| Title | : | Pearl |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0593237838 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780593237830 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2019 |
Go to the farm just outside of town and you'll hear it.
A voice. Inside your head.
Or is it?
Come to me...
A voice that makes you want to pick up that axe over in the corner of the barn.
And swing it.
And kill.
Feed us. Feed us now.
It is the voice of Pearl.
Sing for me. Sing for your precious Pearl...
Pearl Reviews
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My thanks to Random House/Ballantine/Del Rey books. Josh Malerman and Netgalley. This book was a hoot! The concept is all sorts of messed up, and that's probably why I loved it! Also, pigs scare the poop outta me! My sister raised pigs, and long story short? Don't ask Lisa to feed the pigs, because all that snorting pork rushing at me is terrifying! Panic? No. Full blown horror? Yes! Screams may have bubbled up. Thank goodness there weren't iPhone's back then! For me, this really was a horror story. That damn Pearl!š±šµ
-
I'm feeling a little bit duped here if I'm being honest. I was so excited to see Malerman had a new book out and the synopsis while vague was so intriguing. I was expecting something sinister and creepy. So when I cracked open this arc imagine my surprise when I realized this is a re-released book under a new title. The old title was "On This, the Day of the Pig" and had it kept that title and cover I would have NEVER requested this. Again, I wanted a sinister and creepy reading experience but what I got was a telepathic and psychopathic PIG. That's right, a killer pig. Ugh. Most mornings I wake up excited to get reading but this morning, with the idea of picking this up again, I decided I just couldn't do it. Reading 37% of this is an accomplishment as far as I'm concerned. This doesn't even come close to the genius that Bird Box was. I wouldn't even have guessed that they were the same author. There is plenty of blood, guts, and gore if that's your thing then give it a try but I couldn't possibly recommend this to anyone. 1 star!
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for my copy.
ARC RECIEVED!!!! š
I. AM. SO. EXCITED.
This sounds so twisted and crazy and I would do anything to get my hands on an arc. Even murder if required. š -
Hmmmā¦ okayā¦.this book is one of a kind!
I donāt have a problem reading a book which has extra sensitive and intelligent pig as a main character.
Since I read Charlotteās Web and watched 1995ās Babe movie, they started growing on me! ( it doesnāt mean for me to work in farm and raise hundreds of them but you got the point! )
So the subject choice in this book about mind controlling pig who uses people till he gets enough information he needs! And the horrific part about our main character is his mind controlling game may reach to extreme points like giving the people horrifying hallucinations.
I can honestly say this is a little peculiar, interesting subject choice to write about and attract interests of the readers! Did I like it? Not truly! Did I hate it? Of course not! It was still good written, unique gory criticism of animal ethics!
Only one thing truly bothered me : when I requested this book and gave myself high five to have a chance to read the early copy of Josh Malermanās brand new book, I was extremely excited about getting approval. But as soon as I got the copy, I realized this book is rereleasing of āOn this, the day of the pigāwhich was already published on 2019. I felt misled and disappointed.
Absolutely nothing changed how I feel about the authorās brilliant writing skills. Heās one my of all time favorite horror authors. But I think this book didnāt fit with my expectations. As I told before itās intriguing, original story with unique choice of main character: a sociopathic pig who plays dangerous mind games! But itās not intriguing enough to think this book as one of the best works of the author. And I was a little frustrated not to have a chance to read a new book of Mr. Malerman as well.
So Iām giving three solid stars and Iām looking forward to read brand new works of the author I near future as Iām crossing my fingers.
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine/ Del Rey for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. -
I'm glad I bought the limited, exclusive cover, signed edition from Cemetery Dance.
This one is HORROR, full stop!
Malerman is not dancing the line or skirting the edges, he's square in the middle of traditional horror. PEARL is a Creature/Monster/Animal horror story about an unusual pig.
Where Wilbur was "some pig" and an asset to his family farm in CHARLOTTE'S WEB, Pearl the Pig is an absolute terror.
Pearl is a large, male pig with telekinetic power and a "bad eye" which is actually his "good eye". You'll see.
