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Published by Henry Holt and Company on February 27, 2024
Pages: 320
Source: NetGalley
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
A Belletrist Book Club PickAn elegant, razor-sharp debut about women's ambitions and appetites—and the truth about having it all
Outside of a childhood nickname she can’t shake, Piglet’s rather pleased with how her life’s turned out. An up-and-coming cookbook editor at a London publishing house, she’s got lovely, loyal friends and a handsome fiancé, Kit, whose rarefied family she actually, most of the time, likes, despite their upper-class eccentricities. One of the many, many things Kit loves about Piglet is the delicious, unfathomably elaborate meals she’s always cooking.
But when Kit confesses a horrible betrayal two weeks before they’re set to be married, Piglet finds herself suddenly...hungry. The couple decides to move forward with the wedding as planned, but as it nears and Piglet balances family expectations, pressure at work, and her quest to make the perfect cake, she finds herself increasingly unsettled, behaving in ways even she can’t explain. Torn between a life she’s always wanted and the ravenousness that comes with not getting what she knows she deserves, Piglet is, by the day of her wedding, undone, but also ready to look beyond the lies we sometimes tell ourselves to get by.
A stylish, uncommonly clever novel about the things we want and the things we think we want, Piglet is both an examination of women’s often complicated relationship with food and a celebration of the messes life sometimes makes for us.
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Piglet Review
As an avid reader of food-related adventure, fiction and non-fiction, I recently had the pleasure of reading Piglet by Lottie Hazell. It can only be described as a literary adventure, using appetite as the main driver of Piglet’s life. Piglet, a cookbook editor in London, seems to live a perfect life, far away from her ‘average’ family. She seems to have everything anyone could want, with a doting husband and affluent but loving in-laws. Until two weeks before her wedding, when her fiancé tells her about a betrayal that leaves her hungry for a reality that should be authentic to her.
First and foremost, Hazell has a way with food writing. Hazell masters the way she writes about the dishes and cooking process that Piglet is creating and imbibing. Food writing can be quite hard to master, but Hazell seems to have a natural talent, making it easy for her audience to so clearly understand what the food is. She also is a master at using the food to extend Piglet’s character and the internal turmoil faced. Hazel has razor-sharp wit and keen observations about modern womanhood and hunger. In Piglet’s pursuit of perfection, she loses parts of herself that she is forced to face when her relationship starts to go awry. She is hungry for more, a relationship that isn’t built on years of lies, but at the same time, is challenged with admitting defeat to her “perfect” life. Through the food writing and story-telling, Hazell is able to reach a good level of raw honesty and authenticity. Life is messy and unpredictable, and as Piglet’s life gets messier, so do her food creations.
“Piglet” is a must-read for any one who enjoys great prose, delicious food-writing and a tension-building story. Fans of Anthony Bourdain and J. Ryan Stradel will love this. I appreciated reading this book and look forward to more from Lottie Hazell, hopefully soon.
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