Review
"From page one, this is a novel you want to take your time with." --Frederick Barthelme
Review
"Richard Katrovas's first novel, Mystic Pig, is as wild, dangerous and spicy as the city it celebrates."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first half of Mystic Pig is rather contemplative, the themes of evil and violence are considered by the main characters each in their own way; the holocaust and racism are major motifs throughout. That is not to say that the first half is at all dry - we are introduced to a world of interesting characters living in New Orleans. Nat is the verging-on alcoholic restauranteur with a secret life, his restaurant is peopled with eccentrics - the Old Queens and Jack/Nick, a man who gets taken over by his own penis, add a dark humour to the novel. Willie, a black child prodigy uses his superior intellect to try and understand the senselessness of the hatred he sees around him every day, while being paid, like a prostitute, to listen to a dying poet's final epic. The philosophical musings in the first half are not at all heavy-handed, rather they are engaging and thought-provoking and a perfect introduction for what is to come.
The reader reaches the half way point in the book, with a vaguely ominous feeling that something bad will happen to one of the main characters. But when the bombshell is dropped, as gently as Katrovas can drop it, it is completely unexpected. The relationship between truth and reality slips, for us as much as for the characters, the reader is forced to re-evaluate the whole book. The Mystic Pig engages with the reader and forces them to ask the very questions that the characters have been grappling with, reminding us all of the frailty of happiness.
This is a really enjoyable, though-provoking book with strong, entertaining characters that definately deserves a second read. Thoroughly recommended.
The reader reaches the half way point in the book, with a vaguely ominous feeling that something bad will happen to one of the main characters. But when the bombshell is dropped, as gently as Katrovas can drop it, it is completely unexpected. The relationship between truth and reality slips, for us as much as for the characters, the reader is forced to re-evaluate the whole book. The Mystic Pig engages with the reader and forces them to ask the very questions that the characters have been grappling with, reminding us all of the frailty of happiness.
This is a really enjoyable, though-provoking book with strong, entertaining characters that definately deserves a second read. Thoroughly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are a lot of good and great reads out there but there a few that stop you in your tracks. This is a book that makes you reevaluate, and then reaffirm, your belief in people, friendship and love. New Orleans may be the location but the novel takes place in your heart. And although it's a story that deals with death and its immediate and long-term ramifications, it has a delightful vein of noir humour running through it. It's thought-provoking, immediately engaging and quietly affirmative in bridging the self-destructive barriers we create for ourselves. Really it's about acceptance, humanity and above all, passion. Written lyrically and simply in Katrovas's masculinely-poetic style that clarifies emotions and embeds empathy simply and cleanly, this is a city-break that you won't want to end.
Format:Paperback
Mystic Pig is astutely observed, tightly structured, and engagingly honest. Emotionally intense in places, it is written with great warmth, humour and above all a deep feeling of humanity and for family. It describes the closely interconnected lives of seemingly disparate and idiosyncratic people, many flawed (and who isn't?). Some of these are coping with tremendous challenges - even traumatic loss. While the book conveys the feeling and flavours of New Orleans (prior to Hurricane Katrina), the location is not fundamental to the story. Skilfully and subtly written, with gloriously well-crafted phrases that ring like a bell in the reader's ear - this book is a genuine pleasure to read. Don't miss it.
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