One day, an unfortunate incident on the family farm starts a vicious chain of events. It's quite literally an unfathomable nightmare. I read this entire book gripping the edges. I could feel my eyes widening in shock and awe. I had no idea how Malerman was able to induce so much fear from a story about an evil pig, but he managed it alright! When I read Chapter 27 last night before bed, I was pretty unnerved. Does your reader brain ever get fixated on one scary sentence and you find that your eyes will pour over the words again and again? It's almost like the scarier the sentence, the more infatuated I am with it.
There were some very disturbing images Malerman described with precise details. They sorta stuck in my head as I turned out the light. I love those creepy book feelings that linger long after you've set the book down!
I do have a couple of nagging, little details I need to highlight though because they are worth mentioning and for the sake of other readers, I must tell you:
I have this pet peeve with invented slang words and phrases. Similar to "Hell's Heaven" or "Pig Shit!" in UNBURY CAROL, Malerman uses some funky words and phrases that stand out:
"Jebus" "Pukin" and "nuckin futz" (I've heard this one before. It's letter swapping fuckin' nuts).
But they weren't used as often in the dialog as they were in UNBURY. So nothing to get too excited about but it's one of those things where you're either going to get bugged by it or you're not and they kind of bug me.
A literary device that Malerman uses that's very unique to him is these "stream of consciousness" style inner monologues that I love! Some readers may encounter them and have difficulty with them because they're so different, but I really love the way the characters talk to themselves in their brain and weird thoughts pop in and out--it feels like how our real brains work with all these thought segments overlapping and interrupting each other.
Really cool.
Lastly, the end was a little weird for me. I'm not entirely sure if I missed something or not but I loved all the chaos and craziness in the last handful of chapters. This one was really compelling, scary, and original.
Highly recommend. -
Closer to a 3.5
Super unique and creepy horror novel that made me afraid of pigs?
Reading vlog with more thoughts:
https://youtu.be/rv-TLDKUE80 -
**2.5-stars rounded up**
How would I explain Pearl?
We all remember Napoleon from Orwell's classic Animal Farm, right?
Yes, that Napoleon. The pig. This book is like Napoleon had a grandson named Pearl, also a literal pig, who didn't feel Grandpa Napoleon took it far enough in his revolt against Mr. Jones.
Pearl is here to revolt against all mankind. He's taking it to the next level and it's not going to be pretty.
While I can appreciate this is a solid and imaginative Horror story, it just wasn't for me. Rounding up to a 3-star rating is me being generous about my actual reading experience.
I'm happy to have read it, but also happy to be moving on.
With this being said, my less than stellar experience with this story is purely based on personal taste and is in no way a reflection upon this author, his creativity, or his writing.
If this synopsis intrigues you, which if you enjoy Slashers, it should, absolutely pick this one up and give it a shot. You may find an all new favorite Horror story within these pages.
I did enjoy the vibe happening; the slashing, the murdering, the telepathic king pig, but for me the way it was told was entirely too chaotic. It felt choppy and it made it hard for me to follow what was actually happening.
Additionally, the characters all felt flat and indistinguishable to me. Even Pearl wasn't diabolical enough as a villain.
Overall, I was bored and slightly uncomfortable for pretty much the entire story.
In case there is any confusion, Pearl was originally published with the title On This, the Day of the Pig in 2019. Personally, I feel like the original cover and title are more reflective of what this story actually is. I'm not sure why they went for this change.
Anyway, regardless, thank you to the publisher, Ballantine, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
While this one wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, I am confident a lot of Horror fans will really enjoy this one! -
If you want to read a gory story about a pig with a bad eye, this is the one for you. It was definitely NOT for me.
Pearl is a pig. A pig on a farm. A pig who is not like any other pig. He can manipulate people to do whatever he wants them to do. He has learned over time how to do it and he wants to show the world what he can do.
The same morning, Pearl has decided this, three teenagers have embarked on a road trip to check out the farm and learn more about this pig that some people say "can talk". Yes, the kids believe this is probably crazy but once they get there, things get scary pretty fast.
The farmer's daughter as a teenager had her own weird experiences with Pearl, so she left for Brazil as soon as she graduated. Due to financial issues, she is back in town and with her two children in tow. When she can't reach her father she goes to the farm looking for him and later on, the grandchildren go looking for their mom.
This one was too out there for me.
