and always pretends to be at a friend's studying after school instead of where she really is - with John hanging out at the cemetery drinking beer (and in his case smoking) or otherwise spending time with him.
John, meanwhile, despises his father who he nicknames 'Bore'. Bore is a coffee trader and wants John to follow in his footsteps as his older brother has already done, disdaining John's half-hearted notion of becoming an actor. John has no real relationship with his mother either, and nicknames her the Old Lady. He constantly acts out and has been a practical joker for years, doing such things as blowing up school toilets with delayed action bombs, although he was never caught.
Lorraine has no illusions about him, and although she sometimes deplores what he does, always goes along with whatever he wants to do. But as she says, John is very good looking; an ugly boy would never get away with the things he does. She lacks confidence and thinks she isn't very attractive, though this is partly down to her mother's criticisms.
As the book opens, the two are typing up (on a typewriter naturally at that period) what happened to them and why the 'Pigman' died, so we know from the start what has happened, just not how or who the Pigman was. As the story develops, we learn that during a phone prank, where they posed as charity workers asking for donations, Lorraine spoke to a Mr Pignati who not only pledged ten dollars but invited them to come over and collect the money in person. Thus they inveigle their way into the life of a lonely old man who .
They start to spend time over his house and also to truant and go to the zoo with him, as he loves visiting a particular baboon called Bobo. He also spends money on them. Despite Lorraine's misgivings, she can't resist accepting his treats, and John has no qualms at all. The two become more and more closely entwined in Mr Pignati's life, and are his only human contacts. Inevitably, as they make more and more free of his house and possessions, the situation unravels into disillusionment and tragedy.
Therefore, despite the dated nature of the setting, the story itself is not: two bored, alienated teenagers scam a lonely old person, although they don't do it to be mean but just to have fun. Judging by the beginning of the tale, when they look back on what has happened, they don't appear to have learned from the experience or to really be sorry about it. The only change in them is that, thanks to the seclusion that Mr Pignati's house provided, they have started to recognise the growing attraction between them which is replacing their straightforward friendship.
November 18, 2007
Along with Lorraine and other friends,John plays a "telephone marathon",in which participants close their eyes, point at a random name in a telephone book, and call that number, trying to stay on the line as long as possible. They contact a Mr. Pignati, and Lorraine pretends she's collecting for charity. He pledges and invites them to his home to collect.
Pignati proves to be a good-natured, whimsical elderly man who invites them to explore his house. He claims his wife Conchetta is visiting relatives, but John finds her funeral bill and knows she is dead. Pignati's treasured memories of her are preserved in her collection of glass and china pigs. This is how they nickname Mr. Pignati, "The Pigman". He also introduces the kids to his "best friend" Bobo, an unpleasant old baboon in the city zoo, whom he sees as a person.
John and Lorraine, who are unable to communicate with their own parents, become very close to Mr. Pignati; he understands them and wants them to be happy. He also buys them numerous presents.
Mr. Pignati suffers a heart attack while he, Lorraine, and John were roller-skating around the house. Mr. Pignati asks John and Lorraine to care for the house and visit Bobo while he's in the hospital. While alone together in his house, they speak openly about their feelings for one another, and then they begin to fall in love.
Notified that Pignati is about to leave the hospital, John wants to give a party before turning the house back over to him. The party goes out of control, ending in violence and destruction, and Pignati comes home to find his house ruined and his wife's pig collection smashed. The next day, Lorraine and John take him to the zoo, only to find that Bobo has died. Mr. Pignati suffers another heart attack and dies on the spot.
Pignati proves to be a good-natured, whimsical elderly man who invites them to explore his house. He claims his wife Conchetta is visiting relatives, but John finds her funeral bill and knows she is dead. Pignati's treasured memories of her are preserved in her collection of glass and china pigs. This is how they nickname Mr. Pignati, "The Pigman". He also introduces the kids to his "best friend" Bobo, an unpleasant old baboon in the city zoo, whom he sees as a person.
John and Lorraine, who are unable to communicate with their own parents, become very close to Mr. Pignati; he understands them and wants them to be happy. He also buys them numerous presents.
Mr. Pignati suffers a heart attack while he, Lorraine, and John were roller-skating around the house. Mr. Pignati asks John and Lorraine to care for the house and visit Bobo while he's in the hospital. While alone together in his house, they speak openly about their feelings for one another, and then they begin to fall in love.
