Pearl, by Josh Malerman

Short Take: Everyone can stop now. We’ve achieved peak weirdness.

(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)

Hello my beloved nerdlings! Today is a great day for me, because there’s a Stephen King movie marathon on AMC. Yes, I know that I can stream everything, but you know something? I’m old enough to remember the days before streaming, before on-demand, and even before VCR’s. Back then, it was genuinely exciting for there to be a full day of good movies, and even commercials had their purpose. In those Olden Times, there was no pause button, so if you needed a snack or bathroom break, you waited for a commercial. Crazy, right? True, I’ll probably get annoyed with the ads soon, or want to watch something I haven’t already seen fifty times, but right now, I’m enjoying this the way I did as a kid. But with alcohol.

I’m taking advantage of the current commercial break to talk about the craziest book I’ve read in a bit. You guys, I usually write a marvelously clever plot description in this space, but when it comes to Pearl, I’m kind of at a loss, but I’ll give it a try. Pearl is a pig - not the kind who takes the last slice of cake at an office birthday party, or the guy who says he’ll call and never does. He’s got the pink skin and stubby snout and curly tail and all that. But Pearl is a little bit different. He’s also got one bad eye, and telepathy, and a big old grudge against humanity. So when he figures out that he can control humans’ brains, well, things can only go further into Crazytown from there.

And believe me, things move all the way into Crazytown and take up permanent residence real fast.

The good news, my beloved nerdlings, is that Pearl is hella fun. It’s got the goofy goriness of our favorite lesser-rated 80’s slashers, and some genuinely creepy moments besides. Pearl, as a character, is horrifying. The eye thing is freaky, and his memories as a piglet are deeply upsetting.

I’d also like to note that Pearl feels like a clever homage to Orwell’s classic Animal Farm, and I definitely can dig that.

I just wish the human characters had been better-developed. There’s the struggling single mom, the pretty high school cheerleader type girl, the outcast high school boys who call themselves Satanists but mostly just smoke a lot of weed, the big-business for a small-town bad guy who’s a dead ringer for Boss Hogg (heh). For all the glorious insanity of its premise, I’m not sure if Mr. Malerman was trying to write something genuinely scary & thought-provoking, or just a fun little throwback slasher cliche.

The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and some barbecue chicken, I’m never eating pork again.)

THIS BOOK IS LIKE ANIMAL FARM ON BATH SALTS.

It is an extra deranged horror story featuring…DUN DUN DUUUN:

pigs. 🐷

Or, one pig, specifically. —> Pearl.

I’ve honestly never been so fearful of a barnyard animal until I read this book. It was like the game version of The Shining.

I don’t know how to tell you that a story about a murderous telepathic pig is scary, but IT IS.

Pearl is intelligent, he has a strange power over humans and the other pigs around him, and he is ruthless. 👀

Right from this start, this book pulled me in and terrified me. - Mallerman really knows how to tell a scary story. DAMN!

Like, he totally could bust this out around a camp fire and have everyone hanging on each word. The tension was perfect. It never really lets off the gas.

I thought Bunny was the strangest book I’ve ever read, but this might have taken the cake…and you just may think twice before enjoying your next serving of bacon. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 🥓

If you want full body chills and cold sweats at the thought of a pigpen, then read this book.

Pearl by Josh Malerman was previously published with a different title.

"Pearl is not like other pigs. He can get into your head and not only make you do things - but make you want to do them. Pearl decides that today is the day that everything will change..."

Malerman is great at making a reader feel the wrongness of a place. Pearl is a terrifying pig and the farm is to be avoided at all costs. Several characters carry the damage of being close to Pearl. And everytime you hear Pearl's voice you're creeped out a little more. The story mostly takes place during one day - with a couple of flashbacks - so it moves quickly. The visuals of Pearl sitting in the barn are nuts.

You will never look at bacon the same way.

Nice re-release from Malerman.

Pearl is a pig with only one eye. He is highly intelligent and learns things from farmer Walter Kopple, He also has the ability to control both animal's and human's minds telepathically to do what he wants. Telling too much more I feel like would give away the plot. All I can say is that this book was bizarre!

I've never read this style of horror and I enjoyed Goblin by this author, so I decided to request this. I liked the weirdness of it and the plot was good. At times I felt like the pacing was a little too slow, but most of the time he did a good job of building suspense then flying through the scare parts. The imagery that developed from Malerman's descriptions was what took this book from good to very good along with the character of Pearl.

*Be advised there is animal death and one scene of animal cruelty*

Thank you to Del Rey, author Josh Malerman, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What the heck did I just read ...