Cliffhanger: No
2/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It |
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Well, I'm feeling like the wool was pulled over my eyes, and not in a good way. For those thinking this is a new release by Malerman, this is actually a rerelease of a 2019 limited edition book called
On This, the Day of the Pig. I won't be rating this publicly, as I couldn't get past the first chapter knowing this isn't what I thought I had signed up for, but if telepathic and psychotic pigs are your thing, then give this a try. š¤·š¼āāļø
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy. -
This one is HORROR, full stop!
Malerman is not dancing the line or skirting the edges, he's square in the middle of traditional horror. PEARL is a Creature/Monster/Animal horror story about an unusual pig.
Where Wilbur was "some pig" and an asset to his family farm in CHARLOTTE'S WEB, Pearl the Pig is an absolute terror.
Pearl is a large, male pig with telekinetic power and a "bad eye" which is actually his "good eye". You'll see.
One day, an unfortunate incident on the family farm starts a vicious chain of events. It's quite literally an unfathomable nightmare. I read this entire book gripping the edges. I could feel my eyes widening in shock and awe. I had no idea how Malerman was able to induce so much fear from a story about an evil pig, but he managed it alright! When I read Chapter 27 last night before bed, I was pretty unnerved. Does your reader brain ever get fixated on one scary sentence and you find that your eyes will pour over the words again and again? It's almost like the scarier the sentence, the more infatuated I am with it.
There were some very disturbing images Malerman described with precise details. They sorta stuck in my head as I turned out the light. I love those creepy book feelings that linger long after you've set the book down!
I do have a couple of nagging, little details I need to highlight though because they are worth mentioning and for the sake of other readers, I must tell you:
I have this pet peeve with invented slang words and phrases. Similar to "Hell's Heaven" or "Pig Shit!" in UNBURY CAROL, Malerman uses some funky words and phrases that stand out:
"Jebus" "Pukin" and "nuckin futz" (I've heard this one before. It's letter swapping fuckin' nuts).
But they weren't used as often in the dialog as they were in UNBURY. So nothing to get too excited about but it's one of those things where you're either going to get bugged by it or you're not and they kind of bug me.
A literary device that Malerman uses that's very unique to him is these "stream of consciousness" style inner monologues that I love! Some readers may encounter them and have difficulty with them because they're so different, but I really love the way the characters talk to themselves in their brain and weird thoughts pop in and out--it feels like how our real brains work with all these thought segments overlapping and interrupting each other.
Really cool.
Lastly, the end was a little weird for me. I'm not entirely sure if I missed something or not but I loved all the chaos and craziness in the last handful of chapters. This one was really compelling, scary, and original.
Highly recommend. -
What's this, then? A novel about a psychic male pig named Pearl? Hell yeah, sign me up!
Pearl was raised on a farm in the town of Chowder, just a short way from Goblin. Sherry was raised on that farm too and now she's back to visit her father, with her two boys in tow. On the farm are the usual animals, and a malformed pig named Pearl. Something is wrong with one of his eyes, but that's not all that's wrong with him. Sherry has been wary of Pearl her entire life, and in fact asked when she was still a girl, that her father plant some trees so she couldn't see Pearl's pen from her window. Have things changed regarding Sherry's fear of Pearl? Is her fear justified? You'll have to read this to find out!
Back in the horror boom of the 70s and 80s, creature features became some of my favorite books. The Rats. Night of the Crabs. The Howling. This book is not that. In fact, this novel might carry with it a message. When the dedication reads "This book is dedicated to every living thing on Earth, past, present and future." That makes me think that maybe Pearl is out to get justice for all of his farm animal friends that have gone on to someone's dinner table.
The action is fast paced, horrific and fun. There's no preaching about being a vegetarian or anything like that, but I do think that might be the message of the story? For me, I read it for the pure creature feature fun and it surely did provide that. What's not intriguing or fascinating about a psychic pig? One that can get into your mind and make you do things you'd never otherwise do? "Sing to Me" Pearl says. And the people do. They really do.
Overall, I had a blast with Pearl and if creature features were ever your thing, you will most likely have just as much fun as I did. Highly recommended!
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-copy in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
**When I requested Pearl from NetGalley, I didn't realize that I already own it under its original title, ON THIS, THE DAY OF THE PIG. No big deal for me though; this way I was able to keep my hardcover pristine.** -
Honestly, this book was pretty bad. I loved the authorās Birdbox, but this one was a far cry from that one.
With allusions to Charlotteās Web, we meet the ultimate evil in the form of a pig named Pearl. This pig is no Wilbur, and is able to somehow get into the minds of all, bending them to his will.
