pig

Title:  pig

Author: SBR Martin

Publisher:  The Artists Orchard

Medium:  Kindle

Goodreads Synopsis:

Enough is enough! What does it take for a troubled woman to finally let go? SBR Martin's second novel, "pig," answers this question by bringing dark topics to light in an unnerving, yet inspiring, story of domestic abuse, sexuality, reflection, and loss.
Her name is Lily, but she’s gone by different names over the years—Lilith, Mom, Flower, and Pig, to name but a few. 
She’s sitting alone on a couch in the corner of a crowded funeral home, desperately clinging to a scrap of paper in her right hand. She’s avoiding contact with those around her, keeping to herself, because she holds more than that scrap of paper—she holds a lot of secrets, includin...g one she’s keeping from herself.
In the other room, which she dare not enter, a man lies in a closed casket. That man is her husband. Only she knows how he got there, and only the telling of her story can tell his.
As Lily guards her secrets on the couch in the corner, the familiar faces of funeral home patrons stir a lifetime of memories, a collection of past events brought to pass before her eyes.
How did her husband get in that box? And what is she holding in her hand? Step into Lily’s past to answer the present questions. But don’t expect to be pleased with everything you learn. Some stories just aren’t meant to have happy endings.

Sometime last year my husband and I were talking about purchasing books in a bookstore, and he asked me if I had ever walked by a shelf with books on it and picked one out just because of its cover alone.  Nope.  I said that it's what is in between the front and back cover that matters most.  

So, when pig by SBR Martin landed in my inbox, the first thing that caught my eye was the cover art.  I knew I would read it no matter what.  They (they??) say to never judge a book by it's cover, but in this case you can.

For the first time in a very long time, a book has come along for me where the cover art is completely reflective of an entire book - not a chapter, not a character, not an underlying secret meaning the reader never can find, but one that encompasses the entire book.  Cover to cover.

pig is not a new story.  It's a story that has been told countless times, over countless years, in countless ways, but Ms. Martin was able to take this story and bring it into a new light and give the victim a new voice.  To say that I stayed riveted to each word on each page is an understatement.  To say that I felt such sadness throughout the entire book is an underestimate of my feelings  Lilly is forever etched into my soul, she got under my skin, and she made me crazy at times.

When you have a loss in your life, there always comes a time that you have to let go.  What determines when that time is a matter that only the person who has experienced the loss.  Lilly's life was a series of losses, from the very moment she was conceived the losses started stacking up around her.  Her freedom would depend on if she would ever be able to let go.

If stories of despair, desperation, and dread don't scare you, pig is a must read.  If you are not afraid of a little depravity with an inkling of hope then pig is a must read.  If you are ready to let go then pig is a must read.

And I need to give a shout out to Jenn Wertz, your art is captivating!!!  Thanks to you, I may very well judge another book by it's cover!!

SBR Martin