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A Most Unusual Friendship
When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they had no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man; it wasn't long before they were more comfortable in his house than their own. But now Mr. Pignati is dead. And for John and Lorraine, the only way to find peace is to write down their friend's story -- the story of the Pigman.
Now, I don't like school, which you might say is one of the factors that got-us involved with this old guy we nicknamed the Pigman. Actually, I hate school, but then again most of the time I hate everything.
I used to really hate school when I first started at Franklin High. I hated it so much the first year they called me the Bathroom Bomber. Other kids got elected G.O. President and class secretary and lab-squad captain, but I got elected the Bathroom Bomber. They called me that because I used to set off bombs in the bathroom. I set off twenty-three bombs before I didn't feel like doing it anymore.
The reason I never got caught was because I used to take a tin can (that's a firecracker, as if you didn't know) and mold a piece of clay around it so it'd hold a candle attached to the fuse. One of those skinny little birthday candles. Then I'd light the thing, and it'd take about eight minutes before the fuse got lit. I always put the bombs in the first-floor boys' john right behind one of the porcelain unmentionables where nobody could see it. Then I'd go off to my next class. No matter where I was in the building I could hear the blast.
If I got all involved, I'd forget I had lit the bomb, and then even I'd be surprised when it went off. Of course, I was never as surprised as the poor guys who were in the boys' john on the first floor sneaking a cigarette, because the boys' john is right next to the Dean's office and a whole flock of gestapo would race in there and blame them. Sure they didn't do it, but it's pretty hard to say you're innocent when you're caught with a lungful of rich, mellow tobacco smoke. When the Dean catchesyou smoking, it really may be hazardous to your health. I smoke one with a recessed filter myself.
After my bomb avocation, I became the organizer of the supercolossal fruit roll. You could only do this on Wednesdays because that was the only day they sold old apples in the cafeteria. Sick, undernourished, antique apples. They sold old oranges on Fridays, but they weren't as good because they don't make much noise when you roll them. But on Wednesdays when I knew there was going to be a substitute teaching one of the classes, I'd pass the word at lunch and all the kids in that class would buy these scrawny apples. Then we'd take them to class and wait for the right moment -like when the substitute was writing on the blackboard. You couldn't depend on a substitute to write on the blackboard though, because usually they just told you to take a study period so they didn't have to do any work and could just sit at the desk reading The New York Times. But you could depend on the substitute to be mildly retarded, so I'd pick out the right moment and clear my throat quite loudly-which was the signal for everyone to get the apples out. Then I gave this phony sneeze that meant to hold them down near the floor. When I whistled, that was the signal to roll 'em. Did you ever hear a herd of buffalo stampeding? Thirtyfour scrawny, undernourished apples rolling up the aisles sound just like a herd of buffalo stampeding.
Every one of the fruit rolls was successful, except for the time we had a retired postman for General Science 1H5. We were supposed to study incandescent lamps, but he spent the period telling us about commemorative stamps. He was so enthusiastic about the old days at the P.O. I just didn't have the heart to give the signals, and the kids were a little put out because they all got stuck with old apples.
But I gave up all that kid stuff now that I'm a sophomore. The only thing I do now that is faintly criminal is write on desks. Like right this minute I f eel like writing something on the nice polished table here, and since the Cricket is down at the other end of the library showing some four-eyed dimwit how to use the encyclopedias, I'm going to do it.
Now that I've artistically expressed myself, we might as well get this cursing thing over with too.
I was a little annoyed at first since I was the one who suggested writing this thing because I couldn't stand the miserable look on Lorraine's face ever since the Pigman died. She looked a little bit like a Saint Bernard that just lost its keg, but since she agreed to work on this, she's gotten a little livelier and more opinionated. One of her opinions is that I shouldn't curse.
"Not in a memorial epic!"
"Let's face it," I said, "everyone curses."
She finally said I could curse if it was excruciatingly necessary by going like this @#$%. Now that isn't too bad an idea because @#$% leaves it to the imagination and most people have 6 worse imagination than I have. So I figure I'll go like @#$% if it's a mild curse-like the kind you hear in the movies when everyone makes believe they're morally violated but have really gotten the thrill of a lifetime. If it's going to be a revolting curse, I'll just put a three in front of it -like 3@#$% — and then you'll know it's the raunchiest curse you can think of.
just now I'd better explain why we call Miss Reillen the Cricket. Like I told you, she's the librarian at Franklin and is letting us type this...
