The Good Good Pig: Summary and book reviews of The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery, plus links to an excerpt from The Good Good Pig and a biography of Sy Montgomery.
The Good Good Pig The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood
by Sy Montgomery
Hardcover: May 2006,
240 pages.
Paperback: Apr 2007,
240 pages.
“Christopher
Hogwood came home on my lap in a shoebox. He was a creature who would prove in
many ways to be more human than I am.”
–from The Good Good Pig
A naturalist who spent months at a time living on her own among wild creatures
in remote jungles, Sy Montgomery had always felt more comfortable with animals
than with people. So she gladly opened her heart to a sick piglet who had been
crowded away from nourishing meals by his stronger siblings. Yet Sy had no
inkling that this piglet, later named Christopher Hogwood, would not only
survive but flourish–and she soon found herself engaged with her small-town
community in ways she had never dreamed possible. Unexpectedly, Christopher
provided this peripatetic traveler with something she had sought all her life:
an anchor (eventually weighing 750 pounds) to family and home.
The Good Good Pig celebrates Christopher Hogwood in all his glory, from his
inauspicious infancy to hog heaven in rural New Hampshire, where his boundless
zest for life and his large, loving heart made him absolute monarch over a
(mostly) peaceable kingdom. At first, his domain included only Sy’s cosseted
hens and her beautiful border collie, Tess. Then the neighbors began fetching
Christopher home from his unauthorized jaunts, the little girls next door
started giving him warm, soapy baths, and the villagers brought him delicious
leftovers. His intelligence and fame increased along with his girth. He was
featured in USA Today and on several National Public Radio environmental
programs. On election day, some voters even wrote in Christopher’s name on their
ballots.
But as this enchanting book describes, Christopher Hogwood’s influence extended
far beyond celebrity; for he was, as a friend said, a great big Buddha master.
Sy reveals what she and others learned from this generous soul who just so
happened to be a pig–lessons about self-acceptance, the meaning of family, the
value of community, and the pleasures of the sweet green Earth. The Good Good
Pig provides proof that with love, almost anything is possible.
Moderately treacly at times, but overall, a charming book about a charmingly boorish pig. Fans of Gerald Durrell and James Herriot, plus any of the multitude who've made Marley & Me a bestseller are likely to enjoy The Good, Good Pig. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Library Journal
All this is great fun to read, but when Montgomery talks about the "deep" life lessons,... the book treads dangerously close to becoming sentimental hogwash...one wishes for a little less treacle and a lot more of Christopher.
Publishers Weekly
The humor with which she recounts Christopher's meticulous eating habits and love of digging up turf is sure to charm readers.
Booklist
Montgomery writes with extraordinary lucidity, candor, and grace about what this good, good pig taught her and others about life, love, happiness, and all that we share with our fellow species on this precious planet.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Johanna J. The Good Good Pig Is a Good Good Book Most biographies are written about people's struggles through the hard times in their life or the joys they have had, but what about biography of a pig's life? Christopher Hogwood is pig that lives in New Hampsire with Sy Montgomery,the author of... Read More
Rated of 5
by Selene Booklover The OK Pig This was nominated choice in one of my book clubs. It wasn't chosen, but thought I would read it anyway. As an animal lover, I love to read books about people's pets. Although, I did enjoy reading the book, somehow the warmth, personality and... Read More
Sy Montgomery is a naturalist,
author, documentary scriptwriter, and
radio commentator who writes for
children as well as adults. Among her
books are Journey of the Pink
Dolphins, Spell of the Tiger, and
Search for the Golden Moon Bear. She
lives in New Hampshire with her husband,
author Howard Mansfield. More about
them at their
website.
Pigs in Literature
Christopher Hogwood follows a star
studded cast of previous famous pigs -
albeit most have been of the fictional
variety. How many literary pigs can you
think of? Here are a few to get you
started......
Babe from The Sheep Pig
by Dick King-Smith (just one of the
wonderful porcine characters created
by the highly talented King-Smith).
When Mark Doty decides to adopt a dog as a companion for his dying partner, he brings home Beau, a golden retriever. A moving and intimate memoir interwoven with profound reflections on our feelings for animals and the lessons they teach us about life, love, and loss.
The true story of long-distance swimmer Lynne Cox's ocean encounter with an 18-foot baby whale and her efforts to reunite "Grayson" with his mother - part mystery, part magical tale.
These are 2 of the 5 readalike suggestions for The Good Good Pig. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.
Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world.
The story of an American family, middle class in middle America, ordinary in every way but one. But that exception is the beating heart of this extraordinary novel.
First time novelist Vaddey Ratner captured my heart and senses in this novel based on her childhood in Cambodia. Her story transcends any news story...
read more
From the first page, I was drawn in by the lyrical writing of the author and mesmerized as the narrator, eight year old Raami, remembered the years...
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Trite but true, all good things must come to an end. I so wanted to keep reading the wonderful prose, the settings that let one think they are part...
read more
Kenn Nesbitt is new Children's Poet Laureate(Jun 12 2013) Kenn Nesbitt has been named the new Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, which noted that the two-year position...
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BookBrowse
(573 words).
Library Journal
of 5
by Johanna J.
of 5
by Selene Booklover
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