Piggs

Pigs is my first Neal Barrett book and I was more than pleased. I am a huge Lansdale fan and Pigs came across to me as the type of story you would get if Joe Lansdale and Edward Lee wrote a Texas tale together. Not as hardcore as Lee's usual stuff but it doe's have a good edge to it. The story takes place around a strip joint called pigs and all the low lifes that work, play, and hang around the place. The only problem with the book it that it was too short, I wanted more. Neil Barretts THE HEARAFTER GANG is touted as being one the best books out there and I can't wait to read it. I will be building a Neal Barrett collection as fast as I can. READ IT!!!!

The dustcover describes "Piggs" as the Sopranos in overalls and bare feet, but a better comparison is Carl Hiaasen in Texas. Nearly every character in this story is a lowlife, and many are murderous, but good wins out in the end and everybody gets what they deserve. At the heart of the action are Jack, an ex-con who dreams of a better life while washing dishes in a takeout Chinese joint next door to the strip joint of the title, and Gloria, the dancer of every man's fantasies, who lives in her family's abandoned theme park. Along for the ride are Cecil R. Dupree, a redneck mobster who runs the little town of Mexican Wells, and his band of merry pranksters, Grape and Cat, as well as the suave Ricky Chavez, who pines for Gloria with boxed chocolates in his hand and French condoms in his pocket. The story follows a number of conventional lines, but the characters are so memorable that readers can forgive author Neil Barrett, Jr. for treading down a predictable path.