Hog (A Novel)

A singularly riotous and wise debut novel that follows an exceptional 240-pound feral hog as he embarks on a self-styled “Grand Tour” of contemporary Boston.

Rochester has always been a very special pig. Until recently he was an uncommonly intelligent classroom pet, but after a series of misadventures, he has resolved to follow in a long tradition of gentleman-scholars and strike out on an ambitious Grand Tour. His expedition promises artistic transcendence, exquisite self-knowledge, and the invaluable company of like-minded individuals—if only he can make himself understood to others.

Undeterred by the sometimes delighted, sometimes hostile reactions of the humans he encounters, Rochester narrates his adventures across Boston with the unparalleled linguistic bravado of a libertine-aesthete, even as his plans begin to crumble under the pressure of his extravagant expectations. From a college keg party to an impromptu lecture at the Museum of Fine Arts to a protest on Boston Common, he grapples with the strangeness of contemporary customs and holds up a mirror to our fractured times with spirited insights. Yet despite the escalating attempts of a zealous Boston Animal Control employee to entrap him, Rochester’s most human emotions—guilt, loneliness, self-deception—may prove to be his greatest perils of all.

Tom Froh’s uproarious and profound debut introduces an unforgettable narrator and announces the arrival of a sparkling new talent in fiction.