The Boy Who Kicked Pigs. Tom Baker

by Tom Baker

Book Overview

This is the story of Robert Caligari - a thoroughly evil 13-year-old who gets his kicks from kicking pigs. After a humiliating episode with a bacon butty, Robert realizes just how much he loathes the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571230547
• ISBN13: 9780571230549
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Dark humor for the stout of heart

Having read Tom's autobiography, "Who On Earth is Tom Baker", and having thoroughly enjoyed his style of telling stories, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book and read it. Those peculiar and enjoyable quirks of Tom's that makes him such a great storyteller are there all right, but be warned: This is not a kids' book, nor is it a book for the squeamish or the faint of heart. "The Boy Who Kicked Pigs" is almost a Medieval morality play about a very wicked little boy, who has an escalating series of malicious misadventures that eventually bring him to a rather gruesome end. In my mind's eye, I see the sort of stop-motion animation (helped along by David Roberts' illustrations) that made "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "The Corpse Bride" so lush and memorable. It's quite funny, and there are some definite laugh-out-loud moments but unless you are particularly insensitive, you will almost certainly find yourself squirming in your chair as you read the last few scenes. So, an entertaining read, but one that'll have you reaching for your security blanket (or scarf) afterwards. Enjoy!

The girl who liked The Boy Who Kicked Pigs

This book is funny, witty and seriously macabre. Graphically depicting sibling tortures it also gives one the opportunity to laugh at the idiocy of the news media. All wrapped up in one neat package it's an expose of a disturbed boy with some wicked ideas. The end is not for the squeamish, but the well drawn pen and ink sketches accompanying the text make one feel they are watching an animated short as they read. I can't wait to share this with my friends and once annoying sister.

Hilarious book!

Written by Doctor Who himself, this small book spins the tale of a violent, evil young boy who hates everything that he sees. It starts with his first instances of violence, and continues on until he meets fate.The book is funny, to say the least. Dry British humor keeps the pace going, and for anyone familiar with Tom Baker, you can almost hear him narrating the book as you read it. I would love to see a cartoon made out of this!

Black Humor Disguised as a Kid's Book

The book is written as a children's story about a very nasty little boy. It is grotesquely funny through most of its short length, although it slips into being mostly gross in the last few pages. I could mentally hear most of it in Tom Baker's voice.

Idiosyncratic oddysey from former Doctor Who actor

This is by no means the best work that Tom Baker is capable of. He has an entertaining prose style and is very eccentric in both his language and his story ideas. The problem here is with the story. It is basically a very silly chain of events taking place within a few minutes. In itself that is not a bad idea, but it does have the feel of something that was knocked out in an afternoon. This was written by Tom following his success with his autobiography (perhaps a greater work of fiction!) with Faber & Faber. You'll like it if you like Tom himself, Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, or Edward Lear. Even better is the talking book, read by Tom himself - who can resist that velvety voice?!