Now, I don't like school, which you might say is one of the factors that got-us involved with this old guy we nicknamed the Pigman. Actually, I hate school, but then again most of the time I hate everything.
I used to really hate school when I first started at Franklin High. I hated it so much the first year they called me the Bathroom Bomber. Other kids got elected G.O. President and class secretary and lab-squad captain, but I got elected the Bathroom Bomber. They called me that because I used to set off bombs in the bathroom. I set off twenty-three bombs before I didn't feel like doing it anymore.
The reason I never got caught was because I used to take a tin can (that's a firecracker, as if you didn't know) and mold a piece of clay around it so it'd hold a candle attached to the fuse. One of those skinny little birthday candles. Then I'd light the thing, and it'd take about eight minutes before the fuse got lit. I always put the bombs in the first-floor boys' john right behind one of the porcelain unmentionables where nobody could see it. Then I'd go off to my next class. No matter where I was in the building I could hear the blast.
If I got all involved, I'd forget I had lit the bomb, and then even I'd be surprised when it went off. Of course, I was never as surprised as the poor guys who were in the boys' john on the first floor sneaking a cigarette, because the boys' john is right next to the Dean's office and a whole flock of gestapo would race in there and blame them. Sure they didn't do it, but it's pretty hard to say you're innocent when you're caught with a lungful of rich, mellow tobacco smoke. When the Dean catches you smoking, it really may be hazardous to your health. I smoke one with a recessed filter myself.
After my bomb avocation, I became the organizer of the supercolossal fruit roll. You could only do this on Wednesdays because that was the only day they sold old apples in the cafeteria. Sick, undernourished, antique apples. They sold old oranges on Fridays, but they weren't as good because they don't make much noise when you roll them. But on Wednesdays when I knew there was going to be a substitute teaching one of the classes, I'd pass the word at lunch and all the kids in that class would buy these scrawny apples. Then we'd take them to class and wait for the right moment -like when the substitute was writing on the blackboard. You couldn't depend on a substitute to write on the blackboard though, because usually they just told you to take a study period so they didn't have to do any work and could just sit at the desk reading The New York Times. But you could depend on the substitute to be mildly retarded, so I'd pick out the right moment and clear my throat quite loudly-which was the signal for everyone to get the apples out. Then I gave this phony sneeze that meant to hold them down near the floor. When I whistled, that was the signal to roll 'em. Did you ever hear a herd of buffalo stampeding? Thirtyfour scrawny, undernourished apples rolling up the aisles sound just like a herd of buffalo stampeding.
Every one of the fruit rolls was successful, except for the time we had a retired postman for General Science 1H5. We were supposed to study incandescent lamps, but he spent the period telling us about commemorative stamps. He was so enthusiastic about the old days at the P.O. I just didn't have the heart to give the signals, and the kids were a little put out because they all got stuck with old apples.
But I gave up all that kid stuff now that I'm a sophomore. The only thing I do now that is faintly criminal is write on desks. Like right this minute I f eel like writing something on the nice polished table here, and since the Cricket is down at the other end of the library showing some four-eyed dimwit how to use the encyclopedias, I'm going to do it.
Now that I've artistically expressed myself, we might as well get this cursing thing over with too.
I was a little annoyed at first since I was the one who suggested writing this thing because I couldn't stand the miserable look on Lorraine's face ever since the Pigman died. She looked a little bit like a Saint Bernard that just lost its keg, but since she agreed to work on this, she's gotten a little livelier and more opinionated. One of her opinions is that I shouldn't curse.
"Not in a memorial epic!"
"Let's face it," I said, "everyone curses."
She finally said I could curse if it was excruciatingly necessary by going like this @#$%. Now that isn't too bad an idea because @#$% leaves it to the imagination and most people have 6 worse imagination than I have. So I figure I'll go like @#$% if it's a mild curse-like the kind you hear in the movies when everyone makes believe they're morally violated but have really gotten the thrill of a lifetime. If it's going to be a revolting curse, I'll just put a three in front of it -like 3@#$% -- and then you'll know it's the raunchiest curse you can think of.
just now I'd better explain why we call Miss Reillen the Cricket. Like I told you, she's the librarian at Franklin and is letting us type this...
