On paper, piglet’s life looks perfect. She’s engaged to the wealthy Kit, they live in their dream home and Piglet is heading for promotion at the London publishers where she works. But you know what they say about things that look good on paper...
The story begins 98 days before Piglet’s wedding and we learn that her nickname was given to her by her family thanks to her childhood habit of overeating. This is when we get our first glimpse into the complex family dynamics that have shaped her.
Piglet still loves food, but now she signs up new cookery authors and at home concocts elaborate meals. When her down to earth family visit from Derby, she makes them a Moroccan feast of couscous ‘studded with shards of pistachio’, and lamb stew (despite knowing they’d be happier with lasagne and apple crumble). She’s even decided to make her own wedding cake – on the morning of her wedding.
But 13 days before the big day, Kit confesses to a horrible betrayal that threatens Piglet’s carefully curated life. ‘I think everybody can relate to being wronged by someone who they thought they knew so well,’ author Lottie Hazell tells Grazia. ‘But this is not just a story about romantic heartbreak. Piglet has been failed by those around her and it has left its mark. Food and family dynamics are sewn into us from an early age. Piglet is struggling to break free even in adulthood.’ Descriptions of Piglet’s recipes are mouthwatering and woven throughout the book, so it comes as no surprise that Hazell’s background is academic research on food writing in fiction. But there are darker food themes too, such as an exploration of disordered eating.
While the reader feels desperately sad for Piglet at times, at others she’s unlikeable, especially the snobbery she shows towards her family. ‘It’s an achievement that I made people feel any kind of sympathy for her because she is often quite terrible as a friend, as a sister, as a daughter,’ says Hazell. ‘But I could also see why she was behaving the way she was. She’s very human.
‘I’m interested in those messy intersections in relationships and the small things in life – what’s for dinner, who’s cooking it. It’s in those moments where you find life’s interesting things.’
Indeed, if you want a serving of drama, a dollop of dark humour and a dash of class, self-worth and betrayal, Piglet may just be the perfect recipe.
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Piglet
By Lottie Hazell