Pig by Matilde Pratesi wasn't quite what I was expecting, but to explain why I'd probably have to get into spoiler territory.
I'll just say that I loved our main character Valentina. She was fully realised, with tangible desires and fears and dreams. I desperately wanted the best for her and that is what kept me reading. The ending felt abrupt and I wanted more, but that is always a sign of a great read! I think I'll be mulling this one over for days to come.
Perfect for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh or Jen Beagin.

This was a recommendation from someone who knew my taste really well and they were spot on with the recommendation.
This is exactly my kind of dark, twisted story with a dash of toxic female friendship.
I found Valentina so frustrating which perfectly depicted her entrapment with her friendship with Clara.
I really loved this, my only complaint being it was a tad too long and I was less interested in the past-narrative, but I bet a lot of people would want that context.
4 stars.

Valentina is a young Italian woman living in London with her best friend, works in a bookshop, and is obsessed with pigs. Vale, through her struggles socialising with others, understanding social cues, her anxiety surrounding ‘simple’ things that she may be autistic which lends her vulnerability to her awful ‘best friend’ Clara. Clara, who is unemployed and separated from her husband, leaves post it notes for Vale to discover in the morning - what to wear and what to eat. During her shifts at the bookshop she leans into the routine and calmness of thinking about pigs, and sharing facts with her coworker and friend, Ollie. Afterwards, she runs home to appease Clara, bathe her, and cook for her, all whilst hoping to please her.

Throughout, the tensions of their unconventional friendship are explored in brutal detail, showing their initial connection as children, their reconnection, to current day. This storyline devlops alongside her sharing her facts about pigs with a customer which opens up new avenues for Vale’s future based on the very things she holds dearest, pigs. Vale is shown as a vulnerable young woman, and this book shows the turmoil, stress, and inability to see abuse from an objective standpoint, and how complex this becomes when your view of the world is already different to other people. Reading this book felt like a thriller at points due to the way that tension is built, and we really do root for Vale’s success. My only complaint would be that events in the end of the book felt as though it was dragging on the turmoil and perhaps could have been handled differently, and did not necessarily have anything poignant to add to the themes and messages of the book. Still a fantastic read.

Original, unnerving, upsetting and wildly uncomfortable, with little glimmers of hope and happiness sprinkled throughout. Really, really enjoyed this.

What a great literary debut!

I could write this review from the perspective of enjoyment, and if I tried, I wouldn't be able to say that "Pig" is an enjoyable read, considering the subjects of abuse, coercive control and codependency are the main motives here.

I could write this review from the perspective of representation, which is definitely present and done so well that it doesn't feel forced.

Still, what I mostly appreciated about Matilde Pratesi's novel, was a skilful portrayal of codependency between Vale and Clara. Even though it's not mentioned per se, it's quite clear that Valentina was written as a character on the Autism Spectrum, and Clara as someone with psychopathic traits, which makes their relationship and interactions very believable. However, someone unfamiliar with autistic or psychopathic traits might not be able to understand the dynamic or characters' motivations and behaviours.

I'm quite surprised with the interpretations of this novel as a portrait of "toxic female friendship", as in my opinion they're missing the point (and the term itself is rooted in sexism, but that's another story). We wouldn't call abusive behaviour in an intimate relationship "love", so why calling this "friendship"? Hint: just because the protagonist calls it that, it doesn't mean it's true.

I predict that "Pig" will create a lot of buzz in the near future.

Really phenomenal work here - I couldn’t put this book down. I feel that there was a lot of tenderness here, and so much pain. I do feel the pacing was thrown off by a lengthy flashback section and the ending felt abrupt but overall this is a fantastic novel and one that I believe many readers will find compelling

I don’t think I’ve read many books about toxic female friendships before so I’m not sure what to compare Pig to, but it was a very intense and uncomfortable read at times that had me berating both the protagonist and her ‘best friend’ alternately.

From the get go it’s immediately clear how toxic this friendship is. Vale’s life is dictated by Clara, who chooses her outfits and what she eats each day. Vale is terrified of being even one minute late home from work, in case she earns Clara’s wrath. This control combined with the fact that Vale seemingly had little time for herself made the book feel super claustrophobic at times. The absolute strangest part of this friendship was that Vale bathed Clara most nights. These are women in their mid 20s.

Vale as a main character was interesting. She was both very intelligent, and absolutely lacked social skills. The pig facts were fun, and she used recital of facts to calm herself down. Vale has never had a relationship and does not seem to understand a lot of social cues, and Clara absolutely abuses this vulnerability. Vale welcomes Clara’s control over her clothes and meals, stating that it means she doesn’t need to stress over it herself. She is clearly terrified of Clara, but somewhat unaware of it, and her approval means everything.