Notified that Pignati is about to leave the hospital, John wants to give a party before turning the house back over to him. The party goes out of control, ending in violence and destruction, and Pignati comes home to find his house ruined and his wife's pig collection smashed. The next day, Lorraine and John take him to the zoo, only to find that Bobo has died. Mr. Pignati suffers another heart attack and dies on the spot.
February 22, 2009
This is a really old book, but the themes are still relevant for today. However, what it needs now is a little revision to place it in time, because the first person narrative makes it sound contemporary while the cultural details are 40 years old. Teens would reject the lack of cell phones, rotary phone dialing of strangers to pull telephone pranks, and the one narrator's choice of using @##$$? for cuss words if they thought it were a modern teenager, but I think they would buy it if they knew these were 1960s teenagers. The sensibilities were different then.
This reminded me of Shusterman's The Schwa Was Here, in terms of relationship and identity issues. The age old teenage rejection of parent value is there, as is the presence in theirlives of an adult who totally accepts them, but whom they hurt just as much as they have hurt their parents. Two narrators, one male one female alternate the telling of the story, much like Avi did in a couple of books with a female author. It's a nice technique for different perspectives.
The teenagers are just a reckless as teens today; they drink, cause trouble, and see this as normal. And they learn lessons just as much as we hope teens learn them today. The ending is very sad, but Zindel makes an important point: "Our life would be what we made of it - nothing more, nothing less." Food for thought for everyone, not just teens.
This reminded me of Shusterman's The Schwa Was Here, in terms of relationship and identity issues. The age old teenage rejection of parent value is there, as is the presence in theirlives of an adult who totally accepts them, but whom they hurt just as much as they have hurt their parents. Two narrators, one male one female alternate the telling of the story, much like Avi did in a couple of books with a female author. It's a nice technique for different perspectives.
The teenagers are just a reckless as teens today; they drink, cause trouble, and see this as normal. And they learn lessons just as much as we hope teens learn them today. The ending is very sad, but Zindel makes an important point: "Our life would be what we made of it - nothing more, nothing less." Food for thought for everyone, not just teens.
May 20, 2014
I wanted to like this book because it came in Kalman's bookbox, but I really thought it was obnoxious.
Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, are friends and have been for years. They both don't like their homes or their parents, are disrespectful and disobedient; such things as calling parents names like "bore" and "my old lady", cutting school, drinking, prank calls, lying about plans and whereabouts, property damage like bombing toilets and having large parties in people's houses without their permission. I mean their behavior is appalling, there is nothing meritorious in the so-called teenage behavior they are involved with. Teens do not have to behave in an amateur criminal fashion. The results of their actions in this book are tragic. And I'm sorry, but an old guy who can't recognize teens on a scam when he sees them, who serves said teens wine!!!??? The kids were awful and the old guy was maybe suffering from dementia. Not a good book in my opinion.
Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, are friends and have been for years. They both don't like their homes or their parents, are disrespectful and disobedient; such things as calling parents names like "bore" and "my old lady", cutting school, drinking, prank calls, lying about plans and whereabouts, property damage like bombing toilets and having large parties in people's houses without their permission. I mean their behavior is appalling, there is nothing meritorious in the so-called teenage behavior they are involved with. Teens do not have to behave in an amateur criminal fashion. The results of their actions in this book are tragic. And I'm sorry, but an old guy who can't recognize teens on a scam when he sees them, who serves said teens wine!!!??? The kids were awful and the old guy was maybe suffering from dementia. Not a good book in my opinion.
June 28, 2019
Amazing. Wonderful pick for junior high and high school. My daughter, now a freshman, has a book report to do on this. Of course her bibliophile mother got a hold of it first but I hope when she reads it it will speak to her as it had spoken to me. We both know how it feels to lose someone, someone who meant something to us. I never put spoilers on my reviews and I won't now. I just want her to know that I am very proud of her and love her more than anything in the world.
Dedicated to my wonderful daughter.
Dedicated to my wonderful daughter.
January 2, 2022
The Pigman is by far Paul Zindel’s most famous and well-known young adult novel. It tells the story of teenage best friends Paul and Lorraine. Through a prank gone wrong, they inadvertently befriend Mr. Pignati—a lonely, old man who collects glass and ceramic pig figurines. They nickname him the Pigman and over the course of a couple of months, the three forge an unlikely and nurturing friendship. They drink wine and watch TV, eat exotic food for fun, and roller skate through a department store. But most importantly they regularly visit the zoo to feed roasted peanuts to the Pigman’s animal friend, Bobo the baboon.
