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Pyg: The Memoirs of Toby, the Learned Pig Audiobook
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(3.02) - 152 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A heartwarming debut introduces readers to the adventures of its overachieving porcine narrator
Blending the sophisticated satire of Jonathan Swift with the charming exuberance of a Pixar film, Pyg tells the story of Toby, a truly exceptional pig who lived in late eighteenth-century England. After winning the blue ribbon at the Salford Livestock Fair and escaping the butcher's knife, Toby tours the country, wowing circus audiences with his abilities to count, spell, and even read the minds of ladies (but only with their permission, of course). He goes on to study at Oxford and Edinburgh—encountering such luminaries as Samuel Johnson, Robert Burns, and William Blake—before finally writing his own life story. Quirky, beguiling, and endlessly entertaining, this memoir of a "remarkable sapient pig" is a sharp and witty delight.
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"Thanks to former student Lisa Hope Vierra-Moore for recommending this delightful book, ostensibly written by Toby, the "sapient pig" who is saved from the butcher and sets out on journey whereby he learns to communicate using letters on cards. I won't disclose more of the story, except to say that the narrative puts me in mind of the readings in my 18th century lit classes, and particularly the picaresque novels (or should I say in this case the PIGaresque novels). Toby encounters the literati of his time, including Samuel Johnson and observes the human world with wisdom and melancholy. There's satire and emotion in this tale, and I found myself thinking that Toby must be a distantly related ancestor of the Geico gecko in his gentleness and adventurous spirit. Highly recommended, with a caveat that the custom of capitalizing Nouns of the time makes for thick going at first. Enjoy!"
— Dan (5 out of 5 stars)
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“The protagonist and, as it were, first-porcine narrator of this quirky little book is a pig called Toby…In Russell Potter’s magical rendering …he is not only a prescient pig but also a reflective one, with a Swiftian eye on mankind’s mores.”
— Washington Post -
“Toby is a vibrant and amazingly alive and TRUE character that only comes once in a while in the very rarest of books and I simply do not have the words adequate to thank Mr. Potter for this book and for that magical pig’s entrance into my own imagination.”
— Seattle Post-Intelligencer -
“In prose that manages to be both dense and arch, Toby relates his escape from the butcher’s knife with the help of his friend Sam…all good clean fun.”
— The Times (London) -
“In this charming debut novel, Potter imagines—fully and movingly—the story of the ‘learned pig’…It’s a very clever roman à clef; Toby, with his earnest, understandable quest to be more than a source of amusement, animates this fable about enslavement, liberal education, and, perhaps, animal rights.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
Deeply funny, brilliantly satirical and also just a darn good story.”
— PhiloBiblos
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
Pyg Listener Reviews
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" Light Enjoyable. Would have been rated higher were it not for the long epilogue "
— Mike, 2/10/2014 -
" This book had much potential, I thought. Unfortunately, it was simply the bland journey of a learned pig around the British Isles in the eighteenth-century. Other than an opportunity to name-drop the shining lights of the late 1700s, there's really not much to the book. I almost stopped reading when the titular Toby recruits William Wilberforce to help him free a mistreated (predictably) black pig. No other episode was quite as cringeworthy, but none was more interesting, either. The footnotes section at the end could have redeemed it but came across, as did much of the rest of the book, as meaninglessly pretentious. Unfortunately I could not have cared less about the fate of the narrator and, consequently, should probably have skipped this porcine memoir. "
— Matt, 1/28/2014 -
" Really wanted to like this book more. Great story concept, and the plot matched the chosen setting well, but the memoir style for the book made it all less... everything. "
— Timothy, 1/5/2014 -
" I thought this was delightful. I loved Toby's character and unique voice - one of the better characters I've encountered in awhile. "
— Della, 12/30/2013 -
" Charlotte's Web for adults . . . "
— Andrea, 12/2/2013 -
" Writing style didn't catch my fancy "
— Ron, 12/1/2013 -
" Fun break. Made me think differently about being human. "
— MaPo, 11/30/2013 -
" Read about the Sapient Pig - written by a contemporary author in Olde English style. Starts out well and then fades. "
— Manish, 9/13/2013 -
" What was the point? Wish it was possible to give 2.5 stars. Seems too harsh to give 2 stars. Reading this book didn't make my life better, it wasn't a thrilling story, and I really didn't care about Toby by the second half of the book. "
— Darla, 3/22/2013 -
" adorable, elegant, just profound enough. "
— Alastair, 3/22/2013 -
" Although I found I had to get into the language of the book which took a few pages, the story was funny, and engaging. That little pig had quite the sense of humour and I really got into the rhythm of the book. Who thought a pig would have so much insight. "
— Sue, 3/14/2013 -
" Not my usual type of book, but very cleverly written, drawing from historical fact. An enjoyable little novella, styled for the time. "
— Rachel, 12/16/2012 -
" A pleasant enough read, to be sure, even though it isn't the most stimulating of plots. Toby is a charming hero. "
— Patricia, 11/12/2012 -
" Doesn't quite rise as high as it aims. "
— Chris, 9/17/2012 -
" For some reason, I couldn't resist reading a pig's memoir. Toby himself is absolutely charming but I couldn't help but wonder if the motive for this book wasn't propelled by animal rights vegans (sneaky and bravo). "
— Michelle, 9/8/2012
About Russell Potter
Russell Potter is a professor of
English at Rhode Island College. Pyg
is his first novel.
About Simon Callow
Simon Callow is an actor, director, and writer. He has appeared in many films, including Four Weddings and a Funeral. He made his stage debut in 1973 and came to prominence in a critically acclaimed performance as Mozart in the original stage production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus at the Royal National Theatre in 1979. He is well known for a series of one-man shows that have toured internationally and featured subjects including Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Jesus, and Richard Wagner. His books include, among others, a highly acclaimed biography of Charles Laughton, a biographical trilogy on Orson Welles, and My Life in Pieces, which won the Sheridan Morley Prize in 2011.