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.

Amazon.com Review
For sophomores John and Lorraine, the world feels meaningless; nothing is important. They certainly can never please their parents, and school is a chore. To pass the time, they play pranks on unsuspecting people. It's during one of these pranks that they meet the "Pigman"--a fat, balding old man with a zany smile plastered on his face. In spite of themselves, John and Lorraine soon find that they're caught up in Mr. Pignati's zest for life. In fact, they become so involved that they begin to destroy the only corner of the world that's ever mattered to them. Originally published in 1968, this novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel still sings with sharp emotion as John and Lorraine come to realize that "Our life would be what we made of it--nothing more, nothing less."

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 344 reviews)

Pigman Review by Dallin Johnson

As a reader of The Pigman, I thought it was a very good book. I really loved the way that it was narrated. It was humorous at some points when John and Lorraine would switch off chapters. They would always correct the previous writer on something they said about each other. I thought it was clever and it kept my attention for the whole book.

The story and characters in The Pigman were very believable in my opinion. It was about two sophomores in high school that were doing things that normal high school kids do. John would drink, have parties, and play pranks, while Lorraine was doing more academic things. When Angelo Pignati, a.k.a The Pigman came into the story, it started getting interesting. Slowly, John and Lorraine started looking at life differently, and doing things with The Pigman that they didn't ever do with their parents. I thought that it was very exciting.

If you are in high school, you will definitely be able to relate to this story. It is a little dated, but the people in it act just like teenagers today. We just have newer technology. I definitely recommend this book to anyone in needs something fun and easy to read. It gets a little depressing at times, but that's ok. When the story is going to teach a lesson, it usually will have a few sad moments. Overall, I would give it five stars.
September 28, 2008

The Pigman

Overall my opinion of "The Pigman" is positive. Combing some harsh truths of life with the antics of two lovesick teens and a peculiar old man makes this book easier to digest. Paul Zindel did a spectacular job in condensing a lifetime full of struggles, into 159 pages of humor, theology, and emotion.
I loved the beginning and the middle, but towards the end the harshness of reality takes over. However without the ending, "The Pigman" would be nothing more that a story of a silly man and two crazy high school kids. I would highly recommend the first 12 chapters as a entertaining lighthearted story, and the last 3 chapters as a deep look into the search for the meaning of life.

September 27, 2008

The Pigman was pretty good.......

After reading this book, I would give it probably 3 out of five stars. The reason I wouldn't give it five stars is because some of the things that they sort of teach kids that they can do in it that are not good at all. But if it weren't for the ending and how John will probably shape his life back up I would maybe give it a one. I think the ending teaches the kids that even if you are doing some things in life that are not good, you can always change and do good again.
I really enjoyed the narrating in it and how the two characters had such different voice so you always knew who was talking. John's voice made this book entertaining but then at the same time I liked Lorraine's because she did a good job describing and used lots of different words I didn't even know! I think it was very interesting how the author used so many different symbols so in the end, you had to stop and think about what all of those things represent.
The Pigman is a book that you should only read if you are in ninth grade or above. The kids in it are not the best examples so it could teach some bad things to younger kids. I don't really think that it is very modern; because there is a lot of stuff in this book that there is no way you could get away with in the world today. Like how Lorraine's mother slaps her right in front of the police officer, and how John is always drinking and smoking! There is just no way you could do that now. I probably would have liked it if it was more modern just because I think kids could probably relate more to it and learn from it. It is a very interesting book, but I am not sure if I would say it is exciting. I have never read a book that is like. I am usually into the fairytale or fantasy books. But it was a good change to read something like this.

September 26, 2008

Interesting but disturbing

This was my 8th grader's summer reading book. I read it too. Very funny and interesting style of writing with every other chapter from one of the two main characters. However I was disturbed by the things the kids did like bombs in the boys bathroom, drinking, smoking, etc. since the characters were tenth grade but it was assigned to 7th grade.
September 12, 2008

A touching if not altogether happy relationship.

A few years ago my little sisters kept going on and on about this book, which they were reading for some English class or another. The book must have been introduced into the high school curriculum after my time. Finally, last week, whilst going through one sister's room, we stumbled upon her old copy ad I thought "hey, my sisters loved this book. Why not give it a try?"

And since I don't like to think of myself as a morose person obsessed with deep and depressing thoughts and sad stuff, I didn't think I would take to this book.

But Zindel's writing is grabbing and full of character even if outdated. That alone instantly drew me into the story, a surprisingly good one that relies more on the decisions of the characters than the force of Zindel's pen. His characters are real, and it was only garrish details of 60s life that reminded me that this was not in fact taking place in the contemporary age. I think that is a pretty good sign of a timeless story. These kids are probably now my parents' age but I think I related to them well when I was that age.

I guess the story appealed to the soft spot of my heart, for I am a sap like that. It never makes the cheese factor--instead it is a thoroughly honest story about friendship, growing up, and the choices we make. Yes, that makes some roll their eyes, but I will happily call those people cynics who are completely out of touch with humanity.
May 07, 2008

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