This is horror story at it's greatest. Who knew you should fear farm animals? Great innovative read! Horror at it's best!

QUICK TAKE: dude. this book. if i was you, i would just read it without knowing a SINGLE detail about the story...best to go in without any expectations, because...dude. this book. Did I like it? I think so? I definitely found myself turning pages, but...dude. this book.

This might be my favorite Malerman book yet. Old-school horror at it's best! Who doesn't like a one-eyed psychic homicidal pig? The world would be a better place if we had more of them.
—J.D. Barker, NY Times bestselling author of A Caller's Game

There's the "Birdbox" and "Malorie" Josh Malerman and there's the "Goblin" and the "Black Mad Wheel" Josh Malerman.

I like all shades of Malerman but "Pearl" is firmly part of the latter. In fact the bizarre town of Goblin is mentioned on the very first page of "Pearl" so that's a clue as to where things are going in this one.

It's like a mad "Animal Farm" crossed with a slasher movie crossed with "Pet Sematary." There are "Game of Thrones"-level head counts and ways of dying.

It's a pig who can do some serious damage because some serious damage was done to him and to his fellow pigs

About halfway through there's a line, "This is Hell, Susan thought. And so it was."

And so it is.

This is a stunning work of fiction; worth every star I’m giving it. I do have to say, however, that I almost put it down forever after reading the first chapter. I’m not a fan of visceral horror and definitely not a fan of anything that borders on animal abuse. But this was by Josh Malerman and I loved his Bird Box and its sequel, Malorie. So, after a day or two, I picked up Pearl again, determined to soldier on. Boy, am I glad I did.

The story starts when Jeff, his older brother, Aaron, and his mother go to visit at his grandfather’s farm somewhere in mid-Michigan. Grandpa gives the boys chores to do – Aaron is to collect eggs from the chicken coop and Jeff is to feed the horses. However, Jeff doesn’t follow through and, instead, is strangely compelled by a voice, sounding like it’s on the wind, to visit the pigpen.

Come, Jeff. Sing for me…

When Jeff gets there, Pearl, a male pig with one bad eye, is all he can see.

Thus, begins Jeff and the reader’s journey into horror. This is a bloody novel, with scenes that will chill your heart. The characters, especially the two stoners (Mitch and Jerry) and the teenage girl (Susan), are realistic, wonderfully drawn, and the reader can’t help but become invested in their fates. Pearl (the pig) is an enigma, menacing, yet strangely compelling as he leads the reader on a dark path into the inner recesses of the human mind. By the end of the book, I wasn’t sure what was real and what was actually the product of Pearl’s evil, but endlessly clever, machinations.

For me, this was a brilliant read and I recommend it most highly for lovers of dark fantasy and horror. Five big shiny stars.

A fun, thrilling gore-tastic story about a scary telepathic pig named Pearl. Like Josh Malerman always seems to do, he grabbed me by my hand and pulling me into a story I never knew I was missing from my life. Honestly, who would’ve thought a pig would send me the shivers but here we are and I do not regret it. The only thing I found I wasn’t a huge fan of but it wasn’t a deal-breaker for me was sometimes it felt very wordy and jumbled. Like maybe the thoughts while writing were forming faster than can be put on paper. Really enjoyed this very twisty, dark story and would recommend others (who aren’t super sensitive to animal abuse) to give this story a chance. Thank you, Del Rey, Netgalley for the chance to read Pearl in exchange for a review.

So I went into this book not knowing what it was about, and was really confused to find out it was about a murderous, telepathic pig. I pushed through, but found myself thinking "what the hell is going on" multiple times. I won't say that it's my favorite, but I actually kind of liked this weird, twisty, unique story in the end. It creeped me out, and was fairly short, so I would say it's worth the read.

3 for neutral, unfortunately, I don’t think this book is for me, as I just couldn’t even get past the first few pages, but I am a moody reader and will update it able to finish later!

*1.5 stars*

DNF @ 60%
The only reason I requested this is because the synopsis made this sound dark and sinister, but if I knew that this was about a telepathic, murderous pig, I would have definitely skipped this.

This novel is all about a deformed male pig named Pearl who has the power to mind control not only other animals, but humans, forcing them to do cruel and disgusting things.

