November and the Truffle Pig, published in 1977, and set in France takes the reader on a journey into the truffle producing landscape of France, around Rocamadour. It revolves around Jean-Paul and his pig, Pogie, who was once the runt of the litter and who must now earn her living as a truffle-hunting sow after the death of the family's old truffle pig, sniffing out these precious and rare money-earning delicacies. Failing this, she will become pork slices in the local butcher's shop. Pogie is a slow learner, so it seems. Grandpere says, "She has nostrils of cement." Jean-Paul is beside himself, that is until he learns of a miracle which could save her life. This little novel really captured my attention as recently I enjoyed six weeks in France and spent a few days in the famous cliff-hanging village of Rocamadour. The ink drawings sprinkled throughout the text are magic, especially if you have ever spent any time in beautiful Perigord.
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| Rocamadour |
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| Rocamadour as I remember it 2011 |
