SH Comments
Reged: Feb 16 2004
Posts: 1056
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This thread is for comments and feedback about Magnificent Pigs, by Cat Rambo.
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Jonathan Laden
New user
Reged: Nov 27 2006
Posts: 2
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The voice is clear, the sense of impending doom unmistakable. The two main characters are worth caring about. The writing is good.
All of which is why I'm disappointed to see a character introduced as the beaknosed Jew who - shockingly - has no problems working on a pig farm. The characterization feels more cardboardish than the surrounding, living characters, both of whom I can visualize without physical description.
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Cat Rambo
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Reged: Sep 28 2006
Posts: 2
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Sorry to hear that, Jonathan, although I'm glad you enjoyed the other aspects. Mrs. Huber is based on a family friend, so I am disappointed not to have done her sufficient justice.
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scotrick
New user
Reged: Jun 28 2006
Posts: 2
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Hi. Cat Rambo, I had/have colitis/crohn's only now they say they don't know what it is... but no cancer for me, yet, God willing and the creek don't rise... just the stomach pain...(the mention of the disease is what caught my eye in the story description)... anyway, on the one hand I agree with Jonathan, as Mrs. Huber does come in late in the story and she is a bit of a shadow, but I was willing to accept her slightly less formed character as she was being seen by the narrator at a time of stress and distraction in his life, so everything was dimmed and filmed-over with death and disease looming over his attempts to make it day by day... so I wasn't bothered by her character... and I wanted to write and let you know how moving I found your story... it has that magical thing that happens in a good story where it seems to have a life before where you begin and after it ends... and too, the image of those pigs eventually going to the slaughterhouse with wings on their backs (or whatever tattoo) is a stunning image that will be with me for some time... great work
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Norton G.
New user
Reged: Dec 06 2006
Posts: 1
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I thought the story was very good. I was a little confused at the end of the story as to what actually happened. But, I guess that was the point, so I could formulate my own conclusion. Great read.
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Jonathan Laden
New user
Reged: Nov 27 2006
Posts: 2
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Funny... I was in a writing group with a talented writer. Every time she based a character on someone real she knew, the character felt unrealistic to me. Every time she made someone up, it was real and fascinating. Maybe realistic isn't what we look for in fictitious characters or Maybe it's just a sign of how ungrounded in reality I am!
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buzzbee
New user
Reged: Dec 12 2006
Posts: 1
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I think that being 'politically correct' in fiction is just another form of censorship. There was no intended anti-Semetism in this beautiful story from my reading.
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David
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Reged: Dec 19 2006
Posts: 1
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I'm with you. Developing a character is like finding a muse. Sometimes some part of the character feels right and trying to second guess ones motives can cast a pallor on the whole thing. Personally, the intuitively motherly Mrs. Huber comes across as very compassionate and being in her situation lends an air of self assuredness to her character. Being the one to suggest the pigs as pets gives the story some magical charm and an unspoken complexity.
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cwg
New user
Reged: Feb 24 2007
Posts: 2
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Dear Cat,
Thanks for this story. It made me feel good.
Someone commented on the 'magical quality' evoked when reading Magnificent Pigs, and I concur. It is poignant rather than sad even though it details a journey into death. It's ending is [please excuse this, I couldn't resist] uplifting.
As to Mrs. Huber: I have had many Jewish friends, some of whom kept kosher and some whose problem with a pig farm would definitely not have been eating pork. I can't think of one of them who would find this story offensive. Nor do I find her a 'cardboard character' as was suggested by an overly critical observer. She is not described in depth but her actions speak louder than anything you might have written about her. It's appropriate for her role here.
Your grammar and spelling are also excellent. I publish books as CWG Press (www.cwgpress.com) so I [hope I] know what I am talking about in this brief discussion that is more approbation than critique.
Thanks
Chuck Gregory
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