It was bizarre, weird, lacked that supposed quality evil stories possess. Such a disappointment really!
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this newly published book. -
MONSTERS COME IN MANY FORMS!
People in town have always felt uncomfortable around Walter Koppel's farm especially around the pigs maybe one particular pig, Pearl. Pearl is a male pig and you would have to ask Walter why he named him Pearl and Pearl sits all day in his pen on his hind end, just like a chubby toddler boy with his front little legs just dangling in the air in front of him while it seems as if Pearl is just listening and watching, to who or what? Walter has no idea. What an unusual sight to witness.
Walter's own daughter and grandson (Jeff) have always been very afraid of Pearl until the day Jeff decides to confront Pearl in the pen, instead he picks up an axe and kills the largest pig in the pen claiming a voice (Pearl?) told him to do it. Word spreads all.over town and some teens are very curious and excited hoping to see this talking pig and make plans to go out to the farm. Strange events have been occurring to many people who have had any interaction with this pig all leading up to a climatic ending. But for who? Humans or the animals, revenge or justice? You be the judge!
This story was a creepy and page-turning surprise. The excellent writing and storytelling had a tremendous amount of tension throughout the book. This was not a simple story of a telepathic pig as some reviews state, there is so much more backstory involved that will show again how "Humans are the real monsters" not some invisible boogeyman.
Pearl was born with a gift but did that make him evil? How did Pearl learn to use his gift and why were most the townspeople fearful of Walter's farm? Well, I'm not going to be the one to tell you. Horror readers: I highly recommend that you pick up this strange and creepy story to find out what nightmares are really made from and also, maybe, make you think twice the next time when you have your morning BACON!
I want to thank the author "Josh Malerman", the publisher "Random House Publishing-Ballantine" and Netgalley for the wonderful opportunity to read this terrific novel and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have given this eerie, horror book a rating of 4 1/2 DELICIOUSLY CREEPY šššš STARS!! -
Holy crap where do I even begin with this book!?!?
For the first fifteen pages I thought this was going to be the stupidest shit I had ever read. A telepathic pig making people want to kill all the while demanding them to "sing for me." It seemed lame. Then I kept on goin' and from page twenty on it was non-stop terror. I wrote about his book Malorie that Malerman has a very in-your-face style of writing and while it didn't work for me with Malorie it did in Bird Box and definitely here with Pearl. I loved this so much and I'm not sure which one I liked better, BB or this, but Malerman takes what could have been a one trick pony and blows its brains out all in your face. You get possession, hallucinations, your worst fears being materially realized, an evil hairy giant telepathic Charles-Mansonish-bc-he-gets-you-to-kill-for-him pig, and a superb ending worthy of all that came before. Yo, this was a blast to read and I was nervously scared-laughing throughout.
Thanks to NetGalley, Josh Malerman, and Random House for the review copy, opinions are my own. -
Pearl, a horror book, was a solid 4 star read.
I picked up Pearl as a fun October/spooky read (plus Iām a big fan of Malerman) and I fully admit that I enjoyed the book waaaaaayyyy more than I thought I would. A book about a murderous pig-sounds silly and insane, but it worked for me! I enjoyed the writing style, the plot and all the blood and gore the novel contained.
Highly recommended to fans of horror/dark books. -
ugh. i have only just leaned about this book and it's long gone.
This item is Out of Print and will not be available for purchase again.
dammit. -
It shouldn't work, but it did. Creepily. Some unsettling visualization in here. It's like NEEDFUL THINGS meets CARRIE meets CHARLOTTE'S WEB and maybe even a little bit of ANIMAL FARM. Every bit of it thrown in a blender and served with fried potatoes, eggs, and brimstone. Good job, Josh.
-
I have a feeling that there are two kinds of people who are going to read this book, and those two kinds of people may experience a different reading. Specifically, I'm talking about people who eat pork and those who don't.
If I had to guess I would say that Malerman is at least a vegetarian, but honestly I have no idea. I don't think you would need to be to write this novel, and you certainly don't need to be to enjoy it, but it has that undercurrent. However, Pearl the Pig isn't too worried about his fellow pigs, so this is at its core more of a revenge story than a diatribe against carnivores. But you can't ignore that the affluent slaughterhouse executive who first comes into contact with Pearl is a cruel and disgusting person. The commentary is there if you choose to see it.
