What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Does anyone remember a book about a female pig-keeper and a wizard who had been turned into a pig?

The girl was written as simpleminded and uneducated, and her sole job in her village was to tend the pigs and mostly because nobody else wanted that job. But this job made the girl happy, because she loved pigs.

She was given a new pig at the very beginning of the book, and this pig could talk. It turned out he was really a wizard, and he'd been stuck in this pig shape. The girl named the pig 'Mythanks', and the wizard yelled at the girl to the point of tears because that wasn't his name, thank-you-very-much; but then the girl can hardly talk and his real name is something she can't remotely say.

They go on a quest, I think? And the girl becomes better educated and the wizard becomes humbled and much nicer.

Any ideas? Google keeps suggesting to me the Lloyd Alexander books or Pigs Don't Fly, but those aren't right.

ETA: Er, I think I read it in the early 90s, and it is most likely YA fantasy fiction.

Hum, until you said the bit about bad tempered wizard, I was thinking that this might be one of the Riddle-Master books. But the "girl" while quiet wasn't simple--and the pig wasn't a wizard. Still, if you like that kind of thing, you still might consider this series. Its very good.

Oh, yes; McKillip's books are great! I remember the character your describe: Called the pig-woman in the books, she had a scene in Heir of Sea and Fire and gave counsel to Raederle -- in the past, some of her pigs might even have talked. And you are right, the pig wasn't the wizard, but the woman was. Or had been. She'd been bound to refrain from magic, I think?

Google tells me that her name was Nun.

BUT. That isn't the book I'm looking for. :(

What about the Prydain books? By Lloyd Alexander--its been a really long time since I read them, but I remember that a pig definately had something to do with at least 1 of the stories.

My understanding of those books was that the pig-keeper in them was male. I'm for sure looking for a female pig-keeper.

I don't recall the pig in those books talking, either, but like you it's been years since I read them. Looks like here goes another series to add to my TBR list shelf stack mound mountain.

lol, well, if we want to talk JUST a talking pig--what about The Pig, the Prince & the Unicorn. I really enjoyed that one, even if it DOESN'T have a female swineherd in it.

Oh god this sounds soooo familiar. I know I read this a long time ago. So long ago that racking my brains will certainly not produce anything. Darn.

When I first read your comment, I immediately thought of Disney's "The Black Cauldron" although the pig on there was named Hen Wen and it's also a male pig herder. So I don't think this is right but it may lead you or someone else in the right direction.

>6: Hee! Thanks; I'll look into The Pig, the Prince, and the Unicorn. It sounds like it would be fun even if it doesn't match the details I'm looking for.

>7: At least that's confirmation the book exists!

>8: Disney's "The Black Cauldron" was based on Lloyd Alexander's book of the same name, and you are right that it isn't quite what I'm looking for.

I'll keep searching! I'll find it someday!

Hahaha! FOUND! It was the short story "The Woman Who Loved Pigs" by Stephen R. Donaldson. Those specific passages I was remembering were...

"...My thanks. She felt the gratitude in them; but the sounds themselves meant nothing to her, so at last she concluded that they were the pig's name, and she took to calling him 'Mythanks.' That was the first word she had ever spoken, the only word she knew."

...

"At once his laughter became vexation. New sounds formed in her mind. My name is not Mythanks, you daft woman. It is Titus. Titus! Do you hear me? TITUS!"

...

"Do you remember your first name for me? It was Mythanks. At the time, I was not amused. But now I consider it a better name than Titus."

YAY!

Yay! Thanks for letting us know, M-.