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Novel of emotional instability set mainly in OXFORD

21st January 2025

Piglet by Lottie Hazell, novel of emotional instability set mainly in Oxford.

Novel of emotional instability set mainly in OXFORD

I probably would never have picked this novel up – given the title and the cover image of food (donuts for theUK edition) – but I read this for the Grazia Book Club January 2025 and it was a revelation.

The story is essentially about Piglet who is building up to her big wedding to Kit and the countdown is on. Her story is set within the context of both partners’ families, hers hails from Derby and his parents are ensconced in Summertown, Oxford. The couple has decided to settle near to his family.

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She works in a publishing house specialising in cookery books and she herself has developed a love of cooking, and consequently there are many lush descriptions of food. For her wedding she is determined to make several croquembouches (a bold move given their construction!) and these prove to be her nemesis. It also becomes clear that when she is running empty emotionally, the gaping hole in her being yearns for food to assuage the hunger pangs. And in some senses she does have an eating disorder but the author goes to great and subtle lengths to lay out the background angst that engenders her particular form of over-eating.

And then her fiancé divulges something so awful that she is knocked off her axis and the impending marriage is in serious jeopardy.

The author clearly loves the food world and slickly details various dishes and their ingredients. There are “flavour profiles” and much slurping of fingers, as the food smells waft off the pages. She also deftly demonstrates how an emotional void is easily fixed for the short term by eating, but longer term – and unless those emotional needs are addressed (maybe through therapy) – the whole cycle is on repeat.

Novel of emotional instability set mainly in OXFORDI admire the author’s ability to describe nuanced interactions and to observe just the smallest things about couple relationships. The couple, for example, pride themselves on their ability to argue without alerting the neighbours… and how, for example, her annoyance amplifies when Kit uses the the plastic spatula (reserved for cooking with onions) on the morning porridge. Expressions caught in time, glances and gestures all imbue the story with genuineness.

The author has a really engaging writing style, it is fluid and very readable, and although at first glance this seems to be a quick trawl in the lead up to marriage, it is also about the universality of a couple relationship. At times I almost felt that I was reading an angst-ridden European novel in translation, Japanese even, for the occasional absurdities featured and the excoriating detail, but there is enough pure British humour to set it firmly in English society, referencing class and money. It is also set mainly in Oxford which adds a good sense of class imbalance to underpin the narrative.

A memorable read.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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These are the varied covers for the this book from around the world (with a croquembouche to finish!):            Australia / USA and UK in order

Novel of emotional instability set mainly in OXFORD

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