Darkmistress's Full Review: Robert Newton Peck - A Day No Pigs Would Die
When I saw A Day No Pigs Would Die on a list of the 100 Most Banned Books For 1999, I thought "why would that be banned? It’s set on a Vermont farm in the 40’s and it’s about a Shaker boy’s relationship to his father." So I read it (all of it, in one sitting.) There’s a pretty grotesque calving in the first chapter and a number of mentions of "tits" (on cows.) The kid says ‘damn’ once or twice. I was all the way up to Chapter 13 before I found the "offensive" material.
You see, young Robert was given a piglet due to his heroic actions during the calving in the first chapter. By Chapter 13 that piglet is a hog and should have come into heat. Since she hasn’t, the neighbor (who initially gave him the piglet) brings over his boar and mates them to try and force estrus. It’s pretty graphic and I can see that this might upset people. Unfortunately, this is how it’s done. Bacon comes from somewhere and it’s not a tree.
A Day No Pig Would Die is suitable for ages 12 and up, after all, the author lived it about age 12. It tells his story starting at just after turning 12 to just after turning 13 and presents him with all the attendant difficulties of living on a farm in that era with unvarnished realism. Everything from the calving on a hillside to winning a ribbon at the county fair to butchering a pig. Young Robert has a strong relationship with his father who is wise but unlettered. His mother and an aunt also live with him, but they don’t have a very big influence in the story, and you don’t even know about his four sisters until the end of the book.
If this book is assigned to your children, I recommend that you read it with them because it will give you an opening to talk about all sort of topics, most especially responsibility. For instance, Robert’s pig turns out to be barren and the family doesn’t have enough meat for the winter or enough feed to keep the pig so Robert has to help his father butcher his pet. Yes, this is horrible (though not so graphically described as the mating,) but it was necessary. The family needs the food and can’t keep the pig. Robert must be responsible and do what is necessary. During the butchering, Robert decides that he hates his father and by the time they’re done he’s forgiven him. "I felt his big hand touch my face, and it wasn’t the hand that killed hogs. It was almost as sweet as Mama’s. His hand was rough and cold, and as I opened my eyes to look at it, I could see that his knuckles were dripping with pig blood. It was the hand that had just butchered Pinky. He did it. Because he had to. Hated to and had to. And he knew he’d never have to say to me that he was sorry." This many not fend off a single argument ending with "Because I said so!" but it might help.
With plenty of Yankee common sense and dry wit, and some pathos as the boy at 13 takes on the duties of a man. For boys of this age and for the young ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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