I don't eat pork or beef. I haven't tasted either of them in 21 years. However, that's my choice, and I don't fault a person for eating meat. My parents, my brother, even my husband eat meat, and that's their choice too. I just can't do it. Even at a young age my parents had to force me to take a bite of a pork chop, and I think they quickly began to realize that meat wasn't my thing.
Blah, blah, skipping ahead past my food preferences and my opinions on food, lets swing back to those two different types of readers. I don't think people will have a hard time rooting for Pearl in this one, no matter what they eat. However, some readers may be disappointed in the ending. It's a tad ambiguous, but not really, and I loved it. Pearl is a special pig. Pearl has had a hard life, as I imagine most farm pigs do, but Pearl understands this better than the other pigs. Pearl is smarter than the other pigs. And Pearl has an ability that allows him to finally enact his revenge.
This is horror with a message, if you want it to be. If you don't, this is just fun horror. This one spoke to me. A lot of Malerman's works do. But this one drew me in immediately, and I was hooked. I needed to know what made Pearl the way he is. I needed to know the reasons for his rage. Read this one friends. Sing for Pearl. He's waiting for you. -
Just realized that I was approved for PEARL which is this book, which I already own in signed hardcover edition. I guess now I can read this without cracking the spine of my s/l.
-
This hardcover is limited to 1000 copies and is signed by Josh Malerman.
-
Had I known what this was, I would have passed..not that Iām against re-releases, but no thank you, I mean, a killer pig? A telepathic and psychotic pig at that?!?!
Next time I pass a farm, I may in fact have a nightmare, so thanks for that.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey for the arc. -
This was such a creepy read!! Pearl is a telepathic pigā¦ yes, I said telepathic pig. Which is much more freaky than it sounds. And our protagonists are basically a small group of people against Pearl. The male pig, btw.
Sheesh, the moment I found out we were up against a pig, I started to have my doubts on the whole story. But holy cow, (sorry, there will be farm references in this review!! š¤¦š»āāļøš¤·š»āāļø) I was hooked in quickly and had trouble putting this down. Actually, embarrassingly enough, this got into my head so much that I had a nightmare that night. I know, I, lover of all things horror, had a nightmare about the contents of this book.
Here we have some completely psychological horror and it really worked for me. Will this be freaky or scary to everyone?! No!! But if you can get past the telepathic pig and just immerse yourself in the content, it will start to get to you. Then youāll be thinking about the pigs and even the rest of the farm, including the animals that have dark staring eyes. Itāll be on your mind the next time you pass a farm, any farmā¦. And itāll make you wonder about what theyāre thinking. *shiver*ā¦ š³š³š³
Everything Josh Malerman writes is written is such a smooth, easy to read voice, so that should go without saying so for this book. The tale will burrow into your brain slowly and sneakily, and make you want to continue reading. Damn you Pearl!!! Sorry, I digress. This is a good read and will give you the creeps if you let it.
Thanks so much to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, and Josh Malerman for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion!! -
Man, I LOVED this book.
Pure, unfiltered, no-blink horror. Old school chills, dark dreamy sequences reminiscent of the greats, mind-bending twists and turns that will make you question your own reality, your own thoughts and desires.
Pearl is a villain for the ages, and it feels like Malerman is just getting warmed up with this character and his (yeah, Pearl's a 'he') special, blood-drenched brand of supernatural terror.
Genuinely creepy moments throughout and a story you won't ever forget. This is pure late-night bar fodder: "Did you ever read that one about the pig? You know... the one that controlled people's minds? That showed them their worst nightmares?"
PEARL belongs on the shelf with the all-time great, classic monsters of horror. A must-read. -
QUICK TAKE: dude. this book. if i was you, i would just read it without knowing a SINGLE detail about the story...best to go in without any expectations, because...dude. this book. Did I like it? I think so? I definitely found myself turning pages, but...dude. this book.
-
This was so weird š I liked it though, very cerebral and different from anything Iāve read before. Major TWs for animal death and just general violence.
Only 4 stars because I honestly feel like I didnāt fully understand the ending, but overall it was awesome! -
At first I thought a homage to 80ās horror. But thereās much more to this than that. I worried about everyone including Pearl. I couldnāt turn the pages fast enough. Like all of Mr. Malermanās book, all good and he manages to make each novel so different from the previous one.