The Pigman. Copyright © by Paul Zindel. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.aboxofkittenz69
Posted April 16, 2010
I Also Recommend:
Title: The Pigman
Author: Paul Zindel
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 12-18
The Pigman by Paul Zindel is about a girl and her best friend who get entangled in a crazy friendship with a crazy man. It starts out as a prank phone call, but ends in a mess. Jon and Loraine find that they feel more welcome in a complete stranger's house than in their own. Their home lives seem to be quite a challenge, with their dysfunctional families. But they soon find peace with Mr. Pignati, a teacher at their school. But complications arise when their families disapprove of their friendship. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt unwanted at home or at school.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 31, 2012
Book Review Outline
Book title and author: The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Title of review:
Number of stars (1 to 5): 5 star
Introduction
This book is called The Pigman, written by Paul Zindel. The setting of this book is at Mr. Pignati’s house. The house is old with old furniture. Mr. Pignati has a room filled with pigs from Italy. This is what it’s like to be with the Pigman.
Description and summary of main points
John and Lorraine called Mr. Pignati pretending to be charity workers for the L&J Fund. Mr. Pignati invited them over to his house. Mr. Pignati showed them around the house including the pig room. The next day, John and Lorraine met Mr. Pignati at the zoo. Mr. Pignati introduced them to his best friend Bobo (a chimpanzee) at the monkey house. Then they went to the flea market to buy some roller skates, tiger’s milk, and chocolate covered ants.
John and Lorraine told Mr. Pignati that they don’t work for the L&J Fund. They told him their real names and told him they’re high schoolers. Mr. Pignati forgave them then they started skating around the house. Suddenly Mr. Pignati started to have chest pain which was a heart attack.
John and Lorraine invited Mr. Pignati to the zoo. They were surprised when Mr. Pignati showed up because of what happened at his house. They rode the train and bought peanuts for Bobo. When they got to the monkey house they noticed Bobo didn’t come out. Then one of the monkey handlers came out and told them that Bobo had died about a week ago. Mr. Pignati cried with a shreak and then he dropped to the ground. John and Lorraine called an ambulance but Mr. Pignati was dead. Lorraine was so mad that she blamed everything on John. Mr. Pignati was their closest friend.
Evaluation
I really liked the book; I thought it was different to any other book. I think this book should be read by everyone.
Conclusion
This is what it is like to hang out with the Pigman. Eating chocolate covered ants, going to the zoo with Mr. Pignati, and roller skating in Mr. Pignati’s house, that’s what John and Lorraine did with Mr. Pignati.
Anonymous
Posted January 31, 2012
Introduction
This book is called “The Pigman” the author is Paul Zindel. The setting is at Franklin High school, Howard Avenue, and Lorraines house.
Description and summary of main points
This book is mainly about how John and Lorraine prank called Mr.pignati and asked him for donations. Then came to his house and didn’t really like him at first but after awhile began to like him. He bought them many things like roller skates, candy, and many other things. Then they relized they really liked Mr.Pignati
Evaluation
The books characters are john, Lorraine, and Mr.Pignati those are the main characters. The other few characters is Norton, Lorraines mother, and Johns mother and father.The book has a intresting plot and not much of a theme it doesn’t really have much of a setting either the setting is many places.
Conclusion
The book is mainly of how john and Lorraine meet Mr.Pignati and find a wonderful friendship that they wished could have lasted a lot longer than it did. When Mr.Pignati died it was like one of the worst
Anonymous
Posted December 2, 2011
In my review I will be talking about one, if not my number one favorite book of all time. It is the story of ¿The Pigman¿ by Paul Zindel. This story is told through the eyes of two teenage high school students, John and Loraine. They are very unalike in many ways, but are still great friends. John is very social, funny, and loves having fun by smoking and drinking and also by pulling pranks on everyone, including his dad, who was giving the nickname of ¿The Bore¿. He is always getting on John about his school work and how he should be more concerned. Loraine is very much the opposite. She always tries to do her best and never tries to do anything wrong. This includes one of John¿s favorite things, smoking. She is always on Johns back about how he should quit. Her mom works as a home nurse, which means she isn¿t home that much, also she is very mean to Loraine, she is always calling her fat and ugly. The two get together with a kid named Norton, he is a very obnoxious, annoying kid. He plays one of their favorite games. It is where they would dial a random number and see how long they could keep the stranger on the line. One night the three of them got into making prank calls and had some poor old man hooked. The old man¿s name was Angelo Pignatti. The kids convince the old man to give them money. So they met him at the zoo and they saw one of the saddest things ever, it was Mr. Pignatti feeding a chimp. It was his only friend. The two felt sorry for him and didn¿t take the money. They actually started hanging out with him. They learned thaqt he had a wife, but she was in California. One day when the Pigman goes to see her. When he leaves, there is a big party that John throws. One thing lead to another