I think this is a fast-paced read, but it’s definitely not super deep or insightful. What you see is what you get, and I never connected with the characters or the story trying to be told. It was too disjointed and unbelievable for me to really feel entertained by the story. I think this would be a better novella if it had some different editing, because some of the writing is there, but it’s not enough. It was too long and repetitive for the concept. I definitely didn’t enjoy this and I would not recommend it, unfortunately.

FYI: Pearl is a re-release of an earlier book by Josh Malerman previously titled "On This, the Day of the Pig.”(2019)

**Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey in exchange for an honest review**

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Pearl.

I'm so glad I got a chance to read this because I knew it was gonna be a wild ride. The premise alone was intriguing and I was right.

It took me a few pages to get drawn in but when I realized where the author was going, I was happy to go along for the ride.

Pearl reminds me of folk horror movies like Midsommar; it's bizarre, creepy, yet makes a twisted sort of sense when you understand (kind of) what's happening.

Pearl is like Animal Farm directed by Quentin Tarantino and written by Ari Aster, the director of Midsommar, and Tarantino. It's not pretty, it's not safe, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart.

There's A LOT of blood and gore, hysteria, graphic scenes and imagery, violence and explosions. Well, people exploding, not explosives exploding.

There's a not so subtle theme of animal cruelty and exploitation the author is trying to make through Pearl, the telepathic, porcine Professor X who is trying to take revenge on his human captors and the way they treat him and his brethren.

The writing is good, but there are lengthy paragraphs that are hard to follow with plenty of rambling sentences, which makes sense since most of the time the characters are hysterical and fleeing for their lives.

I enjoyed the ending because you just know it's not going to turn out well.

Well if this wasn't one of the stranger works I've found by Josh Malerman. His stories are typically out there, and this one was no exception. Weird things, irregular outcomes, and the status quo turned inside out captures the vibe of Pearl. A pig who can think and place his thoughts in people, make them act as he want. Yeah, that is strange and way out there.
The concept of Pearl was cool. The story had me from the beginning, but the pace slowed to a crawl. I soon lost enough interest and slugged my way through the rest. I think Pearl would have been better as a short, rather than a novel.

I’ll be honest here…..I didn’t exactly read the fine print and didn’t know this book was a rerelease until after I had requested this book on netgalley, only to receive it and find out it’s a horror novel about…..a pig. A sentient telepathic killer pig. In my defense, read how vague the synopsis is. How the fuck was I supposed to know that Pearl is a pig?

If it was horror comedy, great. Awesome. Funny. But I am pretty certain that this is a completely unironic book about a killer pig. So I open the ARC and this is the first thing I see:

“Sing for me, Brother Paul. Sing for Pearl. Let Pearl know.”

Also,

“DO YOU BELIEVE? DO YOU?! DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE PIGS?!??!”

Lmao?

First off, if I had known this was a horror novel involving animals I never would’ve requested this arc. Like come on, trigger warning! I really really dislike books involving animal cruelty. Any animal, pigs included. I HATE that more than all else. Literally, a book can kill off every human character and I won’t bat an eye but I don’t want to see a single animal, pig or otherwise get harmed! So those of you triggered by animal harm, this has been your trigger warning!

All things considered, the book wasn’t bad. Despite the fact that the villain is a mind controlling pig and all. The main thing that bothered me was the animal harm which should include a huge trigger warning. This made the whole reading experience extremely uncomfortable and not fun. I kept putting this book off all day because I do not like books with any sort of animal harm whatsoever. However, Josh Malerman was able to make a book about an evil pig gripping and full of tension somehow, so gotta give him props for that. So far, nothing has topped Bird Box but I’m interested in seeing if one of his future books will one day.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey Books for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

David Cronenberg's Scanners, but with pigs, Pearl (previously released as On This, the Day of the Pig) is a nightmarish decent into human cruelty and unquantifiable trauma, told through Josh Malerman's razor-sharp handling of the macabre.

Pigs with mind control ability might first appears as a campy horror concept, but Pearl is actually a convincingly passionate tale of rage and rebellion, about a suppressed individual who finally has had enough, and simply letting the built-up hatred shattering everyone in its proximity, friend or foe (even including itself). Josh Malerman's gruesome imagination is at its peak here, conjuring visions of anatomical horror (involving lots of animal and human body parts) that will for sure linger in one's mind way past the initial reading.