-
3.5 rounded up
Pearl is a pig with only one eye. He is highly intelligent and learns things from farmer Walter Kopple, He also has the ability to control both animal's and human's minds telepathically to do what he wants. Telling too much more I feel like would give away the plot. All I can say is that this book was bizarre!
I've never read this style of horror and I enjoyed Goblin by this author, so I decided to request this. I liked the weirdness of it and the plot was good. At times I felt like the pacing was a little too slow, but most of the time he did a good job of building suspense then flying through the scare parts. The imagery that developed from Malerman's descriptions was what took this book from good to very good along with the character of Pearl.
*Be advised there is animal death and one scene of animal cruelty*
Thank you to Del Rey, author Josh Malerman, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. -
It was fun the first 40 pages, but after awhile a fight for survival against a telepathic pig for 284 pages gets old quick, I didnāt even bother to finish because I donāt freakin care.
This shouldāve been a novella, Iām kind of sick of books that are longer than they should be. Iām looking at you Bentley Little! -
Dumbest fucking book Iāve ever read. In. My. Life.
-
Pigs. What is it about pigs? We are somehow drawn to see the intelligence in them: Babe, Wilbur (from Charlotte's Web), Napoleon (from Animal Farm). There has always been something a little mysteriousāsometimes cute, sometimes scary (yeah, I'm thinking of the pigs from the worst Hannibal book)āabout pigs.
In this, the year of the pig, Josh Malerman brings us a malevolent little piggy with the power of mind control. And he's going to use his power to learn everything he can from those around himāuntil they aren't useful anymore.
While the story shows some interest in animal ethicsāwho are we to raise animals just to slaughter and eat them?āat its heart, it is a good little slasher novel that wants to go straight for the jugular and get some crazy farm-gore in your face.
Though the story is definitely engaging and I did love the creepy pig, I found myself wondering about the "rules" of the book and the pig, as they seemed to keep changing throughout: some people he controls like puppets, others he gives viciously real hallucinations to, and so on. I also wasn't sure of the end gameāthere didn't seem to be a point for the events of the book. What exactly is the pig trying to accomplish? I didn't feel like it was envisioned very clearly, beyond some type of unformed hatred for the people who had done him wrong. (And it did seem specific to him, since he sure didn't feel that other pig lives mattered.)
I found myself wondering if this might be one of Malerman's "vault books"āyou know, a manuscript he wrote a long time ago that they dug up and brushed off and said, well, this is pretty good. Let's publish this. Because it is pretty good and I really did enjoy it, but the level of writing did not feel as strong as Malerman's more recent works and there were some techniques that I consider more juvenile, like lots of all-caps to let the reader know someone is shouting and an overuse of exclamatory marks. Those things just aren't really necessary.
Overall, I had fun with this book, but it isn't Malerman's strongest. I am glad to have it as part of my collection, though, and I'm always interested to read the totality of an author's body of work.
I would be remiss not to mention the errors that I found throughout the book. For an esteemed publisher like Cemetery Dance putting out higher price-point special edition books, I was fairly disappointed with the amount of simple grammar and style errors throughout this volume. Any decent proofreader would have caught things like the difference between "its" and "it's," misused homonyms, and other small errors. It's not make-or-break, but these things definitely do detract from the quality of my reading experience and it was disappointing to see them in a book like this. -
āPearlā by Josh Malerman is a masterpiece, thatās right, I said it. Formally known as āOn This, The Day of The Pigā and given a limited edition release, āPearlā is a rebranding of sorts, it is now publishing through Del Rey Books and I for one am thrilled by this news, as it means a whole host of other unsuspecting individuals will be able to grab a copy and enjoy one of the finest horror yarns Iāve have the pleasure of reading this year.
Josh Malerman is becoming a staple of the horror genre, with releases such as āBird Boxā, āA House At The Bottom of a Lakeā, āMalorieā and āUnbury Carolā to name a few. And I have to say Iām a huge fan of his work, after Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk, HG Wells and Cormac McCarthy I think Malerman is the next author in line of who Iāve read the most work of.
