Collect Pyg: The Memoirs Of Toby, The Learned Pig Sketched By Russell Potter Disseminated As Script

what purports,tongue in cheek, to be a memoir, Russell Potter recounts the life and times of Toby, the sapient pig.
Narrowly escaping the butcher, Toby along with his human friend Sam serendipitously find themselves at an extraordinary farm where the animals are treated as family.
Turns out that they are trained for a traveling animal act, thus Toby learns to read, He them makes his way to Oxford, later to London where he is the toast of the town.
He meets with the era's clerisy including S, Johnson. Toby's journey is sometimes fraught with potholes, most of which are the product of the small mindedness of the humans he encounters.
Here satire is intended, but never to any satisfactory effect, The story had its moments, but I was never drawn into the plot, In my reading career, I have struggled with animal protagoniststhis does not include children's books such as Winnie the Pooh.
Yet, I don't think that is what hampered me, I just didn't really cotton to the story as a whole, Skated through bits. Roligt upplägg, men lite seg Toby is a sapient pig living in England in the late's.
He has written a memoir of his life on the stage and at University with the assistance of his friend.
Toby faces adversity in the form of a scornful and disbelieving public, but also finds his champions and admirers are many.

The tale is alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming, Toby is a likable narrator and the reader will fall in love with him, He understands much about the world about him and makes valuable observations about the nature of humanity and the thirst for knowledge.

My only complaint about the book were the various italicized words, which I felt interrupted the narrative flow, as it did not seem that these words were to be emphasized.
In fact, I could discern no rhyme nor reason for the device, except that possibly this was frequently done in texts of this

era.
The Capitalization of words that have come to be more frequently lowercase in today's grammar was more readily ignored as well as accounted for.
Original posted on my sitelinkblog

Source: Won from a Goodreads FirstReads giveaway hosted by Penguin Canada.
Thank you!

Written like a memoir would be written, except the subject is simply a very very smart pig.


From birth to retirement, this is Tobys story, The story of a pig living in the eighteenth century, On the surface it sounds very interesting, What did a pig do in that age Were there any differences to todays age In fact, Tobys story is very unique and likely not the norm amongst all pigs.
I love that there is history involved within the story it makes Tobys memoir all the more realistic.


His character is a unique one, He reminds me of an elderly British gentleman, if that makes any sense at all, The language is a bit upper class and some vocabulary may not be appealing to some of the younger audience members.
However, his point of view and stories were fun to read, This is a story that is unique, but may need a certain mood to enjoy, It is not a typical fictional book, Not too much humour involved, And it was at times dry, However, it may appeal to certain audiences, Good read nonetheless. If Wilber from Charlotte's Web or Babe the Pig were targeted slightly more academic and wore refined waistcoats, they would be awfully close to Toby of Pyg: The Memoirs of Toby the Learned Pig.
This charming tale of Toby, a pig who goes from humble farm beginnings to the life of an Oxford scholar, is fun for all.

The story begins with Toby as a baby pig he is quickly selected as favorite by Sam, the nephew of the farm owner, and the two build a rudimentary means of communication.
When Toby is taken to the fair and wins a ribbon as the best pig, he doesn't realize that he is well on his way to being sold to market.
Through determination, Sam is able to rescue Toby and the two set off on their own, On the brink of collapse, they are welcomed in by Mr, Bisset, a landowner who has a menagerie of animals that he has trained for a show, While Mr. Bisset exhibits kindness toward the animals, he is a determined man, and after training Toby to recognize letters and respond to basic clicks, he takes all of his "pets" on the road to perform multiple shows with Toby heading the bill as the "Sapient Pig".
Unbeknownst to Mr. Bisset, Sam has furthered Toby's education, teaching him to read and spell, When this becomes evident at a stage show, Mr, Bisset threatens Toby and leaves Sam behind so that he cannot interfere further with Toby's show or Bisset's profit.
After Bisset's sudden death, Toby fears that he will be sold to market, only to find saving grace at the last minute.
After much hard work, Toby arrives at Oxford where his academic side takes root, and readers see his talents grow even to the point of inspiring imposters to take to the stage, and eventually see him "retire" to compose his autobiography.

This story is delightful and has historical elements woven throughout to make it a reflection of the lateth and earlyth centuries.
Pyg is a unique tale that is absolutely enjoyable, and Toby is an endearing character, but with traditional British voice and somewhat antiquated language it might not appeal to young children who would appreciate Charlotte's Web a bit more.
Overall, it is a fun and engaging read, Was there really a pig who could read and write English Reading this finelycrafted 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 Pyg's Editor, not its author, which in scholarly language states that the present volume is based on Toby the Pig's original published memoir of.
There was indeed a "miraculous sapient pig" named Toby, who toured the fairs and performing halls of lateth 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 lateth Century traveling circuses, are touching, funny, sad and gutwrenching, and often terrifying.


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


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, entitled The Life and Adventures of Toby, the Sapient Pig.


At the end you'll feel happy at having just enjoyed a welltold, 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 ofth Century metal type, the book is a treasure to hold and look at.
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