by Richard Miller
Billy Williams is a young man on the run. He's recently deserted from the military and is looking for the meaning of life . . . at least HIS life. He travels the back roads of America and stumbles upon a pig farm run by George Baxter, a strange man with a quirky sense of the world. Billy and George soon form a tenuous bond and are eventually evicted from the ‘Swine Ranch' due to political pressures from the surrounding city. But they don't leave peacefully. A pig slaughter ensues as the local law enforcement arrives to evict them. George and Billy are now homeless and jobless. But this doesn't dampen their spirits. They find a like-minded group of investors who decide to build a pig-haven on a desolate island they name ‘Pig Spa Island.' This will become the place where beatniks can come to flaunt their political views, kill a few pigs and generally languor around in the mud like . . . like pigs! But problems arise. Who is George really and how did he get so much money all of a sudden? Why is this Fly continually bothering Billy (renamed to Alexander later in the book because his profile resembles Alexander the Great)? Who's been buying up a lot of the group's stock options in this endeavor?
The author (Richard Miller) has an unusual sense of humor but writes, at times, with great conviction and wonderful descriptiveness.
There were some generalized problems with this book, however. Most notably is the falling of the author into a travelogue-like diary of places his characters go (this was like reading someone's account of their travels while on vacation). Mr. Miller also often steps into the realm of teacher/preacher. The author tries to "tell" the reader about the world and it's history, which bogged down the well-written narrative. Far too many historical references were forced down my throat.
All in all this was an okay book to read thanks to the authors able prose. But I think Mr. Miller needs to find a storyline that is more mainstream and that a larger reading audience could identify with.
BM
FWOMP
July 2003