Due to the nature of its set up (a telepathic pig who rarely moves), Pearl does lose some narrative urgency in the middle, as the story beats: an individual encountering the pig — becoming affected — suffering dire consequences — turns into an obvious recurring pattern, without really stacking towards anything grander. I personally really enjoyed the intentionally abstract, open-to-interpretation ending, which I can foresee being a divisive choice, especially for readers seeking a definitive closure to the unnerving experience.

Pearl is no cheap thrills, its horror stems from reality, questioning human behaviors towards animals we regard as consumable 'product' rather than lifeforms with emotion and intelligence, and how this exploit and ignorance can end up biting back. While the repetitive middle and the vague ending might turn off some readers, I would consider this a top-tier Josh Malerman output.

I missed out on the Bird Box hype a few years ago, so I'm glad I get to redeem myself by being among the first horror fans to get my hands on this. This is exactly as thrilling and creepy as I was hoping, and I really enjoyed myself the whole way through!

This book is creepy, awful, and difficult to rate.

Pearl is a pig. Pearl is a telepathic, intelligent pig. Pearl has undergone abuse in the past. Pearl has had enough.

To start with, Pearl was a slow start. Stream-of-conscious writing doesn't always work well, and it wasn't easy to get into this novel. It also ran too long- for a few reasons.

The plot seemed to get muddled after a while and just became this go-go-go, actiony mish-mash. But more importantly, it was too long for me because there was animal abuse.

I will comment that it could be said that this was a commentary on the intelligence of animals that we raise poorly, in mass amounts, crippled and crowded in cages, only to execute them and consume them without a single thought. For that, I commend the novel and the idea. However, it is a problematic topic that is close to my heart, so this was a difficult book to stomach.

For those reasons, I wasn't overly fond of this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is creepy as HELL. Thank you, Josh Malerman, for my new fear of pigs. Definite trigger warning for animal abuse, among other things. I will say I found this one a tad too long for my liking. It's also very stream of consciousness-esque, so if that isn't your thing, this may not be the perfect book for you. All in all, though, I'd say Josh Malerman has done it again, and if you're a fan of his, I recommend you check this one out!

Like all pigs, Pearl is very intelligent. Pearl also had a bad experience with a mean man very early on and he never forgot that man. Pearl is angry, telepathic and too smart for YOUR own good. Pearl just plain creeps you out. Pearl can get into your head and make you do things you'd never do, make you see things that aren't there. Pearl talks to you inside your head while he sits there, looks at your with his one good eye while his other eye is hidden under an eyelid that looks like it's melting.

One day Pearl tells Jeff to do something horrible and Jeff does it. One day Pearl decides he's learned enough from Grandpa and, for the people, things go bad very fast.

Pearl is a tough one for an animal lover, but I get it. Yes, this is obviously fiction, but how many people have really looked into the eyes of a pig before and wondered what goes on in that brain? I almost quit after the first violent scene, but I'm glad I didn't. First, because it's a good book! It's a fast moving thriller with a nice dose of weirdness and some characters you care about, others you want to punished. Secondly, because behind the story, the blood, and scares there's the underlying truth about how animals who are raised for food are treated as nothing more than a product. This isn't done in a preachy way and I don't know if everyone will find that in the story, but that's what I found. Thank you #netgalley for approving my request to read #Pearl. It's a good book, and it also meant something to me. I have an urge to go have a nice chat with a big now.

I'm back and forth on this one.

Ultimately I really do enjoy the premise. It's super weird, and that's generally my favorite type of horror. I thought Pearl's characterization was so beyond bizarre in the best way possible it was like Animal Farm after dark.

I also loved all the GOBLIN references! Truly living for the Goblin Universe.

What lost me is the length. At a certain point we kind of lose the plot and go fully into action mode, and it just felt like we could have gotten what the story set out to do in a fun way without it feeling like a drag.

Malerman will always get me with his story ideas, and his brand of weird is my brand of weird, but I think this would have fit better into a short story ala GOBLIN.

Thank you to the author, Random House, Ballentine +Del Rey, and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of PEARL in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely fantastic. I thought I was going to have a tough time at first and was going to give up I am sooo glad I didn’t!

Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for the read!

Jiminy crickets THAT was a ride! It took me longer than usual to snarf down this book because its intensity forced some mental health breaks. But it's SO GOOD. If Animal Farm met Stephen King's 1980s novels (Cujo, etc). Like Takis Fuego... It's torture to read, but you can't stop. I need a Xanax.