Piglet

I really wanted this book. I saw it, I wanted it and was impatient to buy it, which is why I broke my book buying ban in a wild whim. I wanted the book with the doughnuts piled on the pink cover. I was intrigued by the story about food, desire, and living the life we think we want to live. The life that looks good on the outside. The life that says: I made it – look at my house, my husband and my Le Creuset pot.

Piglet – an unfortunate family nickname – is getting married soon. On the surface, Piglet has it all. She and her fiancé Kit have just bought a new home and are a few weeks away from their dream wedding. They are the picture of domestic bliss and make a formidable hosting team. Piglet moves around her new kitchen smugly – she is a cookbook editor with a passion for cooking, food styling and hosting. In her mind, she has accomplished a life upgrade and maintains this life with a single-minded obsession. She has her appetite under control, she works out and she works hard. She whips up gourmet dishes in fancy cookware and is determined to make the dessert for her upcoming wedding.

Everything is on track until thirteen days before the wedding, Piglet’s perfect fiancé shatters the carefully constructed façade with big, terrible news. Now Piglet must battle her disappointment, her growing appetite and must consider how much she wants the life that looks good on the outside. Like the tasty-looking cover of the book itself.  What will her decision cost her?

In all honesty, I am disappointed that I wanted this book so badly. I was left unsatisfied by its restrained potential the way I am always disappointed when I eat empty calories. This story has flashes of brilliance, but it felt rather tame in comparison to what I think it could have been. It is an easy, accessible and at times, compelling read, but it also felt a bit insipid in the face of its intriguing premise. I think what disappointed me the most was the way that this big terrible news was handled as part of the story. Not to give anything away, but it felt like a bit of a cop-out. I am sure that it is a plot choice that won’t bother all readers, though.

The thing I wanted so badly – for this book to be memorable – didn’t happen. A fitting feeling, I suppose, as it follows the theme of the novel. The meal I was craving just didn’t hit the spot.