and Norton broke one of Mr. Pignatti¿s most valuable possessions, a model pig. That made John so mad that he beat Norton up. Then the cops come and take John home, still intoxicated. Then they took Loraine home as well. In the end the two have became better people because of their experiences, but it finally seems like everything is back to normal. I think that this book should be read by all classes, that is above sixth grade, because this book has a little bit of language. This book is also a book that could teach many students a lesson on how not to do things. Also this book is tale of what has probably happened, so you can feel a sense of sadness when reading because of the great detail it has been provided with. I thought this book was the best thing I have ever read. Mainly because it seems like the situation is real and I also feel very sorry for Angelo Pignatti from the beginning so there is always a feeling of sorrow for every action that the two teenagers make. GREAT!!!!!! Undoubtedly gets all five stars!!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 31, 2011
I thought "The Pigman" was a very good book. It always kept you wondering what would happen next. At first, when i found out we were reading The Pigman in my english class i thought it was going to be a stupid book that would take forever to read, but it was a very interesting book. I loved it! I definitely recommend this book to others.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.zzaacchh
Posted April 16, 2010
The Pigman isn't a very good book to read. This book isn't very entertaining. In this book John and Lorain are writing a journal about their High school Career. John is always getting in trouble and they both end up meeting a man named Mr. Pignatti, but they call him the Pigman. The Pigman collects glass and stuffed pigs. The moral in this story is that friends are the ones that will be there for you. The reason I gave this story a low level of enjoyment is because it is a story about a man who collect pigs and his wife dies. I think that stories like that are weird.
Some things that went on in this story were that the man that the kids met collected pigs, all kinds of pigs, and his wife dies and he starts going crazy and every thing changes after his wife dies or he says his wife dies.
Anonymous
Posted September 17, 2009
I Also Recommend:
The Pigman is a good book. It would be a great summer reading or book report. most people who read it thought it was really nice. I think it is a pretty good book to read in school and out. If you don't know a good book for a report or something then pick The Pigman by Paul Zindel.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.klarie
Posted May 29, 2009
Introduction
I think that this book was absolutely wonderful! The title doesn't seem exciting but, once you start reading you won't want to put it down. Every chapter gets better and better!
Description and summary of main points
In the story, the "Pigman" is just a random man that the narrators prank called and got charity money from. Soon enough they all become friends. And everything is going great until one day, something terrible happens to Mr. Pignaty.
Evaluation
"Now, I don't like school, which you might say is one of the factors that got us involved with this old guy we nicknamed the Pigman." Which shows that they did not know Mr. pigmnaty.
Conclusion
I think this book was great and just about anyone could read it!
Your final review
I couldn't be happier with a book. I really enjoyed reading The Pigman. It was a thrilling adventure. Every chapter was more enjoyable then the previous.
Haley_Sword
Posted May 15, 2009
Book Review Outline
Book title and author: "The Pig Man." Paul Zindel
Title of review: The Pigman.
Number of stars (1 to 5): 5
Introduction
This book was about an elderly man making some new friends. Loraine and John tricked him but later became his friend. The authors propose of this story, is not to lie, and/or take advantage of someone just because you can. I thought this was a pretty good book, and I highly recommend you to read it. The age group I would say would be 8-13
Description and summary of main points
The book was about how two kids tricked an elderly man into thinking they were for a charity, when they really weren't. They got him to give them money and everything they asked. The sad thing is, that old man only had one friend, and that was his monkey Bo Bo. They met him later in the story.
Evaluation
This book was pretty good, I liked it. I would recommend this book for kids that like to read humor. I will admit it does get boring in some parts but other parts make up for it. My favorite part would be when the monkey dies because it shows how caring John and Lorraine can be.
Conclusion
So in conclusion I would recommend this book to other young readers. I don't think older people would like it though, it is kind of youngish. The characters that played in it were great, and so were the events that happened. The best part was the kids played an awful prank, but later gained a best friend.
Your final review
My review of this book would be that I liked it, a lot. The characters really knew what was going on and it was full of suspense. I would highly recommend this to other readers.
Anonymous
Posted May 15, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted May 29, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted May 15, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
A Most Unusual Friendship
When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they had no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man; it wasn't long before they were more comfortable in his house than their own. But now Mr. Pignati is dead. And for John and Lorraine, the only way to find peace is to write down ...