Malerman is somewhat of a chameleon when it comes to his work, each piece is completely different, each book takes the reader to new places and sends them on a journey of discovery that lives long in the memory ā but also, in my humble opinion each work is exceptional, and the man is only getting started, heās a writing machine and more works are on the cards (when I interviewed him recently he said he has a large box full of manuscripts waiting to be born).
Malerman usually treads the thin line of horror like a tightrope walker, he navigates us through the horror without stuffing our faces in the viscera or the macabre events that are playing out on the page, but with āPearlā he holds our faces in the filth. He opens the barn and throws us inside where the horrors and nightmares wait with snapping jaws and an insatiable hunger, as we bang at the door to be let out, Malerman is on the outside with his shoulder against the door, barricading us into the nightmare that is on offer. And I tell youā¦ I bloody loved it.
Malerman goes full blown horror with āPearlā and it is a masterpiece of revulsion and dread ā even more so when you think about the premise of the book, the premise is almost laughable (a psychic pig terrorizing a farm and making people do the unimaginable), but laugh at your own peril because this one will worm its way into your heart, mind and soul and ravage you, there is no way to escape the clutches of Pearl ā if youāre lucky youāll make it out screaming, if youāre not lucky Pearl will make you sing, he makes everyone sing in the end.
So, yes this is the story about Pearl, a large male pig with a bad eye, but this bad eye is actually the one that sees the world, the one that peers into the minds of those unsuspecting people who should so happen come into his world, his farm, his lair. Pearl is able to control people, heās able to make them do horrific things, not because he makes them do it, no, he makes them want to do it. Itās a strange concept, but one that Malerman never loses control of, the premise is batshit crazy but in Malermanās hands he orchestrates a macabre symphony that one canāt help but be bewitched by and if you surrender yourself to the fact that this is fiction (where anything is possible if we let the author lead us there) then the payoff is huge in this creature / animal horror feature.
āPearlā reads like the demented offspring of āAnimal Farmā (George Orwell) and āThe Ratsā (James Herbert) with a dash of Peter Benchleyās āJawsā (in the way that Malerman is able to give voice to an animal, much like how Benchley was able to put us in the mind of the shark). There are some allegories here, but one in particular I could see was that this could be a discussion around the slaughtering of animals, for our greed and consumption ā over farming etc. and Pearl breaking loose of his pen, and his subsequent reign of terror being his swansong, which in turn forces humans to become the new cattle, to be butchered and consumed.
What I really enjoyed about this book was that the incidents pretty much happen over one day, and Malermanās writing keeps us prisoners to this twisted twenty-four hour period whether we like it or not. The story starts with a very unfortunate incident on a farm where a boy slaughters a pig, he didnāt want to but Pearl made him want to, Pearl made him sing for him. Word soon gets out that a boy butchered a pig and that the strangest thing of all is that the boy said the pig made him do it ā so a group of teenagers head on out to this farm to see the crazy pig for themselves, which sets the plot of this story into overdrive, the tension of the piece keeps on building until there is no shackling it, no escaping the fate that awaits those that Pearl makes sing.
There are so many gruesome scenes in this book, which are put across with such fine detail that on a few occasions Malerman made me squirm in my seat. There is something deeply bewitching in the prose and the energy that Malerman writes in āPearlā that doesnāt let up, it sinks its teeth into you in the first few chapters and holds you firmly in its snout as it thrashes its head and you pinwheel around like a ragdoll in its unforgiving maw until you read that final page.
I also have to applaud Malerman for his work on bringing the character of Pearl to life ā he seems to have crafted a deeply disturbing mind and one that I could wholly believe was a pig, but also a thinking, breathing, revenge filled entity at the same time, which is a masterstroke of brilliance. The chapters from Pearlās point of view (almost Pearlās stream of consciousness) were always a delight to discover and in these intense glimpses we discover how he has come to be the way he is, how he sees the world and how he will overcome the worldā¦ how he will make everyone sing, sing for Pearl.
āPearlā is like nothing you have ever read before, it is a nightmare on the page, it is horror, it is pain, it is suffering and it is utterly beguiling. Malerman again (although this is a rebranding of a previous title) shows that his imagination knows no bounds and the man can write horror with the best of them, and this offering in particular further solidifies Malerman in my opinion, as one of the most exciting and original horror writers working today.
What Herbert did for rats, Malerman does for pigs ā prepare to have nightmares and pass on the odd bacon sandwich once in a while.
Sing for meā¦ sing for Pearl.
