I really had high hopes for this book. Bird Box genuinely terrified me when I first read it. I think it was one of the first books I'd read that played on my mind for a long time. So when I saw this was out I got quite excited and it came right to the top of my TBR. That said...maybe my hopes were too high. It started well. This reads like Animal Farm if the pigs were supernaturally gifted. Pearl is a pig but he's more than just a pig. A pig with a 'bad' eye and a probably all too deserving hatred of people. Which is fair, as his early days were not great. And also...he's a pig, on a farm, so you can imagine the horrors that have been inflicted. And if you can't imagine that, well, you'll read about it. Basically, this book is weird and gory. I wouldn't call it tense, because it did not fill me with the same daunting tension as Bird Box, nor did it have me chewing my nails or hiding under the covers. I liked the premise though, the idea of a pig getting his revenge - of Animal Farm or Charlott'es web but dialled to 18 and painted in chaos. And I guess it felt reminiscent of 80's creature horror. I could also definitely imagine it as an A24 adaption because it is very weird. And I actually really enjoy Malerman's writing style, which reads like a stream of consciousness and it does work to build tension and put you in the position of the characters. I think anyone who goes into this with lower expectations will be suitably horrified. But it is chaotic and weird and might not be for everyone.