On the second page of the novel, we’re told Mr. Pignati has died. This isn’t a spoiler since the entire novel is a confession of sorts. Using alternating chapters told in Paul and Lorraine’s voices we’re told the events leading up to the Pigman’s death and how Paul and Lorraine may be partially responsible for it.
This is what really sets The Pigman apart from other Zindel novels. Right from the start the reader knows how the novel will end but the story is curious enough to keep you engaged. Also, Zindel’s usual go-tos are all here: A delusional self-confident teenage male. A socially awkward, insecure teenage female. A young romance. Death-related unresolved trauma. And borderline abusive parents (especially in the case of Lorraine’s kleptomaniac hospice care nurse mom—a near identical mother to the one in Confessions of a Teenage Baboon.) It all comes together nicely.
What I do remember from the first time I read this is how incredibly heartbreaking it is. It’s a story that can really pack a punch by its last page. What I don’t remember after re-reading this is how existential it gets. Paul and Lorraine grapple with some intense adult emotions and their own existential reckoning.
If you only read one Paul Zindel young adult novel, The Pigman is the one.
On the second page of the novel, we’re told Mr. Pignati has died. This isn’t a spoiler since the entire novel is a confession of sorts. Using alternating chapters told in Paul and Lorraine’s voices we’re told the events leading up to the Pigman’s death and how Paul and Lorraine may be partially responsible for it.
This is what really sets The Pigman apart from other Zindel novels. Right from the start the reader knows how the novel will end but the story is curious enough to keep you engaged. Also, Zindel’s usual go-tos are all here: A delusional self-confident teenage male. A socially awkward, insecure teenage female. A young romance. Death-related unresolved trauma. And borderline abusive parents (especially in the case of Lorraine’s kleptomaniac hospice care nurse mom—a near identical mother to the one in Confessions of a Teenage Baboon.) It all comes together nicely.
What I do remember from the first time I read this is how incredibly heartbreaking it is. It’s a story that can really pack a punch by its last page. What I don’t remember after re-reading this is how existential it gets. Paul and Lorraine grapple with some intense adult emotions and their own existential reckoning.
If you only read one Paul Zindel young adult novel, The Pigman is the one.
March 9, 2012
This is a coming of age story told from a young adult perspective with the narrative split between John Conlan, a young good-looking rebel who one day hopes to be an actor, and Lorraine, a not very-attractive girl who lives with her single mom.
Both kids are up to no good when they make the acquaintence of the Pigman, an older Italian man who's lonely enough to let these two teens invade his life and somewhat take advantage of him.
Set in New York City in the mid sixties, this story doesn't feel dated at all and deals with issues that are just as current today as then.
The story is a quick read and is expertly told with all three main characters becoming more and more real and more and more understandable the more you read.
At 149 pages this is a fast read but, as with any good book, some of the ideas will stick with you longer than that. The author asserts in an afterword that everyone has a Pigman. I'll be contemplating that one a while...
Both kids are up to no good when they make the acquaintence of the Pigman, an older Italian man who's lonely enough to let these two teens invade his life and somewhat take advantage of him.
Set in New York City in the mid sixties, this story doesn't feel dated at all and deals with issues that are just as current today as then.
The story is a quick read and is expertly told with all three main characters becoming more and more real and more and more understandable the more you read.
At 149 pages this is a fast read but, as with any good book, some of the ideas will stick with you longer than that. The author asserts in an afterword that everyone has a Pigman. I'll be contemplating that one a while...
December 27, 2024
Not a bad book but I think it belongs to a younger age group.
May 19, 2013
Boring. Depressing. John's an asshole, Lorraine's not much better, always going along with his schemes. Good job you two.
July 28, 2016
A cute but sad little story about two teenagers who prank call an old widower and end up being friends with him.
I hated John and Lorraine though, but especially John. They shouldn't have taken advantage of Mr. Pignati like that. Now that I think about it, there really was nothing happy about this story, no redemption or "all's well that ends well" bullshit. Both John and Lorraine had family troubles of their own, while Mr. Pignati's life was just sad and lonely. It would've been better if this book was longer so there was room for resolution, but sadly the ending was abrupt and devastating.
It was interesting to read a contemporary YA novel from the 60's though.
I hated John and Lorraine though, but especially John. They shouldn't have taken advantage of Mr. Pignati like that. Now that I think about it, there really was nothing happy about this story, no redemption or "all's well that ends well" bullshit. Both John and Lorraine had family troubles of their own, while Mr. Pignati's life was just sad and lonely. It would've been better if this book was longer so there was room for resolution, but sadly the ending was abrupt and devastating.
It was interesting to read a contemporary YA novel from the 60's though.
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