So when I was requesting this from NetGalley, I really didn't read much about the book. I thought "Oooh Josh Malerman has a new book coming out" and I requested it. And I think that's the best choice I could've made. I would recommend anyone somewhat interested in the book to not go into the book with much information, your future self will thank you. After reading some information, I discovered that this book was actually published under another title; On This, the Day of the Pig. But I do believe I like Pearl much better. I will say, I don't think I'll ever look at a pig the same again.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A lot of people avoid looking at Kopple Farm. There's something about the pigs there; something they can't quite put their finger on. For Walter Kopple, Pearl is the smartest pig he's ever known. He not only recognizes Walt when he talks to him, but he seems to learn from him. And from here, Pearl becomes the sinister, telepathic pig that everyone in town is afraid of. When three kids from Morgan High School go to Kopple Farm to get a glimpse at the telepathic pig, they get a lot more than they bargained for.

Originally, I was very excited for Pearl because I missed out on the limited edition of On This, The Day of the Pig. A lot of people raved about it, and I was very glad when Del Rey decided to rerelease it to a wider audience. I felt a little bit let down, to be honest. Sometimes, I think authors may be so influenced by Stephen King, that they get caught in King traps and only write like him. I feel that Malerman has much more to offer than what Pearl was.

I still enjoyed the plot and the story, but I wish Malerman could shine a bit more here. I know what he's capable from both Bird Box and from his episodes of Creepshow.

Thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey, and Josh Malerman for the chance to read this advanced review copy! Pearl releases on October 12th.

Pop culture is rife with tales of adorable pigs developing close rapports with their owners, displaying an almost human intelligence, as shown by pigs such as Babe, or Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web. Sometimes, as in George Orwell’s famous allegory of utopia gone awry, a pig’s intelligence and manner become indistinguishable from that of a human’s. What if, Josh Malerman seems to ask here in Pearl, we brought that spectrum of fictional porcine behavior over to its inevitable conclusion, with a pig whose intelligence turns to malevolence and worse as it realizes what humanity does to its kind.

Or “he” and “his”, I should say, as Pearl is no mere animal. Raised on the Kopple’s working farm, Pearl’s presence is a constant cloud over the area. The townsfolk of nearby Chowder drive past as quickly as possible, though none can say exactly why. Before Pearl’s arrival, the farmer’s daughter, Sherry, had dreamed of taking over the family business. But as the years pass and her dad continues to raise the pig instead of bringing Pearl to slaughter, Sherry finds herself first asking for a stand of trees to be planted between the pigpen and her bedroom window, then leaving home as soon as possible to travel the world. It’s a long time before she comes back, married with two children and not a lot of money, and soon not even married. At least she has two lovely sons, even if the younger one, Jeff, seems to share the same antipathy she does for Pearl and the other pigs on the farm.

It’s on their latest visit to her father’s that a confrontation between Jeff and Pearl results in bloodshed, with Jeff screaming that Pearl made him do it. Ordinarily, this is the kind of thing that gets a boy an appointment with a specialist, but Sherry and her father both know that if anything is deeply wrong with the situation, it isn’t to do with her son. Jeff is a fairly normal child and Pearl, well. Pearl is different:

QUOTE
Pearl moved. Jeff heard his hooves coming first, then saw the pink snout, pink head, big body trot into the bedroom.

<i>”STAY AWAY!”</i>

But Pearl didn’t stay away. He got closer. Too close. He raised his snout to the ceiling, and his lips parted, and Jeff saw rows (rows!) of teeth, shark teeth, framed by brown, fatty lips, until it was all Jeff could see, floor to ceiling fan, Pearl’s mouth growing, expanding, wider...
END QUOTE

When word spreads through their small town that a kid is claiming that a pig at the Kopple farm talked to him, this sets off a chain reaction of events that will lead to an evening of death and destruction, as wave after wave of visitors are drawn into Pearl’s web. From trespassing teenagers, to cops answering distress calls and, perhaps most importantly to Pearl, his nemesis, a man named Bob, they all come for their audience, no matter how disbelieving or otherwise:

QUOTE
Bob screamed.

Screamed out the window. Part exuberance, part war call, part letting the pig know he was on his way and he was going to grab the first axe he saw and he was going to chop the fucking thing’s legs off first and then gut him alive, then strip out of this pink suit and dress up in pig guts and dance around the farm like a free man fired from a free-thinking gun. He was going to end this, tonight, with or without permission from whoever had to give permission to kill a pig, no permission out here, no more, out here in the lawless mad mania of man and pig.
END QUOTE

This novel is a wild ride from start to finish, a clever subversion of popular pig tropes with just some really terrific, terrifying writing. Originally published in a limited edition several years ago under the title <i>On This, The Day Of The Pig</i>, it’s finally available on the mass market and will further cement Mr Malerman’s status as a master of modern horror. I’ve never been culturally predisposed to liking pigs myself so I absolutely bought into the premise from the start; people who enjoy their bacon may have a lot more to ponder. All good horror stories raise questions of morality that we might not have given ourselves room to think about before. If pigs are so smart, is it ethical to slaughter them for food? And when does ethical consumption turn into casual cruelty?

