The Pig Trilogy: The Pig Did It, The Pig Comes to Dinner, and The Pig Goes to Hog Heaven

Pig Trilogy #1-3

by Joseph Caldwell

Joseph Caldwell’s rollicking Pig Trilogy, a charmingly romantic three-part tale of an American in contemporary IrelandAaron McCloud has come to Ireland from New York City to walk the beach and pity himself for the cold indifference of the young lady in his writing class he had chosen to be his love. The pig will have none of that.What the pig eventually does is root up in Aunt Kitty’s vegetable garden evidence of a possible transgression that each of the novel’s three Irish characters is convinced the other probably benefited from. The resolution of this hilarious mystery in The Pig Did It—the first entry in Mr. Caldwell’s Pig Trilogy—inspires both comic eloquence and a theatrically colorful canvas depicting the brooding Irish land and seascape. And in The Pig Comes to Dinner and The Pig Goes to Hog Heaven, all of the charming characters of the first book return for more tragicomedy and hijinks, told in Caldwell’s uniquely theatrical style.

Genres: Ireland, Humor, Fiction

674 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

A playwright and novelist whose books include The Pig Did It, The Pig Comes to Dinner, and The Pig Goes to Hog Heaven, Joseph Caldwell has been awarded the Rome Prize for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in New York City and is working on various post-Pig writing projects.

Reviews

[Amy Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

These three connected novels would be unfulfilling stand-alones. The originality of plot and quality of writing were definitely praiseworthy and urged me on to continue reading the humorous saga. However, a little too often, I felt the author was so enamored of his own words, it was to the point where I felt like he was yet again rambling over covered territory in order to say it in an even more fluent way. These novels were descriptive, well-written, and accomplished...polished, satisfying, engaging (oh wait, now I'm doing it!) the first few times around and didn't need constant editing and repeating.

[Glen J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who would not want to blame a pig?

3 fantastic novels that will take you on a rollicking ride in the Irish country side. Ancient curses, alliances and feuds will come to light. Wonderful.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

the Pig Trilogy

Read the whole trilogy! It got better and better and further I got into the story! The last book had lots of surprises and unexpected outcomes. A good time was had by all!

[Mary Lou Abata · Rating 4 out of 5]

An example of fey Irish writing but somewhat specious.

[Nick Engler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The three together are a long Irish joke, with lots of ghosts and mysteries and skeletons and love stories. Excellent entertainment and a change from some of his earlier darker works.

[Maureen D. Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odd story

A very odd story, but a compelling read. The ending was a little contrived and fell a little bit flat.

[Andrew Horner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, witty, and worthy of a nod of approval from the literary folks. This trilogy, set in Ireland and with a decidedly Irish sense of humor, will make you think deep and laugh hard!!

[Vickie Woodard · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read as much as I could stand. If this is a work of literature, I have yet to see it.

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I waffled between two stars and three. I gave it a mercy three because it was and easy read. It is also Joseph Caldwell’s first novels.
All three novels suffers from the same problems:
• Caldwell repeats himself endlessly, especially about the joys of Irish culture
• Whatever the central conflict is, the main characters cuss and discuss it endlessly, even when they are alone.
• All conflicts are suddenly resolved in the last ten pages in an illogical way requiring large doses of serendipity.

[Mary Whisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread this in 2024, and it might be the second time I reread it. The three novels are pleasant and funny, good material to have on hand when I’m reading something too serious or grim for bedtime and I want a few pages of entertainment. (I often hop around: Moby-Dick; Poverty, by America; Cloud Atlas; and The Pig Trilogy for a break.)

[Dina]

Too much fun. Great characters, unexpected plotline.