Russell A. Potter

Russell Potter's Pyg: The Memoirs of a Learned Pig (Canongate, 2011; forthcoming in the US from Penguin) is pure delight from start to finish. Drawing on a brief "learned pig" fad which sprang up in 1780s Britain, Potter has imagined what that might have looked like from the perspective of the trained pig himself. His Toby, the "author" of the memoirs between these covers (Potter declares himself simply the editor) is a pig for the ages: move over Wilbur, this one can conjugate Latin show more verbs!

Embracing the idiosyncracies of 18th-century italicization and capitalization practices, set in a nice Caslon Antique type, and with a 1798 woodcut illustration of a learned pig at the start of each chapter (a nice touch), this is not only a very entertaining and enjoyable read, but also a lovely little book. Potter's scholarly apparatus (glossing Toby's Latin phrases, identifying historical characters from the text, &c.) are also welcome and make for fun reading.

Added bonuses are the cameo appearances by such literary luminaries as Samuel Johnson, William Blake, Anna Seward, and Robert Burns, and Potter's (Toby's) sharp sense of 18th-century style and sensibility. Deeply funny, but also brilliantly satirical and also just a darn good story. I recommend it.

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This short novel, which falls loosely into the historical fiction genre but adds significant satire and imagination to the usual fare, uses a once-popular figure as its centerpiece, purporting to be his definitive autobiography. That eminent figure is, of course, Toby the sapient pig, who was a standard of the fair circuit in England around the turn of the nineteenth century.

Yes, apparently this was an actual thing.

Russell Potter's notes certainly encourage that understanding -- the last show more several pages of the novel are populated with explanations, in wry and cheeky tones, of the other famous historical personages who pop up in the course of the novel -- and any reader of this novel should take the time to peruse those carefully. But one doesn't have to know the historical context to find this book enjoyable. The "memoir" uses a narrative style that echoes a combination of 'Tom Jones' and 'Black Beauty' to produce a story that is clever, witty, and even occasionally heartfelt. That this novel is significantly shorter than those two previously mentioned will also please the modern reader -- Toby's adventures, from birth through showmanship through scholarship and back again, take only the space of an afternoon to read.

While this isn't the stuff for everyone, I can recommend Potter's book for the diversion of many of our group. After all, what's not to love about a memoir written in the 18th century style by an educated pig who quotes classical philosophers? Wait... where are you going? No, really, you might like this! It's quite funny! show less

Summary: Pyg is the autobiography of Toby, the world's first genuine Learned Pig. Toby was born and raised as a prize-winner, but after the fair, he escapes from his destiny in the butcher's yard with the help of his young human friend, Sam. Together they find their way to the traveling show of Mr. Bisset, who trains Toby to recognize subtle cues and respond by selecting the proper letters, so as they might amaze village fairgoers with Toby's knowledge. But Mr. Bisset does not realize that show more Toby is in fact learning to read, again with the help of Sam, and thus begins Toby's adventures across Britain, studying at Oxford and meeting such great thinkers of the day as Robert Burns and Samuel Wilberforce.

Review: This was a very interesting conceit for a book, and Potter pulls it off remarkably well. I had known of the existence of this kind of sideshow act before I picked up this book - horses that count by stamping, that sort of thing - but I don't think I realized how detailed the acts got, nor how popular the "sapient pig" was in Britain back in the day. I really enjoyed the fact that this book let Toby speak for himself; because this is a (putative) autobiography, Toby gets to muse on his existence, and what it says about the human (and porcine) condition, in such a way that is both insightful and more genuine-feeling than it would if this were a book about Toby, rather than by him. As I said, Potter manages it really well; it took surprisingly little suspension of disbelief to believe that I was reading a book pieced together one letter at a time by a very intelligent pig. Potter also captures the style of the time very well, with somewhat haphazard capitalizations and italics, that could have been intrusive or obnoxious, but which I thought helped give the book an appropriate period flavor.

My main complaint about this book is that it sort of ran out of steam about 2/3s of the way through. The early story, about Toby's escape and education, were very interesting, and the trials of his time on the stage and his struggle to be accepted in a world of men were equally compelling, if a little slower. But after that, the action sort of started to peter out, and there's not much drama or conflict to sustain the last section of the book. It's a shame, because while I enjoyed the book as a whole, the ending kind of left me feeling as though I wasn't entirely sure what the point of the story actually was. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If you like early 19th-century literature, or stories set in that time (or Charlotte's Web), or even if you think a book narrated by a pig sounds like fun, then this book should be worth checking out. show less

Was there really a pig who could read and write English? Reading this finely-crafted narrative is like watching an expert magician perform. Deep down you know it couldn't be real, yet from the first page onward, there is a nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, it might have really happened.

The book begins with an Editor's Note (Potter credits himself as the book's Editor, not its author), which in scholarly language states that the present volume is based on Toby the Pig's original show more published memoir of 1809. There was indeed a "miraculous sapient pig" named Toby, who toured the fairs and performing halls of late 18th Century England and Wales.

As he tells it, Toby begins life on a farm, has a narrow escape from the slaughterhouse, and ends up in the care of a traveling entertainer with his troupe of performing animals. His linguistic skills are developed subtly, from first hints of understanding to training in card tricks and onward to...well, no plot spoilers here. Toby's travels through England and Ireland are depicted with nicely drawn details of places, clothing and transport.

But this is not a cute, archaic "Babe the Pig". More like Charlotte's Web meets Stromboli's Circus in Pinocchio. The relationships between Toby and his human caretakers, and the portrait of the cruel world of late 18th Century traveling circuses, are touching, funny, sad and gut-wrenching, and often terrifying.

The real joy of Pyg is the language. At first the slightly archaic terms and spelling might seem off-putting, but by the second page they meld into the rich and sonorous voice of Toby, which sweeps you along for the next 230 pages.

The book ends with a generous section of historical notes. It turns out that most (or all) of the people and places which appear in the narrative actually existed. As did a short book published in 1805, entitled The Life and Adventures of Toby, the Sapient Pig.

At the end you'll feel happy at having just enjoyed a well-told, unique and eccentric story, and you'll be scratching your head wondering just how much of it was true.

Finally, if you can get your hands on the original British hardcover edition, you won't regret it. Rarely do you find books these days with so much craft put into the design. From the exquisite, tactile cover to the slightly yellowed paper to the typeface, which mimics the look of 18th Century metal type, the book is a treasure to hold and look at. show less