For all its gruesomeness, Pearl is a sly, almost suffocatingly intelligent look at how we treat animals and how, perhaps, we deserve to be treated in turn. Even I had my moments of feeling sympathy for the monstrous pig. That ending, however, is guaranteed to give anyone the creeps. At least, I reassure myself, pigs aren’t immortal. Small comfort for Pearl’s victims, but a really excellent read for any horror fan.

• Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for providing this Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is October 12, 2021.

Bird Box was truly terrifyingly with its unknown existential threat. In this, Malerman’s newest horror novel, the threat is called out from the very beginning — a telepathic pig named Pearl. Pearl can plan, organize and make animals and people do her evil bidding. The end goal is for the pigs to take over the farm exacting revenge to everyone and everything that gets in the way of Pearl’s plan. Much much gruesome than Bird Box but equally as disturbing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Note: Pearl gives “blind pig” a whole new meaning.

I cannot read books about animals and murder etc. I love Josh Malerman books but not this one. Sorry thank you for allowing me to read the advance copy

Pearl sounded like it was right down my alley and perfect for spooky season, but alas this was a struggle for me to read. I thought the description sounded eerie and gave me goosebumps, but the minute I started the first chapter (and then skipped ahead a bit because maybe it would get better, right?) I just thought "what on earth is going on here?!" I will absolutely claim that this is a reader-problem, and not a publication-problem. I hope Pearl finds it's readers and they can give it more love.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Rey for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

If you ever thought you needed “Animal Farm but make it scarier” here is the book for you. I never thought I was afraid of unusually clever pigs, but it may be my new biggest fear. Creepy all the way through, this was a perfect one for anyone who wants to start their fall reading off with a spooky bang.

Previously printed as: on this, the day of the pig. Pearl is violent, disturbing and all things good.. Malerman is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Sing instagrammers, sing for Pearl.

5⭐️

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Pearl tells the story of a pig (the title character of this book) who is highly intelligent, telepathic, and can control thoughts of both animals and humans. If this sounds bizarre, it absolutely is. . . but in the best possible way. It was almost like a combination of Charlotte’s Web, Animal Farm, and Cujo. Pearl is legitimately creepy and Mr. Malerman obviously has quite the imagination I’m not sure that I will ever look at pigs quite the same after reading this book.

NOPE.

NO.

NO. NO. NO.

I DO NOT WANT THIS. TAKE IT BACK. I HATE IT. I HATE IT SO MUCH. I DO NOT EAT BACON AND PORK CHOPS FOR A REASON.

NO. NO. NOOOOO.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’m sad to say I ended up DNFing this book about a murderous pig who can possess other animals using telepathic powers. It was a little gory (which is fine) and a whole lotta weird, and I’m sorry to say I just didn’t vibe with it

2.5 Stars

Pearl is a telepathic pig and a murdering loving psychopath one at that. Like many others I thought this was "The Legend of a strange NEW monster." New being the operative word. What I got was a re-released title from three years ago. Also, with a psychotic pig in the mix I was thinking an Animal Farm/Cujo highbred...sadly I was wrong. I loved Bird Box and read it long before it became a movie, that alone proved to me that Malerman can write but the ending of this one, for me was just meh. It was a short read at just over two-hundred pages so at least I was able to read it in a single sitting.

This book grabs you immediately and never lets go for even a second! What a wild, fun, horrifying ride. Pearl is an evil, telepathic pig capable of mind control who ends up terrorizing a small farming community. It sounds ludicrous, but is presented with in-your-face realism and absolutely no backing down from the premise. Some of the best horror writing doesn't try to explain WHY something evil exists, it just accepts it as fact. But is Pearl truly evil? It's left to the reader to decide...we get Pearl's POV along with several other characters, and Pearl is not entirely unsympathetic. This is a fun, extremely gory horror story with a fast pace and a unique premise.

I'm a fan of Josh Malerman and this is a unique horror story. Pearl is not like the cute pig from Babe or Charlotte's Web, he is a pig capable of possessing other animals and humans and bending them to his will. It's a short book yet it's filled with gore and horror ravaged by the animals that live with Pearl.

Oh those swine! Pearl the evil telepathic pig, is the star of this horror novel that stretches credulity. The people of Chowder, Michigan have suffered through his, well, evil, for too long. This is graphic in spots and also really odd. It also just wasn't for me and I DNF. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. This one's for Malerman's fans.

Pearl by Josh Malerman was a terrifying book. I grew up in a small rural town like Chowder. Surrounded by pig farms, chickens, corn and beans. I’ve never liked pork because of this and this book is enough to turn anyone vegetarian.

I can’t tell who the real villain is; Pearl the Pig, Bob Buck the awful corporate farmer, Walt Koppel Pearl’s teacher and enabler? I never knew psychic pigs could be so horrible because I never actually thought about a psychic pig before. But it’s bad. Real bad. Like a more modern Animal Farm. Definitely recommend for those horror lovers looking for something they haven’t read before.