Oink: My Life with Mini-Pigs [Hardcover]
- Author by Whyman, Matt
Editorial Reviews
From Publisher
Paris Hilton carries one around like a Chihuahua, while Posh and Becks own a pair. The mini-pig, for reasons unknown, has become the latest celebrity accessory, but what's it really like to invite little livestock into the living room?
Matt Whyman, a successful novelist, enjoys a quiet writer's life in the English countryside ... until his career wife, Emma, discovers the existence of a pig said to fit inside a handbag. She believes not one but two would be a perfect addition to the already diverse Whyman clan, which includes one wolf-like dog, a freaked-out feline, their wild bunch of ex-battery chickens as well as four challenging children. In reality, nobody could anticipate the trials and misadventures two riotous, raucous little piglets could bring. From turning Whyman's office into a literal pigsty, stealing his spot on the family sofa to trashing his neighbour's garden while drunk on fermented apples, Butch and Roxi swiftly establish themselves as "animals of mass distraction."
Funny, touching and endlessly entertaining, "Oink "charts the battle of hearts, snouts and minds between a family man and two mini-pigs. Will Butch and Roxi ever settle down, or could their growing presence put the squeeze on Whyman in ways he never thought possible?
Reviews
- From Booklist
- Whyman was a successful young-adult author (Boy Kills Man, 2005) working from home and living on a quiet street leading out of an English village. His businesswoman wife, Emma, had always wanted a big family, and when four kids seemed to be enough, she turned her attention to adding pets. After several cats, rabbits, chickens, and a dog, Emma decided that the family needed miniature pigs. When the two tiny piglets arrived, Whyman began to realize that his life had irreparably changed. Pigs are intelligent, social, and not only do mini pigs not remain so mini, when push comes to shove they remain just like their larger cousins. Pigs need to dig and root, shove at everything with their snouts, and are escape artists. In this funny book, Whyman writes of how he and his family, with the able help of farmer friend Tom, integrated these porcine pets into their house and into their family. Between the pigs getting drunk on fermented apples and an attempted theft thwarted by piggy intervention, it is a miracle that Whyman found time to write this endearing memoir.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)
Quote Reviews
- "What a fabulous, funny read! I enjoyed every page. Highly recommended for anyone with a pet, a partner, a family, a sense of humor. . . or even a mini-pig."
--Sophie Kinsella
