''Porky'', is the fifth novel by the English author

Deborah Moggach Deborah Moggach (née Hough; born 28 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. She has written nineteen novels, including '' The Ex-Wives'', ''Tulip Fever'' (made into the film of the same name), ''These Foolish Things'' (made into ...

, first published in 1983 by

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...

and recommended in

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

's ''Good Fiction Guide''.

Plot introduction

"Porky" is Heather's nickname because her father keeps pigs in a field at their ramshackle bungalow just off the A4 near

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

. Heather is eleven when her mother has an extended stay in hospital over the birth of her second child, leaving Heather alone with her father at home. He begins to abuse her sexually. Heather is already a troubled child, bullied at school with few friends. As the abuse continues, she becomes more troubled and takes to thieving and promiscuity.

Reception

*An "extraordinarily skilful account of a childhood blasted by what is now acknowledged to be a more widespread offence than was previously recognised: incest",

Anita Brookner Anita Brookner (16 July 1928 – 10 March 2016) was an English novelist and art historian. She was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge from 1967 to 1968 and was the first woman to hold this visiting professorship. She wa ...

, ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...

''. *"Deborah Moggach conveys with chilling skill the process by which a fundamentally bright, decent child becomes infested by corruption.", ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' * Gay Firth writing in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' warns "readers of despairing disposition or dainty susceptibilities will pass by on the other side, shuddering" but goes on to praise the author for "sustaining a first-person register so level in its tone of quiet desperation, so careful to avoid blatant shock, as to hold back the tidal wave of revulsion and pity which threatens, but never quite engulfs the reader".Gay Firth, "God, love, and the professionals of discontent", ''The Times'', 12 May 1983; pg. 11; issue 61530; col A

References

External links

* Novels set in London 1983 British novels Novels by Deborah Moggach Child sexual abuse in literature Incest in fiction Jonathan Cape books {{1980s-novel-stub