The flashback chapters, despite building up the history between the two characters, were probably my least favourite. I felt they dragged a little, and wanted to get back to the present day. They did show, however, that Vale started out being the controlling and obsessive one (although not quite to the extent of Clara), which was interesting.

Ultimately Pig was a very intense and almost claustrophobic feeling book at times, where I both wanted to shout at the main character and help her out. The ending felt a little abrupt and I would’ve liked to have seen more, but I really did enjoy this read.

I loved this book. It was claustrophobic, uncomfortable and frustrating, and right up my street. The toxic relationship between Vale and Clara made me feel like I was in a sinking ship, and I was so desperate for Vale to break free. I liked the section where it looked back on the beginning of their friendship and how the power dynamic was there from the start. It was a great read.

Toxic relationships, abusive behaviour with some OCD make this a disturbing but brilliant read.

Valentina lists pig breeds to calm herself down. Vale keeps her life orderly and Clara tells Vale what to do by way of notes left for her..

While working at the bookstore Vale is giving an exciting oppertunity but is unsure of what to do.. What will Clara think??

This is superb debut and one that I will be forever talking about for many different reasons.

Ir was difficult at first to stay with the story but I was glad I stuck with it... It's brilliant...

A claustrophobic and disturbing read, however I found myself constantly annoyed with Vale. While I understand how confusing and overwhelming abusive relationships can be, she was incredibly frustrating to read about. Her internal monologue was a little juvenile and her character was all over the place. I also found the ending rather abrupt, after hundreds of pages of coercive language, Vale suddenly accepts what she’s been told? It was all very confusing and out of the blue. Still, I have to admit it was written very well.

I'm a bit undecided on this one, so rounding up to three stars.
The toxic friendship part was interesting, and seeing the back story was very helpful to understand the relationship.
There were too many times though when it just felt a bit flat for me.
An interesting idea, but I'm not completely sold on the finished story.

Pratesi sketches two very different women; Vale recites lists of pig breeds to herself when she becomes overwhelmed, Clara writes notes to tell Vale both what to eat and wear. ‘Pig’ charts the evolution (or is it stagnation?) of the relationship between these characters.

The bookshop setting was sweet and the supporting characters likeable. There were a few moments in which the characterisation seemed to flounder, while the flashbacks to Vale’s youth could seem a little contrived at times. However, main focus of the novel, the relationship between Vale and Clara was deftly explored. Pratesi does a sterling job of depicting the mental gymnastics involved in coercive control. The first person narration works well to convey Vale’s thought patterns as her sense of self becomes entangled with Clara. She is attuned to her insecurities, constantly trying to pre-empt her moods and going to great lengths to justify her actions.

Through an examination of relationships, identity and, of course, pigs, Pratesi’s novel presents a piercing look at the difficulties of loving someone.

Pig is the definition of an addictive, propulsive read. While the story is deeply uncomfortable, I genuinely could not look away.

This book puts us in the orbit of two very unlikeable characters with a dysfunctionally abusive toxic relationship. An emotional rollercoaster, I felt angry, frustrated, annoyed, hopeful, and hopelessly sad at various points throughout reading. Around 70% of the way through, I just wanted it to stop. Clara was nuts and Vale’s mental gymnastics made me want to scream. Definitely check the content advisories on this one!

The supporting cast was phenomenal. I was particularly drawn to Ollie and Kai. The bookstore was truly a safe haven, for Vale but also for me as a reader! I liked the commentary about sunken costs fallacy in relationships, toxic non-romantic friendships, and abuse in queer relationships.

My only real qualm is the book ends too soon. After the horror and claustrophobic nature of the whole book, I would have found some solace in a more definitive ending. <spoilers removed>

This is a remarkable debut novel.

And, can we just appreciate that stunning cover for a moment? Beautiful. 🐷

ETA: I'm bumping this to 4.5 rounded up because I can't stop thinking about this book!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review*.

Pig follows Valentina who loves pigs as when she is overwhelmed she lists pig breeds to calm herself down. Vale needs order in her life in order to not get overwhelmed so her friend and flatmate Clara writes notes telling her what to wear and eat on that day. Vale works at a bookshop and ends up getting an exciting opportunity but Vale is worried what Clara will think because Clara wants to keep her safe.

This was okay, I liked what it was doing in terms of abusive/toxic friendship. It was well done in the sense that it was understandable why Vale didn’t realise what Clara was doing to her and the insidious nature of controlling friendships. The writing was a let down for me though because it felt unsophisticated. I would recommend this though and I absolutely love the cover which made me request the arc in the first place.